Robert McBride (February 20, 1911 – July 1, 2007) was an American composer and instrumentalist.

Life

McBride was born in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, and learned from an early age to play clarinet, oboe, saxophone and the piano. He studied composition with

Otto Luening Otto Clarence Luening (June 15, 1900 – September 2, 1996) was a German-American composer and conductor, and flutist. He was an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music. Biography Luening was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to German par ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in 1933, and a Master of Music in 1935. From 1935 until 1946 he taught at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

, where he met and married his wife, Carol. He then moved to New York City, where he worked briefly as a commercial composer and arranger, at first for

Triumph Films Triumph Films (also known as Triumph Releasing Corporation) was an American independent film studio division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, that geared towards theatre and direct-to-video film production and distribution. Histor ...

, producing scores for ''Farewell to Yesterday'' (1950), '' The Man with My Face'' (1951), ''Garden of Eden'' (1954), and a number of short subjects. As television began to supplant short subjects at the movies, in 1957 he joined the faculty of his ''alma mater'', the University of Arizona, where he taught until 1976. By the mid-1990s he had developed an ear disorder that caused him to hear pitches a half-step off, and so he was unable to listen to music at all.

Style

His music, often with catchy titles, ranged from the serious to the whimsical: ballets, jazz pieces, instrumental solos, chamber pieces, and orchestral works.

Discography

*1934. ''Mexican Rhapsody''. Boston Promenade Orchestra;

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...

, cond. *1935. ''Fugato on a Well-Known Theme''. Boston Promenade Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, cond. *1937. ''Warm-up for English horn alone (decidedly alone)''. Robert McBride, English horn. *1937. ''Let down for English horn with piano''. Robert McBride, English horn;

Paul Creston Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an American composer of classical music. He composed six symphonies and several concertante works for violin, piano, accordion, marimba and saxophone. Biography B ...

, piano. *1939. ''Quintet for Oboe and Strings''. Robert McBride, oboe; Coolidge Quartet. *1939. ''Swing Stuff''. Robert McBride, clarinet; Boston Promenade Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, cond. *1939. ''Jingle-Jangle''. Lawrence White, vibraphone; Boston Promenade Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, cond. *1940. ''Wise-apple Five, for clarinet and strings''. Robert McBride, clarinet; soloists. *1947. ''Aria and Toccata in Swing for Violin and Orchestra''.

Louis Kaufman Louis Kaufman (May 10, 1905 – February 9, 1994) was an American violinist. He played on the soundtrack of as many as 500 movies and made over 100 musical recordings. He is also credited with reviving the music of Antonio Vivaldi with his re ...

, violin;

Columbia Symphony Orchestra The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was an orchestra formed by Columbia Records for the purpose of making recordings. In the 1950s, it provided a vehicle for some of Columbia's better known conductors and recording artists to record using only compan ...

;

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

, cond. *1947. ''Aria and Toccata in Swing'' (arr. by Louis Kaufman). Louis Kaufman, violin; Annette Kaufman, piano. *1953. ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra''. Maurice Wilk, violin; American Recording Society Orchestra;

Walter Hendl Walter Hendl (January 12, 1917April 10, 2007) was an American conductor, composer and pianist. Hendl was born in West New York, New Jersey. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and held various conducting and teaching positions throughou ...

, cond. *1957. ''Mexican Rhapsody''. On ''Fiesta in Hi-Fi''. LP recording, 1 disc: 12 in., stereo. Olympian Series. Mercury MG 50134.

Eastman-Rochester Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Compan ...

;

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...

, cond. Recorded May 6, 1956, Eastman Theatre, Rochester, N.Y. Reissued 1960 on LP, Mercury SR 90134. Reissued 1992 on CD, Mercury 434 324-2. *1958. ''Pumpkin Eater's Little Fugue''. New Symphony Orchestra of London;

Salvatore Camarata Salvador "Tutti" Camarata (May 11, 1913 – April 13, 2005) was an American composer, arranger, trumpeter, and record producer. He was also known as "Toots" Camarata. Early life and career Camarata was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, United Sta ...

, cond. *1958. ''Workout for 15 Instruments''. New Symphony Orchestra of London; Salvatore Camarata, cond. *1968. ''Panorama of Mexico''. Polish National Radio Orchestra; Ladzistan Szostak, cond. *1969. ''March of the Be-Bops''. On ''Music for Orchestra''. LP recording, 1 disc: 12 in., stereo. Composers Recordings CRI . Polish National Radio Orchestra; Ladzistan Szostak, cond.

References

External links

Mexican Rhapsody For Symphony Orchestra
McBride's M.Mus. Thesis at the University of Arizona, School of Music, 1935 {{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Robert 1911 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers American ballet composers American male classical composers Bennington College faculty Classical musicians from Arizona Musicians from Tucson, Arizona University of Arizona alumni University of Arizona faculty