{"id":2446059,"date":"2019-07-06T23:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/willoughby-aspens-music-offerings-of-1893-resonate-with-those-of-today\/"},"modified":"2019-07-06T23:20:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-07T05:20:00","slug":"willoughby-aspens-music-offerings-of-1893-resonate-with-those-of-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/willoughby-aspens-music-offerings-of-1893-resonate-with-those-of-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Willoughby: Aspen\u2019s music offerings of 1893 resonate with those of today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A photo of one of Aspen\u2019s brass bands stirs memories of music and dancing.<\/strong>
Willoughby collection<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Antonin Dvorak\u2019s symphony, \u201cFrom the New World,\u201d this summer. The symphony premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1893. Dvorak, who headed the National Conservatory of Music of America, drew inspiration for the composition during a vacation in Spillville, Iowa. His exposure to Native American music and African American spirituals influenced the piece.<\/p>\n

Aspen\u2019s newspapers reported music events and artists in New York. But they did not cover Dvorak. Although Aspen\u2019s residents did not hear the symphony locally that year, diverse fare did reach their ears. A selection from the first two months follows.<\/p>\n

The Cowenhoven Hose Co. kicked off 1893 with a grand ball that featured Daggett\u2019s orchestra. Two-hundred couples attended. The Ide & Kennington dancing company had set people\u2019s feet tapping in December, when they staged 20 dances. Kennington taught dance steps and Ide led an orchestra.<\/p>\n

Daggett and Ide dominated music events in Aspen throughout the year. Daggett\u2019s Orchestra performed at Washington\u2019s Birthday ball, and at Aspen\u2019s other opera house, the Tivoli. Ide\u2019s Orchestra performed for 400, at the Letter Carriers Ball.<\/p>\n

The Tivoli also booked the Georgia University Graduates, a traveling group of African American singers who charmed Aspen.<\/p>\n

The Wheeler hosted two exciting musical events. A traveling group of 60 performers staged \u201cThe Spider and The Fly.\u201d It featured a chorus, \u201copera and high class vaudeville.\u201d Another group performed Goethe\u2019s opera \u201cFaust,\u201d which featured well-known actor John Griffith and a \u201cchoir of trained voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethnic music featured Ide\u2019s Orchestra in a celebration of Scottish poet Robert Burns, sponsored by the Caledonian Club. Aspen\u2019s newspaper claimed, \u201cit is safe to say that sweeter sounds harmonious were never rendered.\u201d If you did not favor the music, the sword dance may have made the evening worthwhile.<\/p>\n

The Ancient Order of United Workman sponsored the largest event, held at Armory Hall. Professor James Williams\u2019s brass orchestra entertained 300 couples.<\/p>\n

Aspen\u2019s churches hosted events with various local groups. At a fundraiser for Citizen\u2019s Hospital, singers known as the Schubert Quartet brought down the house with their rendition of \u201cOld Kentucky Home.\u201d At Easter, the Presbyterian Church featured the popular group.<\/p>\n

St. Mary\u2019s choir performed a mass, \u201cMozart\u2019s Twelfth.\u201d Later, evidence showed that Mozart did not write the piece. The First Spiritual Church had music weekly and also featured a psychic. Attendees would consult the psychic in their search for a connection with the dead. The Temperance Union offered the entertainment of solo musicians at its gatherings.<\/p>\n

Classical fans rejoiced to hear the recital of Miss Alva Lochhead, who had grown up in Aspen. She was attending the Broad Street Conservatory of Music in Philadelphia, where she was considered one of the best piano students.<\/p>\n

If you preferred outdoor venues, the Carnival of Skates offered music and bonfires at William\u2019s Lake. Aspen\u2019s First Regiment Band performed at the corner of Mill Street and Hopkins Avenue weekly, including winter. The Knights of Pythias band provided similar outdoor performances.<\/p>\n

As they listen to a symphony from the new world this summer, Aspenites may feel elevated. But the old orchestras of 1893 stirred audiences to dance.<\/p>\n

Tim Willoughby\u2019s family story parallels Aspen\u2019s. He began sharing folklore while teaching Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at redmtn2@comcast.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A photo of one of Aspen\u2019s brass bands stirs memories of music and dancing.Willoughby collection The Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Antonin Dvorak\u2019s symphony, \u201cFrom the New World,\u201d this summer. The symphony premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1893. Dvorak, who headed the National Conservatory of Music of America, drew inspiration for the composition during a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2446059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 22:57:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2446059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2446059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2446059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2446059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}