Ernest Bloch’s symphony, “America,” which won the prize offered by “Musical America,” and which was hailed on its presentation by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, was performed over the radio for the first time on Saturday night by the National Orchestra under the leadership of Walter Damrisch. A coast-to-coast “hook-up” of the National Broadcasting Company, linked 20 stations, bringing the music to the entire country.
The second movement of the symphony, called “Hours of Joy-Hours of Sorrow, 1861-1865,” was performed. The composition, termed by the famous Jewish composer an epic rhapsody, is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and Wah Whitman.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.