John Andrew Van Broekhoven, composer, music critic, music educator, writer—and important promoter and pioneer of American symphonic music—was born in Beek, Netherlands, on March 23, 1852. As was not unusual at the time, there has been some confusion about the year of his birth. His birth certificate, marriage license and death certificate give 1852, but an important biographical note by Edward Ellsworth Hipsher¹ gives 1856, which is also the year suggested by the passenger list from 1863 when John, together with his father, Jan Andreas (1808-ca.1888), his mother, Anna Marie Lemmens (1808-1889) and three brothers—Peter Jacob (1839-1904), Christian Joseph (1841-1912), and Franz (1843-?)—sailed from Antwerp to the United States on the ship Wilhelmine, arriving at New York on July 7, 1863. The list gives the age of 7 for John Andrew which would suggest the year 1856 for his birth. His obituary in the New York Times on August 6, 1930 states that he was in his seventy-first year when he died. That would suggest 1859 for his birth! Nonetheless, given the birth certificate and that fact that John Andrew always gave his birth year as 1852, that year certainly is correct.

All the Broekhovens were musicians and it was in his family that John Andrew received his first—and perhaps only—musical education. After arriving in the United States, the family split up: father and mother, together with John Andrew, settled in Cincinnati, Ohio (by at least 1870 when John Sr. is listed in the City Directory as a "crimper" and John Jr. as a "musician"). Christian Joseph settled in New Orleans, where he and his sons played in the orchestra of Loew's Theatre. Peter Jacob and his family eventually settled in Columbus, Ohio where Peter Jacob worked as a Saloon Keeper (1880 U.S. Federal Census). Franz apparently took off on his own: his whereabouts, place and year of death are unknown.

John Andrew became a U.S. citizen on August 18, 1874.² Starting in 1876 he appeared in the Cincinnati City Directory as a "music teacher". But by 1887 he was "Professor, College of Music of Cincinnati".

Prior to that he was already becoming known as a composer. In 1877, a Fest-Ouverture and Festspiel by Broekhoven were performed in Cincinnati.³ A song, The Star's Betrayal (Heimliche liebe) was published in 1879. In 1879 he also composed a Grand March "Alleluia" for a concert of the Allemania Society.⁴

The director of the Cincinnati College from 1878-1879 was the very important conductor, Theodore Thomas. He arranged a series of concerts in which Broekhoven performed viola together with Thomas, Charles Baetens and others (for example, Beethoven's Quintet in C, op. 29, performed by "Jacobsohn, Thomas, Baetens, Broekhoven, and Hartdegen" on January 30, 1879).⁵

Hipsher mentions that in 1889 Broekhoven founded in Cincinnati a symphony orchestra, but already, in 1879, he appears in the Westliche Blätter as conducting the "Cincinnate Orchester".⁶

In April of 1880 Broekhoven joined his signature to those of other orchestra members defending Thomas in response to an article, "Out of Tune" in The Cincinnati Daily Star which alleged dissatisfaction with Thomas's treatment of orchestra personnel.⁷
 
That same month he participated in a chamber concert at St. Matthew's Protestant Episopal Church in Mt. Lookout.⁸

In December of 1884 Broekhoven directed a Requiem (a pastiche of music by Schmidt, Mozart and Rossini).⁹

The Suite Creole

In 1886 Broekhoven premiered his Suite Creole at the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) convention in Boston. This work deserves credit for being an early experiment in the use of African American music in a symphonic composition—the kind of experiment that would culminate in the works of Antonin Dvorak, William Grant Still, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and others many years later. Broekhoven's contribution was already noted by Henry Edward Krehbiel in 1913:

Mr. Van Broekhoven enjoys the distinction, which is especially deserving of mention here, of being the first composer to make use of American creole melodies in a composition for orchestra. This is a "Creole Suite," which he composed at the request of the present writer for a reception given by the Musical Club of Cincinnati on the occasion of one of the May festivals a score of years ago. The suite was played at the Chicago World's Fair in 1892 [sic] and was a part of Sousa's repertory on one of his round the world trips. Mr. Broekhoven is a Hollander by birth but came to the United States with his father's family as a boy and settled in Cincinnati. He is now a resident of New York, where he teaches singing and composition. He is also conductor of the Commonwealth Orchestra. His practical experience in music embraces orchestral and ensemble playing (viola), orchestral and choral conducting, composing, teaching and criticism. Among his books are a "System of Harmony" and "The True Method of Tone Production".¹⁰

The significance of Broekhoven's Suite was affirmed even earlier in the prestigious Grove's Dictionary:

The peculiarities of negro music have occasionally been introduced into works of higher artistic aim. Gottschalk used some of the creole music as subjects for free treatment on the pianoforte; J. A. Broekhoven, of Cincinnati, wrote a suite for orchestra on creole tunes; and Dvorak, during his residence in America, adopted some of the musical idioms of the negro music into his 'New World' Symphony and two chamber compositions.¹¹

Krehbiel (1854-1923) was a music critic for the Cincinnati Gazette between 1874 and 1880. He published a book, Afro-American Folksongs: A Study in Racial and National Music (New York: Schirmer, 1914), dedicated to Horatio Parker, and for which Broekhoven arranged two Creole songs for voice and piano. But, much earlier than that, in 1886 Broekhoven had arranged these songs for an article by George W. Cable in the Century Magazine,¹² It was clearly from his work with Cable and Krehbiel that Broekhoven derived the Creole melodies that were the basis of the music in his Creole Suite.

The first movement of the Suite is titled "Calinda", a lively dance originally associated with voodoo and, for a while, banned in St. Louis. In it Broekhoven quotes two Creole songs: "Caroline" ("One, Two, Three, dear Caroline, just like that!") and "Aurore Bradaire" ("Aurore Bradaire, pretty little girl"). The second movement, "Theme and Variations", is based on "Lolotte", a melancholy lullaby ("Poor little Lolotte"). "Lolotte" had already been used in 1846 by Louis Moreau Gottschalk in his "La Savane, Ballade Créole" for piano, op. 3 which Broekhoven certainly knew. The third movement, "Humoresque" was based on  a "Quill Tune" that appeared in Cable's article but which had been given to Krehbiel by a "gentleman from from Alabama."¹³ That Broekhoven called this movement "Humoresque" makes sense because, according to Cable, the dance tunes were usually "satirical." The "quills" were a Pan's-pipe made of three reeds.

