McCurry 1

Heather McCurry

J. Beck

UCO 1200

24 November 2014

The Life of Marian Anderson

Summary

Marian Anderson, the first African American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera and at the White House was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Marian loved music from a young age and in her teenage years began a vocal career. Although it was a struggle for Marian’s musical career to take flight, soon Anderson was on her way to fame through performances in America and Europe. Anderson was often a victim of racism despite her beautiful and one of a kind voice. Anderson was denied entry into musical schools and the right to perform at certain venues because of her race (Anderson 45). Although Marian struggled with being discriminated against, she didn’t let it defeat her. In April 1939, Anderson bravely did what many say is the highlight of her career and sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in an act of rebellion against segregation (Anderson 191).For years following that performance, Anderson gained fame and in 1959 became the first African American to sing in the Metropolitan Opera and sing at the White House (“Voice of the Century”)

Table of Contents

Summary
Image
Early life
Road to Fame
Challenges
Style
Venues
Recognition and Awards
Later Life
Literature About and By Anderson
Works Cited

Image

Sourced from imgkid.com

Early Life

Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 27, 1897. Anderson grew up in a poor household consisting of her, her mother, father and two sisters (Anderson 5). Marian adored singing and music from a young age. From an early age, Anderson worked washing steps to pay for a violin and her piano lessons. At age six, she began singing in the Union Baptist Church’s Junior Choir (Anderson 26). Anderson’s father died when Anderson was fourteen so her family was forced to move into her paternal grandparent’s home while her mother worked to support the household financially (The Marian Anderson Award). Despite her tragedy, Anderson continued to peruse music. Anderson’s talent was soon recognized when her choirmaster, Alexander Robinson, advanced her to the adult choir at age fourteen. Anderson’s voice and impressive three octave range and incredible voice made her stand out as somebody of extraordinary talent (Anderson 26). Union Baptist Church, recognizing Marian’s talent, started “Marian Anderson's Future Fund” ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”).The church raised over five hundred dollars so Marian could receive voice lessons from the best voice coaches in Philadelphia and continue to perform (Anderson 29).

Road to Fame

Anderson often performed her school, the South Philadelphia High School for Girls. While there, her teacher Langdon Wilson arranged for Anderson to be heard by the famous and venerable voice master, Giuseppe Boghetti (“The Marian Anderson Award”). Boghetti, after a long day of work, was astounded and moved by Marian’s talent. He instantly chose her as his next project ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Following Marian’s partnership with Boghetti, Anderson won a number of singing contests which let her to an appearance in the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Following that performance, Anderson was prompted to go to Europe to make her debut at the Paris Opera House in 1935 (Anderson 138). Anderson was instantly a success and her Paris Opera House performance was followed by many performances including shows for King Gustav in Stockholm and King Christian in Copenhagen (Anderson 138). Following her return from Europe, Anderson was able to perform at Carnegie Hall, the White House and the Metropolitan Opera ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”).

Challenges

While Anderson’s life made great progress in the breaking down of sexual and racial prejudices, her musical career was not a walk in the park. Anderson was the victim of racism on numerous occasions. Aside from being denied admittance to a music school in Philadelphia due to her race,one of the most prominent examples of racism against Anderson happened after Anderson, now a famous musician, returned from a tour in Europe (“The Marian Anderson Award”). Sol Hurok was in the process of arranging for Anderson to sing at the Constitution Hall in Washington D.C., when Anderson was barred from the hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution because of her race (Anderson 187).Although the decision was highly frowned upon by the community, it was upheld. Luckily, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a former member of the Daughters of the American Revolution herself, stepped inand gave Anderson a more prestigious venue; a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of a crowd of 75,000 people ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Anderson, in protest to the injustice against her people and in collaboration with the NAACP, sang “America” followed by an encore of “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” (Hobson 446). Although Marian was frequently the victim of racial injustice, she was able to make the most of her challenges and work towards a world more accepting of African American women and black classical musicians.

