My Meeting with Leonard Slatkin!
(9/15/2019)


Maestro Slatkin graciously shared over an hour of his time with me on the day after he conducted the Houston Symphony Orchestra in their 2019 Opening Night Concert.

I enjoyed our conversation about music in general and specifically about the Felix Slatkin website.   Leonard also autographed my copies of his two books and two of his compact discs.



Here are a few of the things that I learned during our conversation:

TV and FILM APPEARANCES BY FELIX SLATKIN (and Eleanor Aller)
       (NOTE: If anyone has more information about these films, or knows of others not listed here, please email me!)

     - More Slatkin home movie footage is included in a BBC Four television program about the film music of Miklos Rozsa. 

     - The 20th Century Fox Orchestra was featured in a film short that was shown in theaters.

     - In another theatrical film short, Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances" from Prince Igor was performed by the orchestra and chorus.

     - In another theatrical film short, Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony was performed by the orchestra in period costume.

     - In the introductory section of the 1953 movie "How To Marry A Millionaire", Felix Slatkin is seen playing the violin, with Alfred Newman conducting "Street Scene."  
See a slide show of screen shots from this film.   Felix Slatkin is in the concertmaster chair.

     - The Hollywood String Quartet appeared in a special television program in the 1950's.

     - Felix and Eleanor were part of the orchestra for Danny Thomas' "Make Room For Daddy" TV program in the mid-Fifties.

     - Apparently no film exists of Felix Slatkin conducting an orchestra.


Although Felix and Eleanor were very familiar with the music of both Korngold and Delius, the Hollywood String Quartet did not perform any string quartets by those composers.

The Hollywood String Quartet did some radio broadcasts from the Los Angeles Museum of Art.    Transcription discs of those broadcasts may exist.   If you have any information on those recordings, please email me.

Composer Cindy McTee (Leonard's wife) has transcribed some of Felix Slatkin's orchestral arrangements so that the scores can be performed in concert.  As of 2020 she has reconstructed the arrangements for "Carmen's Hoedown", "Fisher's Hornpipe", and "Wistful Haven."
Leonard Slatkin and the Slatkin family were featured in an "MSM Icons" concert at the Manhattan School of Music on October 18, 2019.   Concert and ticket information
     The performers included Leonard Slatkin, Fred Zlotkin, Daniel Slatkin, Cindy McTee, Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, and Alec Baldwin (as narrator for "The Raven")

A complete video recording of the concert is available through a link on Leonard Slatkin's Facebook page.    Facebook link

Reviews of the Houston Symphony Orchestra concert conducted by Maestro Slatkin on 9/14/2019:

   Texas Classical Review

   Houston Chronicle


My other Leonard Slatkin links

Back to the Felix Slatkin Page