Synopsis

On today’s date in 1941, this notice appeared in the Radio Concerts section of The New York Times, as the 3:00 p.m. listing for New York’s WABC: “Bernard Herrmann directs the Columbia Symphony in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 1.”

The notice also offered these words from the 30-year-old composer: “My symphony was written in my spare time during radio and motion-picture commitments.”

Herrmann’s Symphony No. 1 was a joint commission by the CBS Network and the New York Philharmonic. Herrmann was a very busy young man much in demand in those days: he had composed and conducted music for Orson Welles’s radio plays, and in 1940 he wrote his first big film score for Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. In the 1950s and 60s, Herrmann would provide the music for classic Alfred Hitchcock thrillers like Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho.

But all that was still off in the future back in 1941 — and it’s possible the overworked Herrmann was a little more distracted than usual when conducted that radio premiere of his new symphony: his wife, Lucille, had gone into labor just prior to the broadcast and gave birth to their daughter two hours after the performance.

Music Played in Today's Program

Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975): Symphony No. 1; National Philharmonic; Bernard Herrmann, conductor; Unicorn-Kanchana 2063