And one may even at this day hear the black lad, sauntering home at sunset behind a few cows that he has found near the edge of the cane-brake whence he has also cut his three quills, blowing and hooting, over and over, —But to show how far the art of playing the "quills" could be carried, if we are not going too much aside, see this quill tune, given me by Mr. Krehbiel, musical critic of the New York Tribune, and got by him from a gentleman who heard it in Alabama."¹⁴

The World's Columbian Exposition

The Chicago Exposition, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World, was an important step forward in American economic, scientific and cultural confidence and self-esteem. And music was to be a part of this. On June 30, 1892 a call went out to American composers for scores to be performed at the Exposition.

The Bureau of Music, under date of June 30, 1892, issued the following:

            "The Musical Director desires to include in the programmes of Exposition concerts representative choral, orchestral and chamber works by native American composers. All scores received by the Bureau of Music before October 15, 1892, will be submitted to a committee, whose names are shortly to be announced. The favorable recommendation of this committee will be final and insure performance. Both printed and manuscript music may be sent."

 

Committee:

Camille Saint-Saens, Paris, France.

Dr. A.C. Mackenzie, London, England

Asger Hamerik, Baltimore, Md.

Carl Zerrahn, Boston, Mass.

B. J. Lang, Boston, Mass.

Wm. L. Tomlins, Chicago, Ill.

Theodore Thomas, Chicago Ill.

The examining committee recommended the following works:

"Suite Creole" for orchestra, John A. Broekhoven

Festival March for orchestra, Ad. M. Foerster

"Resouvenir du Ballet", "The Satyr's Reveille", Lucius Hosmer.

Overture, "Witichis", Margaret R. Lang.

Cantata, "Divine Love", C. B. Rutenber

Concert Overture, Herman Wetzler.

Cantata, "Dream Pictures", George E. Whiting.¹⁵

Apart from these, other works by Edward MacDowell, George Chadwick, Amy Beach and others were performed.

The concerts at the Exposition were arranged by Theodore Thomas. The Inaugural Concert took place on May 2, 1893. Broekhoven's Suite Creole was performed at the concert on August 4th.¹⁶

A decidedly racist review in the American Art Journal took issue with the Suite Creole:

The so-called "Suite Creole" by Mr. Broeckhoven [sic], of Cincinnati, should have no place upon the program of a serious concert. The themes are trite and too frequently repeated, and the orchestration is bizarre. The suite seemed to me to represent negro jollification rather than Creole character. The grotesque humor and suppressed pathos of slave life are sufficiently characteristic to form the burden of songs and symphonies; but I for one do not like to be dragged into the midst of a semi-heathenish barbecue and pelted with melon rinds. (American Art Journal [1893])¹⁷

Music historian E. David Bomberger suggests: "The work used African American themes in a manner that would become widely accepted under the influence of Dvorak just a few years later but was still difficult for some listeners to accept."¹⁸ And that was certainly the case. When we hear the Suite Creole today it reminds of much later works of musical Americana, such as those by Aaron Copland. But in 1893 it was unprecedented. The reviewer, who liked Lang's "Witichis", possibly had a German musical bias. But a Beethovenian or Brahmsian treatment of the material would have been totally inappropriate. Are the themes trite? If one is expecting a German Romantic theme, then, yes. They're folk tunes and they convey the freshness of Creole life in the 19th century. Are they "too frequently repeated"? According to 19th century German classical standards, yes. But now, after musical nationalism in the 19th century, not to mention minimalism in the 20th century, we realize that musical meaning can be conveyed in ways other than German thematic and harmonic development. Folk music, by nature, is repetitious. Broekhoven's retaining that characteristic serves to give the Suite an authentic American down-to-earth sound. And so, despite the opinion of the critic for the American Art Journal, audiences loved Broekhoven's Suite and John Phillip Sousa went so far as to perform a band arrangement of it on his tours.

In 1917 the following appeared in the Musical Observer:

J. Van Broekhoven, the valued contributor to the Musical Observer, was honored some months ago in an unusual way in Chicago. His "Suite Creole" for orchestra was performed by the J. Lewis Browne Symphony Orchestra at each of the three concerts given by this orchestra at the Medinah Temple last November. The three movements of the Suite were placed at the beginning, the middle, and the end of each of the three programs. Dr. Lewis Browne states that he never experienced so favorable a reception of any orchestral work by musicians and public as was tendered Mr. Van Broekhoven's Suite. This composition was featured by Sousa in his trip around the world and was everywhere received with equal favor. The Suite was selected by the judges of the World's Fair as a distinct American style of composition.¹⁹ 

When Broekhoven published the Suite with J. Fischer and Company in 1929, it was likewise well-received:

A suite in three well-contrasted parts, and of medium difficulty. The first part, "Calinda" is a rhythmic two form movement. A syncopated character continues throughout with variety being given by fine use of tone color. The second movement "Theme and Variations" is in pleasing variety to the first. It is a clear delightful use of variations on a given theme and is an acceptable contribution to high school orchestra music. The third part is rhythmic and strong. Its title "Humoresque" characterizes it well.²⁰

The Suite Creole was given its modern premiere on June 7, 2018 in a performance by the California State University San Bernardino Chamber Orchestra. It was enjoyed both by performers (who found it "fun to play") and audience.

In short, this work deserves to be known not only for its historical importance but also for the nostalgic truly "American sound" of the 1880s that it captures.

Click to listen to the Creole Suite as performed by the CSUSB Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Lucy Lewis:

  I. Calinda
 II. Theme and Variations
III. Humoresque

 If you would like to follow the score while listening, download it to your desktop before playing the clips:

    Suite Creole (piano score).

