Andre Kostelanetz Biography
22 December 1901, St. Petersburg, Russia, d. 13 January 1980, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A distinguished conductor, composer, arranger and pianist who was instrumental in bridging the divide between classical and popular music. The son of wealthy parents, Kostelanetz is said to have been able to play the piano by the age of five. While in his teens he studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, and then served as an assistant conductor for the Imperial Grand Opera in Petrograd, before emigrating to the USA with his family in 1922.
In America he worked in various capacities for a number of opera companies, and in 1928 became a naturalized American. In the same year he began his association with the Atlantic Broadcasting System (later CBS) which resulted in an enormously popular series of radio programmes which lasted from the early 30s through to the 50s. As a conductor, arranger and musical advisor, Kostelanetz presented popular music in a large orchestral setting, while tailoring serious works to suit the tastes of the ever-growing radio audiences. He also pioneered various significant advances in sound reproduction, and his recordings in the Columbia Records Masterworks series are superb examples of their kind. In 1938 Kostelanetz married the operatic soprano Lily Pons, and their concerts together were a major attraction. They also entertained US troops abroad during World War II. The marriage ended in divorce in 1958, and Pons died in 1976. Over the years, Kostelanetz served as guest conductor with various symphony orchestras, and in 1952 he began an association with the New York Philharmonic which lasted for a remarkable 27 seasons. In 1953 he inaugurated a renowned series of non-subscription concerts, and from 1963-79 served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Promenade Concerts. With the Promenades, Kostelanetz once again succeeded in his ambition to provide an entertaining and satisfying mix of elements from a wide range of the performing arts. He conducted the music for several films, and accompanied Perry Como on his 1946 US number 1 hit, "Prisoner Of Love". He made the US chart himself in 1955 with Meet André Kostelanetz, and released several excellent albums featuring the work of celebrated theatre composers such as Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Vincent Youmans. For many years his distinctive recording of "With A Song In My Heart" was used to introduce Family Favourites on BBC radio. Although two of his best-remembered compositions, "Moon Love" (written with Mack David and Mack Davis, and a US number 1 for Glenn Miller) and "On The Isle Of May" (lyric: Mack David), were adapted from Tchaikovsky themes, Kostelanetz was involved in the whole musical spectrum, including jazz. Among his lifetime honours was the US Army Asiatic-Pacific campaign ribbon which he received for his work in organizing and conducting bands consisting of military personnel in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa during World War II. He loved to travel to various parts of the world, and died from a heart attack while on holiday in Haiti.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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