Style

It is clear that Marian Anderson had an incredible and unique voice. Anderson’s voice spanned three octaves, an almost unheard of range by a woman. Her childhood choirmaster, recognizing this used her to sing every choral part from baritone to soprano (Anderson 27). In addition, Anderson’s voice, as described by Eugene Stinson of the Chicago Daily News as “…pure feeling that dictates the wonderful audible opulence of which her singing consists; the manner is dramatic but the spirit, is poetic and deep and fervently reflective. It has many sides and even includes a vigorous sense of humor; and always throughout its play, there is the seeking, yearning voice of her race” and by Glenn Dillard Gunn as “…velvet to the ears and its timbre does not change, even when the singer makes use of its full power. Her interpretive art is rooted in this vocal beauty, but includes all those resources of diction, phrasing and delicately wrought inflection that resolves all song- German, French, Finnish, Italian, American- into its emotional essentials. So it happened that thirty-eight hundred people thought and felt with the singer and entirely at her bidding for two hours and a half, and at 6 o’clock were still demanding encores” ("PressComments Praise Miss Marian Anderson").

Venues

After Marian’s career took off, her first big performance was with the New York Philharmonic at Lewisohn Stadium in 1925 (“The Marian Anderson Award”). With the encouragement of her voice coach, Marian decided to take a trip to Europe. While she was there, she had her first professional performance in London (“The Marian Anderson Award”). Although her first trip to Europe was unsuccessful, luckily Anderson was able to return in 1933(“The Marian Anderson Award”). The second trip to Europe was highly successful and led to her being critically acclaimed in Germany, Austria, England, the Soviet Union and many Scandinavian countries (“The Marian Anderson Award”). Following that performance, Anderson debuted in Carnegie Hall in 1929, despite the fact that she was hiding a broken ankle ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”).Marian’s most well-known performance was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on April 9th, 1939 following being denied her right to sing at Constitution Hall (Anderson 187). At the time, the crowd of 75,000 people was the largest crowd the Lincoln Memorial had ever seen ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Following the rebellious performance at the Lincoln Memorial, Anderson made her appearance as the first African American woman in the Metropolitan Opera in 1958 as well as the first African America to be invited to sing at the White House (“Voice of the Century”).

Recognition and Awards

Aside from being the first African American woman to perform at the Metropolitan Opera and at the White House, Marian Anderson was the recipient of a number of small and large awards and recognitions. In 1938, Anderson was presented with the NAACP's Spingarn Award for "that American Negro who has made the highest achievement in any honorable field of endeavor"("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). She was the recipient of Edward Bok Award for her service to the city of Philadelphia which she used to create an award for vocalists (Ross). The city of Philadelphia also awarded Anderson the Gimbel award and the Philadelphia Award (“The Marian Anderson Award”). In addition, she was named a delegate to the 13th General Assembly of the United Nations by President Eisenhower and was presented with more than two dozen honorary doctorates from universities nationwide("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”).She was even selected as one of the top ten living women of the 20thcentury by New York’s World fair, a group of the nation’s top editors, in 1965 ("Marian Anderson Makes Hall of Fame Honor.") She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson (Ross).In addition to receiving medals from a number of foreign countries, on her 75th birthday, U.S. Congress ordered a gold medal minted in honor (Ross).

Later Life

Due to a faltering pitch, unstable vibrato and breathing problems, Marian had to end her career as a singer in 1965 when she gave her final performance at Carnegie Hall in New York ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Following her final performance she and her husband, Orpheus Fisher,moved to a farm in Connecticut where she lived for most of her life following retirement. ("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Anderson died in Oregon due to congestive failure on April 8, 1993("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”). Her memorial service that June brought out over 2,000 people to pay tribute to her beautiful life("American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series”).

Literature About and By Anderson

A number of books have been written about Marian Anderson including The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman, The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial,and The Concert That Awakened AmericabyRaymond Arsenault and a number of children’s books. Anderson herself published an autobiography in 1956 titled My Lord, What a Morning. The book encompasses Marian’s childhood to her performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

Works Cited

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

Anderson, Marian. My Lord, What a Morning; an Autobiography. New York: Viking, 1956. Print.

Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. < memorial.shtml>.

Hobson, Janell. "Everybody's Protest Song: Music As Social Protest In The Performances Of Marian Anderson And Billie Holiday."Signs: Journal Of Women In Culture & Society 33.2 (2008): 443-448. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

"The Marian Anderson Award." The Marian Anderson Award. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.

"Marian Anderson Makes Hall of Fame Honor." New York Amsterdam News (1962-1993): 18. May 29 1965. ProQuest. Web. 5 Nov. 2014

Marian Anderson Sings at Lincoln Memorial. Perf. Marian Anderson.YouTube. YouTube, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

"Press CommentsPraise Miss Marian Anderson." The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967): 3. Feb 13 1937.ProQuest. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.

Ross, Alex. "Voice ofthe Century." New Yorker 85.9 (2009): 78-81. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.