Marriage, The Columbia Overture

On June 30, 1890 Broekhoven and Jessie G. Baldwin (1865-1961) obtained a marriage license before judge David R. Gilbert in Warren, Ohio. On the same day they were married at Christ Church in Warren by the Rector, C. W. Hollister.²¹

Jessie Baldwin was a talented violinist who had studied with Henry Schradieck, pupil of Ferdinand David. Schradieck taught with Broekhoven at the College of Music of Cincinnati and was, for a time, concertmaster of the Thomas Orchestra. In 1902 Jessie Baldwin was engaged to teach violin at the Ohio Conservatory of Music.²² This was a newly founded institution, directed by Charles A. Graninger, and located at Fourth and Lawrence streets. Graninger also secured Broekhoven to be on the faculty.²³ Broekhoven taught an opera chorus class and, apparently, also Music History (he was at this time researching music of the ancient Greeks).²⁴ But by now Broekhoven had settled on opera as his principal area of interest; so much so, that by 1904 he was advertising: "The Broekhoven School of Opera:  A Practical Training School in all Branches Pertaining to Opera, Vocal, Instrumental, Composition."²⁵

Around the same time Jessie organized the Ladies' Cremona Orchestra at a time when it was unheard of for women to perform in major symphony orchestras. There are numerous reviews from the Ladies' tours throughout the Midwest and East Coast that attest to the high quality of their performances:

This orchestra consists of young ladies, each one of whom is an artist. Their director, Mrs. Jessie Baldwin-Broekhoven, is a violin soloist of rare talent and skill, and an able leader of an orchestra.

The Cincinnati Ladies' Cremona Orchestra gave a very enjoyable and well balanced concert on Friday evening at the assembly hall of the Woman's Club. The large and cultured audience gave an enthusiastic demonstration of its appreciation... Mrs. Jessie Baldwin-Broekhoven, the director, may well feel proud of her achievement with these young ladies.²⁶

In 1899, the year, according to Hipsher, that Broekhoven resigned from the Cincinnati College of Music, he completed his Columbia: An overture, dedicated to a people which through simplicity and strength gained its freedom and liberty. He dedicated it to Theodore Thomas who sent a warm letter of thanks:

Chicago, February 12th, [18]99.

 

My Dear Mr. Broekhoven—

 

I received the score and parts of your overture, and a few days later your letter of February 4th. I thank you heartily for your expression and sentiments contained in this letter.

 

In accepting the dedication of your work, I can not help feeling the compliment, comming [sic] from a musician of your aimes [sic].

 

I have been prevented from acknowledging your letter sooner for reasons which I can explain better to you when we meet than by letter—not to speak of sickness and frozen water-pipes in the house.

 

I expect to be in Cincinnati for a day during March.

 

Yours very truly,

Theodore Thomas.²⁷

A note at the beginning of the printed score reveals how much Broekhoven was aiming towards promoting American music with patriotism supported by religious fervor:

        The brilliant success of "The World's Columbian Exposition" at Chicago, in 1893, where the nations and tribes of the earth displayed the treasures of their Science, Art and Religion, may be considered the auspicious moment from which the American People date the consciousness of a new patriotism.
        This consciousness of a National Patriotism has already produced gratifying results in various ways. And on whom could it have a greater effect and influence than on the American Artist? The present composition owes its existence to this influence. In this overture—"Columbia"—the composer aimed to delineate, in tones, an ideal representation, an epitome of a nation's struggles, its strength, spirituality and final triumph.

What tongue of joy e'er woke such prayer
As bursts in oppression there?
What arm of strength e'er wrought such power
As waits to crown that feeble hour?
    There into life an infant empire springs!
There falls the iron from the soul!
There Liberty's young accents roll.
    Up to the King of Kings!

Very different from the Suite Creole, the Columbia Overture is written in a bombastic, very German (Brahmsian/Wagnerian) Romantic style. It features the theme of the "Old 100th" ("Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow") which is stated triumphantly either by a unison chorus or instrumentally (Broekhoven offers two options) at the very end. The unabashed patriotic/religious fervor may seem naïve (and "over the top") to a modern audience, but it captures the spirit in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Nonetheless, apparently Maestro Thomas was not impressed—he never performed it.

Click to listen to a synthesized performance of the overture (the version with the instrumental finale):

Columbia: An Overture.

If you would like to follow the score while listening, first download it to your desktop:

Columbia Overture (score).

Move to New York, Divorce
Broekhoven had been in touch with the musical scene in New York at least from 1901 when he stopped in at the offices of The Musical Courier.²⁸ But according to Hipsher it was in 1905 that Broekhoven "moved to New York to give his time to composition and the teaching of singing."²⁹ This is confirmed by an ad in the New-York Tribune on September 17th of that year:

Similar ads would continue to be posted in New York papers over the next several years. Broekhoven lived and taught in Manhattan through the 1920s.

The ad mentions his New Vocal Method. During his time in Cincinnati Broekhoven produced several works on music theory. And Jessie Baldwin produced a book on playing the player piano! These are listed among the Published Books below.

Jessie continued to direct her Cremona Ladies' Orchestra which performed at the Wanamaker Auditorium in February of 1907.³⁰ The same year Broekhoven published The True Method of Tone Production, an important work on singing that, due to its historical importance, was reprinted in 2015. It was reviewed by W. J. Henderson in The New Music Review in March of 1908 (vol. 7, no. 76, pp. 221-222). Earlier, in December of 1907 Broekhoven was invited by the National Association of Teachers of Singing to present his theories at a meeting in Steinway Hall:

