埃德温·麦克亚瑟 Edwin McArthur

McArthur was born inDenver,Coloradoand, having begun work as a professional pianist, studied piano at theJuilliard Schooland moved toNew Yorkas a music teacher andorganist. He was married to his wife Blanche in 1930. He applied for a post to play for Flagstad soon after her debut at theMetropolitan Opera(which took place on 2 February 1935) and she chose him for her accompanist for her tour of that year. She encouraged him to study with her the repertoire of Scandinavian songs, especially those ofEdvard Grieg. It was his custom to play accompaniments from memory. He made his conducting debut during anAustraliantour with her, inSydneyin 1938. In 1941, he became possibly the first American-born conductor to lead a work at the Metropolitan Opera House, conducting Flagstad andLauritz MelchiorinTristan und Isolde.[1]His readings were considered lyrical and expressive, and Flagstad insisted that he should direct performances wherever she went. McArthur championed American songs, and Flagstad recorded two of his own -NightandWe Have Turned Again Home- in the early 1950s. He remained her conductor right through to her retirement in 1955, persuading her to make final appearances inWagnerianscenes at her farewell concert atCarnegie Hallon 20 March 1955, for the benefit of theSymphony of the Air. He wrote a memoir of his work with Flagstad, published in 1960. In 1946-47 he was connected with revivals ofSweetheartsandShow Boaton Broadway. He was also associated with the singersEzio PinzaandJohn Charles Thomas. He was for 23 years music director of theSt. LouisMunicipal Opera. He conducted theHarrisburg(Pa.) Symphony 1950-1974, and from 1967 to 1972 he was director of theEastman School of Musicopera department. In 1976 he conducted Wagner'sDie Walküreat theTeatro di San CarloinNaples. He coached privately in later years;Hildegard Behrensstudied with him before singing Brünnhilde in Wagner'sRingcycle. Edwin McArthur died in 1987, survived by his wife. His rumoured identity asCosmé McMoon, the accompanist forFlorence Foster Jenkins, was revealed in a 1991 radio interview.This gossip has been disproved by a number of sources, including Cosmé McMoon's living family and the New York Times's obituaries for both men.