 Hi-Fi, Middle Brow? Frederick Fennell, Mercury Records, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble From 1952 to 1962Reed Chamberlin SAGE Open, 2020, vol. 10, issue 4, 2158244020954926 Abstract: Frederick Fennell, founder of the internationally acclaimed Eastman Wind Ensemble (EWE), is considered by many to be the catalyst for the modern wind-band movement, often credited with revolutionizing thought and practice within the discipline. While this perception remains valid, evidence suggests that Fennell was much less serious (or “high-brow†) than many believe. Derived from original research in the Fennell Archive at the Eastman School of Music, this article seeks to highlight tensions between Fennell’s desire to record serious wind-band music and the demands of Mercury Records (EWE record label, 1952–1964) to record populist repertoire. Fennell’s archival material suggests that his philosophy was directly influenced by Mercury’s bottom line with the objective of selling records to the masses. Surprisingly, this synthesized a dynamic approach to programming for Fennell and the EWE—one that remains a tradition to this day. The influence of recorded media’s populist objective fused an approach for Fennell that is much more “middle-brow†than many may have believed. Keywords: Wind Ensemble; Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell; Reed Chamberlin; Donald Hunsberger; Mark Scatterday; Howard Hanson; Mercury living presence series; middle brow (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:10:y:2020:i:4:p:2158244020954926 Access Statistics for this article More articles in SAGE Open |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.