    Hermann Klein, chairman of the meeting, introduced Mr. van Broekhoven as "a discoverer." The speaker of the evening, a native of Holland, now residing in New York, looks like a scientific man. The lines in his physiognomy indicate deep thought and the patience that belongs to men of his caliber. Mr. van Broekhoven did not have a paper prepared, but talked in a conversational manner about his ideas, which were more or less of a revolutionary character. The speaker referred to the old Italian singing masters whose method the world has accepted as the best. Mr. van Broekhoven did not hesitate to combat the old methods. He admitted that the old masters did wonders with the amount of light they had, but he claimed that the art of teaching singing, of producing pure tone, would be simplified by his discoveries, provided, of course, that his discoveries were recognized and adopted. Mr. van Broekhoven gave his ideas about the vocal chords, the false vocal chords, the so-called small pockets that lie near the vocal chords, the larynx and the laryngoscope, which the late Manuel Garcia invented in 1854.
    A general discussion followed Mr. van Broekhoven's address. Naturally, there was opposition to his theories. Mr. Klein, who is himself a pupil and exponent of the late Manuel Garcia, said that in the ten years of his association with Garcia in London he rarely heard that geat singing master use a technical or scientific word in this teaching. Mr. Klein further declared that if any of the pupils now studying with him in New York needed to have their larynx examined, he would send them to a physician, a specialist.
    The next member to take the floor, Max Knitel-Treumann, told Mr. van Broekhoven in plain words that his theories were wrong, and then both gentlemen argued a few points, which infused a little humor into the controversy. Both gave some illustrations of tone production, to the delight of their colleagues.
    Arthur de Guichard, the secretary of the executive board, declared in his remarks that singers cannot be trained by scientific logic. Dr. de Guichard is a medical doctor as well as a teacher of singing. As a pupil and disciple of the late Francesco Lamperti, he believes that nothing is better than the old, natural Italian method of bel canto.
    Isidore Luckstone, Victor Harris and Anna E. Ziegler were the other members who joined in the debate. . . ³¹

The article continues—and the same debate continues to the present day!

On November 14, 1912 Jessie filed a petition for divorce in the Court of Insolvency of Hamilton County, Ohio, on the grounds of "gross neglect of duty." This is understandable, given that, while she was back in Ohio, John was in New York pursuing his professional interests. By 1920 Jessie was living with her elderly mother and working as an "insurance agent" in Cincinnati. She spent her final days at the Bethesda Home for the Aged where she died, after a fall, at the age of 96, on November 26, 1961. Her "Musical Scrapbook" is housed at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

The Musical Observer

The Musical Observer was published monthly in New York between 1907 and 1931 and edited by Gustav Saenger, and was the official organ of the New York State Music Teachers' Association from January 1909 to June 1910. Broekhoven became a regular contributor and wrote numerous articles for the Observer, the list of which is still being compiled.

In the November 1908 issue, the following appeared:

Special Announcement.

With the present issue "THE MUSICAL OBSERVER" has added another new department to its reading columns, this time in shape of "THE VOCAL WORLD" devoted to the interests of singers and singing teachers.
   Aside from the increase in the size of the paper itself and the wider circle of readers it will now appeal to, this announcement bears with it additional weight when considering that the new department has been taken in charge by Mr. J. van Broekhoven widely known as one of our best-known teachers and writers, and acknowledged throughout the United States as one of the ablest authorities on vocal art.
   Mr. van Broekhoven will have much to offer and his initial contributions may be regarded as a fair sample of his earnest endeavors to make "THE VOCAL WORLD" not only an addition but one of the most important departments of our paper.
. . . . . .

The Editor.³²

"The Vocal World" appeared in every subsequent issue, each time announced by this whimsical heading.


For the debut of "The Vocal World", Broekhoven penned four articles: "To the Vocal Profession" (p. 16), "On the Delivery of the Recitative" (pp. 16-17), "Vocal Counterpoints" (pp. 17-18), and "Vocal Generalities" (p. 18). He quickly made a name for himself as one of the leading experts on opera, voice and vocal pedagogy in New York.

Last years and death

Broekhoven continued to teach and write articles for the Observer into the 1920s. With failing health, shortly before his death he returned to Ohio, but this time to Columbus, where he spent his final days in the company of his nieces and nephews (children of his brother, Peter Jacob):  Mary (1872-1961), John Jacob (1873-1942), Anna (1877-1964) and Joseph Herman (1880-1951). They also were musicians who ran the Broekhoven School of Music at 1077 Neil Avenue for many years.

John Andrew Broekhoven died on August 4, 1930. The cause of death given on his death certificate was "senility". He was buried in the family plot in Mount Calvary Cemetery.

A letter of condolence, dated December 9, 1930, was sent to John Jacob Broekhoven from the prestigious Manhattan Lawyer, Hartwell Cabell in which he asked what to do with a Broekhoven manuscript in his possession ("the synopsis and first chapters of a book on the history and development of music, on which he devoted a great many years of work").³³

John responded on stationery from the Musician's Supply (Lancaster, Ohio):

January 19, 1931

Dear Mr. Cabell:

    We were indeed glad to hear from you, as dear Uncle often referred to you as his very best friend and this was always expressed with the deepest sentiment.
    Uncle seemed to improve from day to day even though he had his teeth extracted a short time after we arrived home; however, on the tenth day after our arrival we were all down town and on getting out of the car Uncle was seized with a chill, we were parked in front of Dr. Gardner's office, so took him in said office where he had a collapse; however, after Dr. Gardner worked with him a few hours Dr. said that he would be alright [sic] and with all of our assistance he was able to get to the car again and we were soon home. Uncle told us the next day that the attack was of the same nature as he had before in the subway in N.Y. but he said he fainted again after he had been taken to his home. Uncle's blood-pressure was very low and although we had been giving him three eggs between meals, the Dr. Gardner and also our family Dr. Jackson said he must have six raw eggs daily and complete rest all of which he had; after four weeks we were all very much encouraged with evident results as Uncle said he felt a big improvement and enjoyed sitting up a little longer at a time as he seemed stronger, but after a few days we noticed that his appetite was not so good and on the fourth day of August with little to warn us of what was before us, the dear Soul asked for me and after I had waited on him he was seized with a slight cough followed quickly by a hemorrhage which with all our effort to relieve the choking was fatal in a few minutes. Uncle seemed to have so much to tell us, his fertile mind ever active to the very last, just to think after years of anticipation that we might persuade him to come and live with us, it was of such short duration that it makes his passing away seems as a real calamity has overtaken us.
    As regards the manuscript you have of the first chapters & synopsis of Uncle's book, we also agree it should be kept intact and are pleased with your suggestion to return same to us.
    We are at a loss to know what steps to pursue as regards the publication of this work.
    Thanking you for the many great kindnesses to our beloved Uncle, as well as your consideration for us I am with kindest personal regards from my sister & myself.

