Archive: John Philip Sousa, Mar.6, 1932
deb...@comcast.net
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Associated Press
John Philip Sousa, the legedary leader of 'The President's Own' U.S.
Marine Band, rests his arm on a stand in this undated painting.
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EADING, Pa., Sunday, March 6.--John Philip Sousa, famous American band
conductor and march king of a generation ago, died unexpectedly early
this morning in his room in the Abraham Lincoln Hotel from an attack of
heart disease.
He came to Reading to lead the local Ringgold Band today in its 80th
Anniversary concert as its guest conductor. He rehearsed the band
yesterday afternoon and at that time showed no signs of illness. Last
night he attended a civic dinner at the hotel in his honor at which 100
leading citizens and all the members of the Lincoln Band were present.
In response to laudatory addresses he made a brief speech, asking to be
excused from saying more in order that he might save his strength for
the concert ahead of him. He told two or three funny stories,
reminiscences of his long career, and sat down amid great applause.
On Nov. 6, his seventy-seventh birthday, Mr. Sousa stood before the WJZ
microphone, led a large ... in "The Stars and Stripes Forever" on a
nation-wide network, cut a birthday cake given by five noted conductors
and told the radio audience he wanted to live to be 100 so that he
could write many more marches.
On Feb. 11 he was the guest of honor at a dinner of the American Legion
Post of the New York Athletic Club given at the club. Five hundred
Legion members applauded as Mr. Sousa received an honorary American
Legion citation as the oldest and most distinguished Legionnaire.
On Feb. 6 Representative Norton, Democrat, of Nebraska, introduced a
Congressional resolution to designate "The Stars and Stripes Forever"
as the national march.
Conductor Since 1878
John Philip Sousa had been a conductor since 1878 and had been a
musician since about 1861. The Famous Sousa Band, his own organization,
has been in existence for nearly forty years and for the twenty years
immediately preceding he was the conductor of the Marine Band attached
to the President's household.
Throughout his career as a conductor he had also been a composer, and
it is an open question which of his two activities brought him the
greater renown. It would be difficult to segregate the two, however,
for his marches, his band and his personality served as a single unit
in creating his unique reputation.
Mr. Sousa was born in Washington in 1854. The fact that his father was
a musician and a member of the Marine Band which his son was later to
lead, combined with the marital spirit of Civil War days of his youth
in Washington, served to give his talent the bent which made him the
"march king" to all the world for a quarter of a century.
His musical education began at 7. He had already made up his mind that
he wanted to be a musician, and four years later he won all the medals
at the conservatory, the beginning of his collection of decorations,
which is said to be the largest in his field in the world. That same
year he became a violin soloist, and two years later his father
enrolled him as an apprentice with the Marine Band.
After several years with that organization he left it to join a
theatrical orchestra, and early in this period of his career he had an
opportunity to substitute for the conductor. He was a conductor from
that day on, and in 1880 he was appointed to head the Marine Band at
the White House. Three years earlier, at 23, he had been first
violinist in the orchestra conducted by Jacques Offenbach during the
latter's tour of this country.
His service at the White House covered the terms of Presidents Hayes,
Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland and Harrison. Many of his most famous
musical works were composed during this period. One of these, "The
Washington Post March," was adopted by many dancing masters for use in
teaching the two-step, which was just being introduced at the time. He
sold that composition, which is still widely played, for $35.
Organized Band in 1892
Mr. Sousa organized his own band in 1892. It was not long before he
attained world fame. It has been estimated that the band covered an
aggregate itinerary of a million and a quarter miles, visiting nearly
every city in this country, a great many in Europe and others in all
parts of the world. The wide travels of the band throughout the United
States on the semi-annual tours which were its customary program are
considered to have contributed toward the furtherance of musical
education in the nation.
At the Paris Exposition in 1900 Sousa's Band represented the United
States as the official band from this country and was warmly acclaimed.
After the exposition the band toured Europe, being the first musical
organization from this country in a quarter of a century to undertake a
tour of the Continent. Enthusiastic appearances were made in France,
Germany, Belgium and Holland.
Five tours of Europe were made by Sousa's Band. Appearances by royal
command were made before Queen Victoria and later before King Edward,
the first at Sandringham and the second at Windsor.
Started on Tour of World
Mr. Sousa started out with his band in 1910 on a world tour which
occupied fourteen months, concluding with a concert in New York. The
leader and his 100 musicians covered 60,000 miles, visiting Europe,
Africa, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Honolulu and the Fiji
Islands. Four years later they remained the entire season at the
Hippodrome here, playing to 60,000 persons each week.
After having repeatedly refused to conduct his band over the radio, Mr.
Sousa was at last persuaded to lead a selected group of fifty-two of
his 100 musicians in a series of one- hour concerts, largely of his own
compositions, in 1929. At the time it was reported he was receiving
"more than $50,000" for his fee.
The famous bandmaster had been fearful that he would not "go over" on
the radio because of a lack of personal contact with his audience, but
within a few hours of his initial appearance on May 6, 1929, he was
overwhelmed with congratulatory messages, including one from Commander
Richard E. Byrd at Little America, in the Antarctic Region.
Wrote Welsh Fusiliers March
Mr. Sousa led the Marine Band in a new composition, the "Royal Welsh
Fusiliers March," at the dinner of the Gridiron Club in Washington on
April 26, 1930, before President Hoover and a distinguished audience.
The march was composed in honor of the cooperation of the famous Welsh
regiment with the American marines in the relief of Tientsin in the
Boxer uprising. He later conducted the Fusiliers' own band in the march
and was entertained at their barracks in London.
In January, 1931, Mr. Sousa revealed that he was setting Edgar Allan
Poe's poem "Annabel Lee" to music. His last public appearance in this
city was on April 20, 1931, when he conducted the orchestra in "The
Stars and Stripes Forever" at the annual Lambs Gambol at the
Metropolitan Opera House.
One thing on which Mr. Sousa prided himself was his service record, it
being his boast that he had seen service with the army, the navy and
the Marine Corps. The latter was represented by his service at the head
of the White House Band. During the Spanish- American War he served as
musical director for the Sixth Army Corps. In the World War he
organized bands at the Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Ill.
Composed Many Stirring Marches
Mr. Sousa composed more than 300 musical works, about a third of which
were stirring marches. "The Stars and Stripes Forever," composed on the
homeward voyage after a tour of Europe, has been frequently reported to
have been his own favorite. Others which have enjoyed wide popularity
include "Semper Fidelis," "The High School Cadets," "King Cotton," "El
Capitan," "Liberty Bell," "Manhattan Beach," "The Fairest of the Fair,"
"The Invincible Eagle" and "The Thunderer."
His musical works also included ten operas and a number of suites, as
well as "The Last Crusade," for orchestra, choir and organ, frequently
considered his major work. He was also the author of several novels, as
well as verses and magazine articles, and a compiler of volumes of
musical pieces.
Mr. Sousa was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, a Mason, and a
member of the Society of Authors and Composers. His clubs included the
Salmagundi, Players, Musicians, New York Athletic, Lambs, Army and Navy
and the Gridiron of Washington. He was an enthusiastic trapshooter, and
was also interested in horseback riding and boxing.