- Alexander Smallens
Alexander Smallens (
January 1 ,1889 –November 24 ,1972 ) was aRussia n-born American conductor andmusic director .Smallens was born in
Saint Petersburg ,Russia , andemigrate d to theUnited States , as a child, becoming an American citizen in 1919. He studied at the New York Institute of Musical Art until 1909, when he traveled toFrance to study at theConservatoire de Paris .Returning to the United States, Smallens was a conductor or music director at several American music organizations including the
Boston Opera Company (1911–1914), theAnna Pavlova Ballet Company (1917–1919), theChicago Opera Company (1919–1923), thePhiladelphia Civic Opera (1924–1931), thePhiladelphia Orchestra (1928–1934) and theRadio City Music Hall (1947–1950).In addition, Smallens worked briefly on Broadway, conducting the premieres of Thomson's "
Four Saints in Three Acts " in 1934 and Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess " the next year. (Both works wereopera s, not the musicals normally expected in Broadway theatres.) Smallens also conducted the "Porgy and Bess" revivals on Broadway in 1942 and 1953, as well as the famous 1952 world tour of the work, which culminated in that 1953 Broadway production.Smallens also conducted orchestras for music as part of several documentary films in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He retired from music in 1958 and moved to
Sicily . Smallens died inTucson, Arizona in 1972, where he is buried.External links
*ibdb name|id=94619|name=Alexander Smallens
*imdb name|id=0806548|name=Alexander Smallens
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7690437 Biographical synopsis] at FindAGrave.com
* [http://www.maurice-abravanel.com/smallens.html Short biography]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.