Yours gratefully,
[John Jacob Broekhoven]³⁴

One wonders what became of the book mentioned in the letter. And what became of Broekhoven's other papers, especially unpublished musical manuscripts? Since Joseph Herman and his two sisters taught music (at the Broekhoven School of Music) it seems logical that they would have preserved Broekhoven's papers. Neither Joseph nor his sisters were married; Joseph died in 1951, Mary in 1961, and Anna in 1964. Did John Andrew's papers and memorabilia pass to another relative? This remains to be explored.

John Andrew Broekhoven and American Music

When one reads musical periodicals from the late 19th century, one sees that a spirit not unlike that of the Russian Nationalist composers earlier in the century was animating musicians in the United States to discover, develop and promote a true "American" music. Musicians in the United States sought to overcome their cultural inferiority complex–and they were doing quite well. The Metropolitan Opera house opened in 1883, there were symphony orchestras and conservatories in major cities; young artists traveled to Europe to develop their skills but the moment was approaching in which they no longer needed to go to Europe for their education. And composers were experimenting with American sounds and American themes in their works.

Broekhoven actively participated in this cultural movement. His opening article for "The Vocal World" in August 1909 was titled, "The Prospect of the American Musician". It exudes enthusiasm and optimism for the state of culture in the United States.

The extraordinary advancement in political and commercial importance which America has obtained since the Chicago World's Exposition and the Spanish War, has not only called the attention of the world to America's growth and influential future in politics and commerce, but also to its artists and art prospects. Things that would have been impossible some years ago are now established facts. London produces American plays. In Berlin an American comic opera is meeting with financial success. Arthur Nevin's American Indian opera, "Poia," is accepted for performance at the Royal Opera House of the German Emperor. American specialty actors travel all over Europe as special attractions. Sousa's marches are played by every nation, and American singers are found in the leading rôles in almost every European opera house.
     If such a state of affairs had been prophesied fifteen years ago it would have been considered the outcome of a lively patriotic imagination. But since the facts speak for themselves, it is worth while to reflect on their importance to the future of American art, and the musical art in particular.
    The greatest benefit falls at present to the American singer, and chiefly to young women. The American girl is a type entirely novel and new on the European concert and operatic stage. She is more independent and attractive, and has more initiative than her foreign sisters. She may not be as thorough and experienced as the latter, but this deficiency she soon recognizes, and is not slow in acquiring by her indomitable energy. Above all, she is tractable and willing to adapt herself to any and all conditions leading to a successful career. In this aim she is very often aided by her American countrymen and women, who feel a sense of pride in furthering the artistic ambition of American talent in Europe.
    Now, while the young American has this fine opportunity abroad, what benefit accrues to American musical art thereby? The advantages are varied and many. It produces in the young American musician confidence in his ability, obtained by intercourse with European art and artists. It reveals to him the European standard of excellence, which he acquired by his American assimilative talent. And this invaluable acquisition he brings with him to his native shore and disseminates his experience and art ideals among his American co-laborers. Furthermore, his success abroad will in time remove the home prejudice against home talent. The American people will become aware and convinced that American musicians are equal, if not superior to the European. And the result of this condition will be that the American musician will receive the appreciation of his countrymen, and obtain the position in his profession which his talents, experience and artistic standing entitle him to.
    No better evidence that such results will be forthcoming can be furnished than by the action of the Metropolitan Opera House management. It has just been publicly announced that there will be twenty-one American artists enrolled among the singers at the Metropolitan Opera House next season. And it is a foregone conclusion that Mr. Hammerstein—who always lends a helping hand to American talent—will not be outdone by his operatic rival in offering young artists opportunities at the Manhattan Opera House.
    Now, since the American singer is so very fortunate in opening the future for American vocal art, there is no doubt that this fact will enhance the prospect of American opera immensely. And if the American people are once convinced of the importance of American opera, sung and played by American musicians, it will bring about such a patriotic sentiment in favor of American musical art that within a few years every large city will have its own opera. Considering the favorable outlook for the future in every branch of the musical profession, I have no hesitancy in stating my belief that within ten years we will have as many cities supporting their own opera. The material is already at hand. We have plenty of excellent vocal talent and orchestral forces in the larger cities; and the question of a practical conductor is also easily solved. Many young Americans are now holding such positions in Europe or are preparing themselves for such demands. And where the money question is so quickly and gladly solved by our American men of means there is no obstacle in view to hinder the establishment of national opera in the musical centers of the country. All that is needed is an application of a patriotic sentiment, combined with the mental science maxim "I will."³⁵

This is only one of many articles promoting American musicians, American compositions—and music in general. Apart from Broekhoven's openness to bringing African-American music into the symphonic realm (novel for its time), he also promoted the role of women in music—as performer as well as composer. In many ways, John Andrew Broekhoven was ahead of his time.

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Only a few of Broekhoven's works were published. If anyone knows of other works and, especially, the location of manuscripts, please let me know! (James Radomski, radomski@csusb.edu).
 
Original works:
Festspiel overture for orchestra. Manuscript. Noted at the end: "Cincinnati September 28th, 1877 — 12 P.M.".
1 score, 14 pages plus parts. 1 fl, 1 ob, 2 cl, 1 bn, 2 hn, 2 crt, 1 trb. tmp. str. OCLC Number 226290766, but no location given.

Festspiel (inauguration) overture for band [probably a band version of the previous].  Manuscript [1877]. 2 fl (1 pc, II), 2 ob, 2 cl, 1 e-flat cl, 1 bcl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 4 crt, 2 bhn, 2 tb, prc. 1 ms. score (33 pages). OCLC Number 43291501, but no location given.

The Star's Betrayal (Heimliche liebe). Newhall's concert and parlor songs, Sop. or Ten. Cincinnati, Geo. D. Ecwhall & Co., c.(1879). Cincinnatilibrary.org.  Langstroth Cincinnati Imprint. Can be downloaded at The Library of Congress.

Grand March "Alleluia" [1879; unpublished, location of manuscript unknown].
 
String Quartet in B flat, 1882, [unpublished, location of manuscript unknown]. This quartet won second prize, after that of Charles Baetens, in a string quartet composition competition sponsored by The Musical Club of Cincinnati.

