On Key

Comments (0) By Mary Beth Crain Thursday, Jan 5 2012

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First Baptist Church

209 N. Louise St.
Glendale, CA 91206

Category: Galleries

Region: Glendale

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Leroy Anderson, that inveterate composer of oh-so-distinct American music such as Sleigh Ride and The Syncopated Clock, made his indelible mark on the culture in 1950, when he composed The Typewriter, or, as it has come to be known, Concerto for Typewriter With Orchestra. This supremely eccentric work features a soloist, usually in staid concert attire, sitting primly at the keyboard — i.e., a manual typewriter. Playing the typewriter, however, isn't as easy as it sounds, as conductor Leonard Slatkin, a longtime fan of Anderson's who’s performed as typewriter soloist in the piece, can attest. "You have to tamp down all the middle keys so that only the two outside ones work. And you have to start with your right hand in order to be able to hit the carriage return where Anderson specifies." This week, at the Glendale Philharmonic Holiday Concert and Birthday Party, the Phil's secretary performs The Typewriterwith the orchestra and conductor Mikael Avetisyan, part of a jolly program that includes comedian Emo Philips narrating Peter and the Wolfand cellist Ruslan Biryukov performing Haydn's Cello Concerto in D major. Birthday cake for all supplied by Billy's Deli.
Sun., Jan. 8, 4 p.m., 2012