Andre Kostelanetz facts for kids
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Andre Kostelanetz (Russian: Абрам Наумович Костелянец; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a famous American conductor and arranger. Born in Russia, he became well-known for making orchestral music popular for many people. He was one of the main people who helped shape what we now call "easy listening" music.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Music Studies
Andre Kostelanetz was born Abram Naumovich Kostelyanetz in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His family was well-known. He started playing the piano when he was just four and a half years old. He studied music, including how to compose and arrange music for orchestras, at the Petrograd Conservatory of Music.
When he was 19, Andre joined a competition at the Grand Petrograd Opera Company. Even though he was the youngest person, he was chosen to be a chorus master and assistant conductor. He worked there until March 1922, when he left Russia after the Russian Revolution. He first stayed in Paris for a short time before moving to the United States.
Career in the United States
Andre arrived in the United States in 1922. In the 1920s, he began conducting concerts for radio. By the 1930s, he had his own weekly radio show on CBS called Andre Kostelanetz Presents.
Kostelanetz was famous for taking light classical music pieces and making them easier for large audiences to enjoy. He also created orchestral versions of popular songs and show tunes from Broadway. Throughout his career, he made many recordings, selling over 50 million copies! For many years, he led the New York Philharmonic in special "pops" concerts and recordings. For these, they were often called Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra.
Easy Listening and New Music
Andre Kostelanetz is perhaps best known today for his series of instrumental albums on Columbia Records. He started making this type of music in the 1940s, even before the "easy listening" genre officially existed. He continued making these albums until 1980.
He also asked many famous composers to write new music for him. Some of these works include Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait and William Schuman's New England Triptych. William Walton even dedicated his piece Capriccio burlesco to Kostelanetz. Andre conducted its first performance and made the first recording with the New York Philharmonic.
His very last concert was called A Night in Old Vienna. He performed it with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra on December 31, 1979.
Personal life
Andre Kostelanetz was married three times. His first wife was Sarah Loy, from 1923 to 1937. Then he married the famous singer Lily Pons in 1938, and they divorced in 1958. In 1960, he married Sara Gene Orcutt. He did not have any children from these marriages.
His brother, Boris Kostelanetz, became a well-known tax defense lawyer.
Death
After his last concert on December 31, 1979, Andre Kostelanetz went on vacation to Haiti. While there, he became sick with pneumonia and passed away on January 13, 1980, at the age of 78.
Discography (partial)
Andre Kostelanetz made many recordings throughout his career. Some of his albums, like New York Wonderland and Sounds of Love, even appeared on the Billboard 200 music charts. He recorded many popular classical pieces and show tunes, helping to bring orchestral music to a wider audience.
Images for kids
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Andre and Sara Kostelanetz (1963)
See also
In Spanish: Andre Kostelanetz para niños