The prize compositions were played yesterday by Messrs. Charles Baetens (1st violin), Henry Burcke (2d violin), J. A. Broekhoven (viola), and Michael Brand (violoncello)—and proved to be worthy of the award. The first was Mr. J. A. Broekhoven's quartet in B flat, a composition which won the hearts of the audience at once. It may not show as much musical learning as others, but it has something that is more than learning; that is, melody, freshness, and originality in thought and execution. The scherzo is simply wonderful in melody and original effects, and the best work of a modern composer that has been heard here for a long time. The preceding movement, andante con expressione, is a poetical and tender piece of work, and had Mr. Broekhoven done as well with the two other movements, he would have fairly won the first prize. (Cincinnati Daily Gazette, February 8, 1882)

Suite Creole, for orchestra, composed 1886. (New York: J. Fischer & Bro., [copyright 1929]. Piano score and parts are in the Fine Arts Department of the Cleveland Main Library; call number M775.8 1943. Piano score at Sibley Library (Eastman School of Music); call number M1003. B865.

Suite Creole, arr. for band, Contained int he Sousa Collection of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Archives.

Columbia, an overture dedicated to a people which through simplicity and strength gained its freedom and liberty, Orchestral score. (Cincinnati: The John Church Co., c1899) 73 p. fol.

M1004.B65C6 (Library of Congress Orchestral Music Catalogue: Scores. Prepared under the direction of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1912).

A Colonial Wedding, opera in one act [unpublished; location of manuscript unknown].

The great favor with which comic opera has been received of late years is a most reliable proof of the possibility of a future for American opera... "This at least is the conviction of John A. Broekhoven, who will test his theory on a Cincinnati audience this summer at Chester Park. Mr. Broekhoven has composed his libretto and music on these lines. To give the whole as much as possible a national character he has taken an American subject. The plot is laid in Virginia and is called "A Colonial Wedding. (Musical Courier, June 3, 1903, p. 14)

Marco Polo: "A Characteristic Oriental March," (Rudolph Wurlitzer Col, 1903). Musical Score, in English. OCLC number: 898309040, no location given. Cornet part only. In the Chatfield Brass Band Music Lending Library, Chatfield, MN.

Mardi gras: scenario of a comic opera. Manuscript, 1903. OCLC Number 17479575.
Collections: Manuscript. Microfilm. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1976 on 1 microfilm reel with other items; 35 mm. (Copyright deposits 1901-1944; reel no. 68).

Camaralzaman, opera in three acts, [1901?], unperformed [unpublished, location of manuscript unknown], (Hipsher).

Professor Broekhoven is at present engaged on the score of a grand opera comique, the scene of which is laid in China in the Middle Ages. Mr. Broekhoven has written his own libretto. He has finished his exhaustive treatise on Greek music. (Musical Courier, vol. 43 no. 15 [October 9, 1901], p. 12)

"Several pieces for chorus and orchestra", (Hipsher).

Arrangements:
Franz, Robert, and [arr. by] J.A. Broekhoven. Hebräische Melodie. [Berlin?] [Ries und Erler?], [18--?].
OCLC number: 191746479. For orchestra: 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 trb, tmp, str. 1 score (12 pages) + parts. At Harvard University, Loeb Music Library.

Arne, Thomas Augustine, and [edited and annotated by] J.A. Broekhoven. Polly Wilis. New York: Carl Fischer, copyright 1912. OCLC Number: 402459839for voice & piano. Carl Fischer artist edition of songs and vocal compositions.1 score (7 pages).

Giordani, Giuseppe, and [edited and annotated by] J.A. Broekhoven. Dearest and best=Caro mio ben. Carl Fischer: New York, copyright 1910. 1 score, 3 pages. OCLC Number: 79129491. At University of North Texas Library, Denton, TX.

Huerter, Charles, and [transcribed by] J.A. Broekhoven. Melodie poetique. Philadelphia: J. Church Co., copyright 1922. For violin, with piano accompaniment. 1 score (5 pages) and part. At: Brigham Young Univeristy, Harold B. Lee Library, Provo UT. University of North Texas Library, UNT, Denton, TX. Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus, Lane Library, Savannah, GA. OCLC Number: 6578391.

Nevin, Arthur, and [transcribed by] J.A. Broekhoven. 'Neath the balcony. Cincinnati: J. Church Co., copyright 1922. Series: For violin and piano: twenty selected compositions. 1 score (5 pages) + 1 part. At: Arizona State Univeristy Library, Tempe, AZ. OCLC Number: 50076683

Serradell, Narciso [edited and annotated by] J. van Broekhoven. La Golondrina=The Swallow (The Mexican "Home, sweet home"). Superior ed. 5338; Sop. or Ten. 1 piano score (pages 3-5); At Chatfield Music Lending Library, Call number: SM4843.5.

Dvorak, Antonin, and J. A. Broekoven. Als die alte Mutter=Songs my mother taught me: gipsy-melody, op. 55, no. 4. New York: Carl Fischer, copyright 1915.

Books:

Broekhoven, John A. and Arnold Johann Gantvoort, Model Music Course: A Natural System of Instruction Specially Prepared for the Study of Music in Public Schools. (New York: American Book Company, 1895-1896?).

For 6th graders (ages 11-12).

A natural system of instruction specially prepared for the study of music in public schools, based upon the principles of vocal music, and in keeping with the needs of child training throughout the different periods of school life. [Part of] a series of readers, with a supplementary manual, for the primary, intermediate, grammar and high school grades. Carefully graded and adapted for the two-fold purpose of fostering a love for good music and the ability to read words and music at sight. (Title page).

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Model Music course for Schools. First, Second, and Third Readers. The Journal of Education, v. 42 n. 8 (1041) (18950829): 148.

OCLC number: 894168696

Available on-line: http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/HstrcTxtbks/id/32166

At Ball State University Library, Bracken Library.

vols. 1-6 at Sibley Library (Eastman School of Music).Call number: MT935.B865

 

Broekhoven, John A., A Guide Through the Elements of Music for Vocal and Instrumental Students (Cincinnati & New York: J. Church Co. ©1896). Electronic reproduction at HathiTrust Digital Library.

