Grofe's "Tabloid Suite"

There aren't too many musical depictions of journalism, but you can hear one on this edition of Evening Music with David Garland. The Tabloid Suite: Four Pictures of a Modern Newspaper, was written by American composer Ferde Grofe back in 1932 and is set in four movements "Run of the News," "Sob Sister," "Comic Strip," and "Going to Press." The suite catches the hubbub and drama of a time when New York was home to dozens of newspapers. We hear a new recording of this news-worthy piece performed by the the 50-member Dutch Metropole Orchestra, a combination of big band and a string section which specializes in unusual early 20th Century American music.
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Ferde Grofe (1892-1972) was an arranger for the Paul Whiteman band, for which in 1924 he arranged Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," establishing his reputation. He was known as a skilled orchestrator and wrote frequently on American motifs, mostly notably in the "Grand Canyon Suite" of 1931. The "Tabloid Suite" arrived one year later, and shows him as a master of descriptive orchestration. Included are all manner of effects, from a typewriter in the opening movement to sirens in the final segment, yet all are employed with taste and a secure sense of musical architecture.

The "Tabloid Suite" also provides an entertaining and relevant look at the cultural landscape of the era. On January 26, 1933, the New York Times offered this brief account of the work's premiere: "Newspaper office color and atmosphere, recently introduced on stage, screen, and radio, were interpreted in terms of music last night at the premiere of Ferde Grofe's "Tabloid," a suite in four movements, in Carnegie Hall.

"Four typewriters, a revolver, a machine-gun, an emergency wagon siren, a policeman's whistle and the clack of telegraph keys were used for realism. The shots from the .32 coming out of the background of strident brasses and thumbing drums, had the audience jumping out of their ermine coats and dress suits."