How Singer Marian Anderson Dominated the Global Stage
Notes from America with Kai Wright
WNYC Studios
4.4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2022
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Throughout her career, American contralto Marian Anderson performed a repertoire well ahead of her time.
At a time when the dominant art form was anti-Black minstrelsy, famed contralto Marian Anderson made a name for herself performing classical music. Host Kai Wright is joined by WQXR’s Terrance McKnight to discuss Anderson’s legacy, and her journey to global music stardom.
Companion listening for this episode:
Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art (12/19/2022)
What does a next level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Notes from America, I'm Kai Wright, and I've got a musical holiday gift for you. |
| 0:19.6 | You're listening to Trailblazing Singer Marion Anderson. |
| 0:23.7 | Last year, Sony Classical released a commemorative book about Anderson and her legacy, including |
| 0:29.6 | 15 compact discs. |
| 0:31.3 | Yes, that's those little round shiny things that came between cassettes and MP3s. |
| 0:36.6 | Anyway, the collection represents the entire catalog of Marion Anderson's RCA Victor recordings. |
| 0:43.2 | 42 years of music from one of the most consequential artists of the 20th century, |
| 0:49.1 | who is maybe starting to fade from our collective memory. |
| 0:52.8 | The collection prompted us to reflect on Anderson's life story when it came out, |
| 0:57.6 | and this holiday season, it feels like a nice moment to revisit that segment. |
| 1:03.0 | So, let's learn something about Marion Anderson and her music. |
| 1:07.6 | I called up one of the great voices of American radio Terrence McKnight, the evening host of WQXR |
| 1:13.2 | here in New York City, who is working on a book about black artists and the classical stage, |
| 1:18.4 | and he had a lot to say about Miss Anderson. Terrence, thanks for joining us. |
| 1:23.9 | Of course, thank you for having me. |
| 1:26.4 | So, if people know one big factoid about Marion Anderson, |
| 1:30.9 | it's that she held this famous controversial concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. |
| 1:37.7 | So, remind us of that story. What happened and why was it important historically? |
| 1:45.2 | In 1939, Marion Anderson sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. |
| 1:53.2 | 75,000 people came out to hear, saying, it was a radio broadcast. |
| 2:00.8 | She started by singing my country Tiz of the... |
| 2:22.8 | And it really shook the country, because for someone who, at this point in their career, |
... |
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