Howard Brockway

Howard A. Brockway (November 22, 1870 – February 20, 1951) was an American composer.

Brockway was born on November 22, 1870, in Brooklyn, New York. He spent five years in Berlin, studying composition under Otis Bardwell Boise and piano under Heinrich Barth. Afterwards he returned to the U.S. and worked as a piano teacher and composer at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, along with the Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School) and the Mannes College of Music, both in New York. Some of his pupils included Eugene Bonner, Eva Clare, and Anne Stratton.

Collaborating with the classically-trained singer Loraine Wyman, he carried out a six-week fieldwork journey in the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky to collect traditional folk songs from the people living there. Brockway recorded the tunes (and later wrote piano accompaniments), while Wyman recorded the words. They published their work in two volumes, which appeared in 1916 and 1920.

Brockway’s own compositions include a symphony, a suite, a symphonic ballad, a piano concerto, chamber-music works, choirs, and songs. He died on February 20, 1951, in New York.

From around 1911 to 1920, Brockway worked for the American Piano Corporation (Ampico) as a recording artist and piano roll editor. He recorded at least 155 works for the classical catalogue, and also numerous accompaniment and popular items. He was Ampico's most prolific artist. The 1925 Catalogue of Ampico Music states: "His interpretations of selections from the operas are of particular importance, as he has made a special study of that form of musical expression, and his illustrated lectures on this subject are well known." He recorded under a number of pseudonyms including Al Sterling and Andrei Kmita. The 1921 QRS Artecho listing of reproducing piano rolls shows Brockway as recording 22 works.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 22, 1870 (Brooklyn), Died February 20, 1951 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1944

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-30020 10-in. 4/25/1924 The barnyard song Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-47804 10-in. 10/4/1928 Sweet Kitty Clover Raymond Dixon [i.e., Lambert Murphy] Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor [Trial 1924-02-28-06] 10-in. 2/28/1924 Barnyard songs Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia HCO1156 10-in. approximately 1944 Frog went a-courtin' Robert Armbruster ; Nelson Eddy Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra arranger  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Brockway, Howard," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109516.

Brockway, Howard. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109516.

"Brockway, Howard." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109516

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