Monday Musicale with the Maestro – June 8, 2020 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk: “Gala Cakewalk”

“Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born in 1829 in New Orleans. His father was a Jewish businessman, and his mother was a bi-racial Creole. He was a child prodigy, making his concert debut as a pianist at age 11. Growing up in New Orleans, he was exposed to many different kinds of music, including music from the plantations and salons, Caribbean music, and the European classics. He began to compose at the age of 12, and his music was a fusion of those elements.  At the age of 13, his father took him to Paris to study at the Conservatory. At 16 he played for Chopin, who said to him, “I predict you will become the king of pianists.” Shortly after this, Gottschalk’s highly original works for piano created a sensation in Paris. These pieces, with their exotic African and Latin rhythms, made him the equivalent of a rock star.

A typical example of this “melting pot” style is “Gala Cakewalk” (the finale from his Cakewalk Ballet), named for a walking dance that originated on slave plantations.  It was a competitive dance where people vied for the prize: a splendid cake. The Durham Symphony Orchestra and I have made it a specialty to play this kind of music, which Gunther Schuller termed “third-stream music”, a new genre located between jazz and classical music.

Originally written for solo piano, here is the orchestral version by Hershy Kay.”

William Henry Curry
Music Director, Durham Symphony Orchestra

Durham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro William Henry Curry
Gala Cakewalk (‘Cakewalk’ Ballet) – L.M.Gottschalk, arr.&orch. Hershy Kay
Hayti Heritage Center Concert,
Songs of the South: A Celebration of Southern Artistic Creativity, 
March 3, 2019