January 30, 2025: Jerome Kern: London and Broadway, 1904-1919
Class Preparation
Recommended Reading:
- Broadway: The American Musical: Read these sections for background on the development of American musicals in the 1910s and '20s:
- "Tin Pan Alley," pages 10-12
- "Victor Herbert and American Operetta," pages 40-42
- "Jerome Kern," pages 42-45, 57
- Stephen Sondheim, "Jerome Kern: The Simplicity of Artfulness" (an essay published in the liner notes for the recording The Land Where the Good Songs Go, PS Classics 2012) I found Sondheim's comments useful in understanding the distinctiveness of Kern's music.
Links & Playlists
Playlists:
- Jerome Kern: Broadway Songs, 1905-1919 (21 selections--including overtures and songs--from Kern shows during this period)
- 33 Performances of "They Didn't Believe Me" from The Girl from Utah (1914)
- The Land Where the Good Songs Go (2012 studio recording of a revue of 31 Kern songs from throughout his career. Loosely plotted, it features three couples, played by Rebecca Luker, Matthew Scott, Kate Baldwin, Philip Chaffin, Heidi Blickenstaff, and Graham Rowat.)
- Jerome Kern Overtures (1988 Recording of overtures to eight Kern shows in chronological order from 1915 to 1939. Played by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, John McGlinn, conductor.)
- Class 1 Videos