 

__________The Tone Producing Functions of the Vocal Organs: A New Theory With Practical Illustrations (New York: Musical Courier, 1905). [Originally published in The Musical Courier, May 10, 17, and 24, 1905.

 

__________The True Method of Tone Production: A New and Complete Course of Voice Training (New York: The H. W. Gray Co., 1908).

Republished by Ulan Press (2012) and RareBooksClub.com (2012).

 

__________A System of Harmony for Teacher and Pupil  (Cincinnati: the John Church Company, 1889; Philadelphia: Theodore Presser, 1922).

Mr. Broekhoven has here given forth a new book on a well worn subject, which does the honor to his knowledge and to his practicality. It has not the unnecessary verbiage which is characteristic of many German methods, and het it touches on every subject necessary for the student to know, with sufficient clearness. The progressions of the seventh-chords (which the author calls sept-chords) are laid down with especial clearness and the work is carried as far as the harmonization of a set of melodies of the Chorales school. Last but ot least, the book is provided with the most copious index. (The Boston Musical Herald, 1890, vol. 11)

Also reviewed in: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, v. 31, no. 536, p. 40 (at JSTOR).

1889 edition at the Sibley Music Library, Call number: MT 50.8865.2C

1922 edition at the Sibley Music Library. Call number: MT 50.B865.2

Available as free e-book at Google. Republished by Ulan Press (2012) and Palala Press (2018).

 

Articles (a work in progress!):

 

"Singer's 'Symphonie Fantasia'", The Musical Courier 16/15 (April 11, 1888), p. 261.

 

"A Word for American Operatic Composers", The Musical Courier (March 26, 1902), pp. 14-16. [Letter to the editors in response to an article by Carl Field.]

 

"Mme Tetrazzini's Voice", The New Music Review and Church Music Review, vol. 7, no. 76 (March 1908): 210-11.

 

"A New Theory of Tone Production", The New Music Review and Church Music Review, vol. 6, no. 69 (August 1907): 570-73. Using the laryngoscope to understand vocal production.

Review: William James Henderson, "Broekhoven on Tone Production." The New Music Review and Church Music Review, vol. 7, no. 76 (March 1908): 221-22.

 

"Some Unfamiliar Facts Concerning the Larynx in Singing", The New Music Review and Church Music Review, vol. 7, no. 79 (June 1908): 402-05.

 

"What Studies are Required to Become a Good Musician?" Etude Magazine, November 1891, p. 209. [Originally published in The Musical Courier.]

 

"To the Vocal Profession", The Musical Observer, vol. 2, no. 11 (November 1908),  p. 16.

 

"On the Delivery of the Recitative", The Musical Observer, vol. 2, no. 11 (November 1908), pp. 16-17.

 

"Vocal Counterpoints", The Musical Observer, vol. 2, no. 11 (November 1908), 17-18.

 

"Vocal Generalities", The Musical Observer, vol. 2, no. 11 (November 1908), p. 18.

 

"Vocal and Instrumental Phrasing", The Musical Observer, vol. 3, no. 7 (July 1909), p. 16.

 

"Chas. B. Hawley, the American Composer and Teacher", The Musical Observer, vol. 3, no. 7 (July 1909), p. 17.

 

"The Prospect of the American Musician", The Musical Observer, vol. 3, no. 8 (August 1909), p. 16.

 

"The Physiology and Psychology of Singing" Series V, The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 3, (March 1910), pp. 14-15.

 

"Richard Strauss' Elektra and the Limit of Musical Expression", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 3 (March 1910), p. 15.

"Robert Franz, by Franz Liszt. Translated from the German by J. Van Broekhoven", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 3 (March 1910), p. 16.

 

"Walter Damrosch and His Twenty-Fifth Anniversary as a Conductor", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 4 (April 1910), p. 5)

 

"The Physiology and Psychology of Singing, series VI", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 4 (April 1910), pp. 14-15.

 

"The Physiology and Psychology of Singing, Series VII (Conclusion)", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 5 (May 1910), pp. 14-15.

 

"A New Edition of Songs and Vocal Compositions. Edited and Annotated by J. Van Broekhoven", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 5 (May 1910), p. 15, 21.

 

"American Teachers and Vocalists in Europe", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 6 (June 1910), p. 20.

 

"New Songs by Christiaan Kriens", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 6 (June 1910), pp. 21-22.

 

"The Male Quartet", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 7 (July 1910), pp. 18-19.

 

"New Songs" [Richard Czerwonky's, "Evening Song" included], The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 7 (July 1910), pp. 19, 21.

 

"On the Singing of, and Pronunciation in High Notes", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 8 (August 1910), p. 18.

 

"Dr. Wesley Mills: Voice Production in Singing and Speech from a Vocal Teacher's Point of View", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 8 (August 1910), pp. 18-19.

 

"Talks on Singers and Vocal Methods past and Present", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 9 (September 1910), p. 22.

 

"Richard Henry Warren: Organist, Conductor, Composer and Instructor", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 10 (October 1910), p. 16.

 

"Talks on Singers and Vocal Methods Past and Present II", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 10 (October 1910), 22-23.

 

"Opera Notes", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 10 (October 1910), p. 23.

 

"American Singers in Europe", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 11 (November 1910), p. 14.

 

"Talks on Singers and Vocal Methods Past and Present III", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 11 (November 1910), pp. 17, 33.

 

"Dr. Gerrit Smith", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 11 (November 1910), p. 38.

 

"Talks on Singers and Vocal Methods Past and Present IV", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 12 (December 1910), p. 16.

 

"Opera and Concert Notes", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 12 (December 1910), p. 17.

 

"New Songs. A Cycle of Eight German Songs in Classic Style by Hans Kronold", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 12 (December 1910), pp. 17-18.

 

"Operatic Notes", The Musical Observer, vol. 5, no. 12 (December 1911), p. 9.

 

"Richard Wagner on Singing", The Musical Observer, vol. 5, no. 12 (December 1911), pp. 34-35.

 

"Mary Garden", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 1 (January 1912), p. 18.

 

The Training of Boy Choirs in American Churches", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 1 (January 1912), pp. 34-35.

 

"Promoters of American Singers", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 2 (February 1912), p. 3.

 

"Three Modern Operas", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 2 (February 1912), p. 5.

 

"A Tendency Towards the Gross in Plot and Music of Modern Operas", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 3 (March 1912), pp 14-15.

 

"The Operatic Career", The Musical Observer, vol. 6 no. 3 (March 1912), p 33.

 

"Mona, the American Prize Opera: A Thematic Analysis", The Musical Observer, vol. 4 no. 6 (April 1912), p. 28.

 

"Review of Operatic Roles: Lohengrin, Jewels of the Madonna and Madam Butterfly", The Musical Observer, vol. 8, no. 11 (November 1913), pp. 646-647.

 

"The Metropolitan Opera Season—1916-1917", The Musical Observer, vol. 14 no. 6 (December 1916), 48.

 

"Knowledge or Instinct: Which Is the More Important in Singing?", The Musical Observer, vol. 15, no. 1 (January, 1917), 44.

 

"Francesca da Rimini: First Performance of Zandonai's New Opera at the Metropolitan Opera House", The Musical Observer, vol. 15 no. 2 (February 1917), 14-16.

 

"Opera at Columbia University: A New Educational Scheme", The Musical Observer, vol. 15 no. 5 (May 1917), 19.

 

"Max Pilzer—American Violin Virtuoso", The Musical Observer, vol. 15 no. 6 (June 1917), 51.

 

"Revival of Weber's 'Oberon' at the Metropolitan Opera House, In a Modernized Version by Artur Bodanski", vol. 18 no. 1 (January 1919), pp. 12-13.

 

"The French and Italian Opera Boom Versus German Opera Exclusion", The Musical Observer, vol. 18 no. 3 (March 1919), p. 11.

 

"Debussy's Style Dictated by his Harmonic Innovations", The Musical Observer, vol. 18 no. 4 (April 1919), p. 34, 35.

 

"A National Opera Movement", The Musical Observer, vol. 18 no. 5 (May 1919), pp. 13-14.

 

"A Community Opera Movement (Second Article)", The Musical Observer, vol. 18, no. 6 (June 1919), pp. 14-15.

Unpublished Articles (in the Edgar Stilman Kelley Collection, Special Collections and Archives at Miami University [Ohio])

The Broekhoven Course of Musical Composition
The New American Drama
Free Educational Sunday Concerts Given Under the Direction of J. Van Broekhoven
The Trouble with the Study of Harmonies in America (1908)
The Coming Music Drama in the Move Theater
The Status of Women as Dramatist and Composer

Published book by Jessie Baldwin Broekhoven:
How to Play the World's Most Wonderful Musical Instrument, The Player Piano (Cincinnati: Church-Beinkamp Co., 1916).

_____________________________________________
NOTES
¹Edward Ellsworth Hipsher, American Opera and Its Composers: A Complete History of Serious American Opera with a Summary of the Lighter Forms Which Led Up to its Birth (Philadelphia: Theodore Presser Co., 1927), pp. 418-419.

²Certificate of Citizenship from the Probate Court of Hamilton County. Contained in the Edgar Stillman Kelley Collection, Special Collections & Archives at Miami [Ohio] University.

³Westliche Blätter, September 30, 1877.

⁴The Cincinnati Daily Star, May 2, 1879.
 
⁵Theodore Thomas: A Musical Autobiography, ed. by George P. Upton, in two volumes (Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1905), vol. I, pp. 244-246.

⁶Westliche Blätter, October 5, 1879.

⁷The Cincinnati Daily Star, April 14, 1880.

⁸The Cincinnati Daily Star, April 17, 1880.

⁹Westliche Blätter, December 14, 1884.

¹⁰Henry Edward Krehbiel, "Study of Music of American Negroes," New-York Tribune, June 29, 1913.

¹¹Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by J.A. Fuller Maitland, vol. 3 (New York: Macmillan, 1907), pp. 360-361.

¹²George W. Cable, "Creole Slave Dances: The Dance in Place Congo," Century Magazine, vol. 31 no. 52, pp. 517-532. Earlier, in the same volume, he had published "Creole Slave Songs, vol. 31 no. 6, pp. 807-828.

¹³Cable, "Creole Slave Songs," Century Magazine, vol. 31, no. 6 (February 1886), p. 529.

¹⁴Ibid.

¹⁵Music: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Art, Science, Technic and Literature of Music. W.S.B. Mathews, Editor. Volume V (November, 1893 to April, 1894), pp. 106-107.

¹⁶Theodore Thomas, vol. 2 p. 287.

¹⁷American Art Journal, 1893, quoted in E. Douglas Bomberger, A Tidal Wave of Encouragement: American Composers' Concerts in the Gilded Age (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2002), p.139.

 ¹⁸Bomberger, p. 139.

¹⁹The Musical Observer, vol. 15, no. 2 (February 1917).

²⁰Review by Lee M. Lockhart (Music Supervisors Journal, vol. 16, no. 4 (March 1930), p. 105.

²¹Ohio, County Marriage Records, Trumbull, 1861-1892.

²²Musical Courier, September 10, 1902, p. 11.

²³Ibid., July 30, 1902, p. 11.

²⁴Ibid., October 8, 1902, p. 18.

²⁵Cincinnati City Directory, 1904, p. 170.

²⁶The News-Herald [Hollister, Ohio], December 14, 1905.

²⁷Edgar Stilman Kelley Collection, Special Collections and Archives at Miami University [Ohio].

²⁸Musical Courier, vol. 43, no. 24 (Wednesday, December 11, 1901), p. 21.

²⁹Hipsher, 419. But Broekhoven already had spent time in New York: "Broekhoven Here—John A. Broekhoven, the Cincinnati composer, was in this city last week, and a caller at the offices of  The Musical Courier." (Musical Courier, vol. 43 no. 24 [December 11, 1901], p. 21).

³⁰New-York Tribune, February 11, February 15, 1907.

³¹Musical Courier, December 25, 1907, p. 8.

³²The Musical Observer, vol. 2, no. 11 (November 1908), p. 9.

³³Edgar Stilman Kelley Collection, Special Collections and Archives at Miami University [Ohio].

³⁴Ibid.

³⁵The Musical Observer, vol. 3, no. 8 (August 1909), p. 16.