James Francis Cooke | |
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 James Francis Cooke as the editor ofThe Etude | |
| Born | (1875-11-14)November 14, 1875 |
| Died | March 3, 1960(1960-03-03) (aged 84) Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania |
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| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Doctor of Music |
| Alma mater | Royal Conservatory in Wurzburg |
| Subject | Music history, music theory,musician features, classical music |
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| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Betsey Ella Beckwith |
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James Francis Cooke (November 14, 1875,Bay City, Michigan – March 3, 1960,Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania) was an American music educator.[1][2] He was a pianist, composer, playwright, journalist, author (including novels and of books on musical history and theory), a president ofTheodore Presser music publishers from 1925 to 1936, and editor ofThe Etude music magazine from 1907 to 1950,[2][3] or 1913 to 1956.[1] He taught piano for more than twenty years in New York, led choral clubs and taught voice.[2] He also gave music-topic lectures.[2]
He was the president of the Philadelphia Music Teacher's Association for seven years.[4] He was president of thePresser Foundation for 38 years.[1] He was also a member of theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, theUnion League and theSons of the American Revolution.[1]
He married Betsey Ella Beckwith (born Toledo, Ohio, 1896) in 1899. She was a concert singer. They had two sons, Carol Lincoln Cooke (born 1900, died in childhood) and Francis Sherman Cooke (born 1905). The family was recorded in the U.S. Censuses, passport application and ship's travel logs (look atsee also section for links).
Cooke was educated in the New York public schools at Brooklyn, includingBoys High School.[3][5] He studied music with R. Huntington Woodman, Walter Henry Hall, Charles Dunham,Dudley Buck,Ernst Eberhard and William Medorn in New York.[3] He also studied at the Brooklyn Institute.[5]
He attended the Royal Conservatory in Wurzburg, Germany in 1900.[2][3] There he studied under Dr. K. Kliebert,[6]Max Meyer-Olbersleben and music historian and composerHermann Ritter.[2][3]
He received his doctorate in music from theUniversity of the State of New York in 1906.[1] In 1919, he received a doctorate in music from theOhio Northern University.[5]
In the course of his interviewing and talking with the musicians of his day, Cooke became a "close friend and associate" withJohn Philip Sousa.[7] As president of the Theodore Presser Company, Cooke published some of the Sousa's works.[7] In 1924 he helped to increase the sales of one of Sousa's pieces by changing its name fromMarch of the Mitten Men toPower and Glory - Fraternal March.[7] He also wrote words to go with Sousa'sA Serenade In Seville in 1924. Sousa visited him shortly before his death, and talked to him about the lack of religion in modern music as a failing.[7] The two attended a play "If Booth Had Missed." Two days later, Sousa died of a heart attack.[7]
Three of his works were recorded and released byVictor Records.[8]Ol' Car'lina (1921) featured sopranoAmelita Galli-Curci doing a vocal solo, backed by orchestra.[8]The Angelus (1926) featured a vocal solo byElsie Baker, also backed by orchestra.Sea gardens (1929) hadRosario Bourdon playing with the Victor Symphonic Band.[8]
Cooke composed for piano. Piano solos include:White Orchids (1941),[9]Mountain Shower (1943),[10]Roses at Dawn (1945),[11] andBallet Mignon (1948).[12] He wrote the music and poem published together asSea Gardens (1925).[13] Wrote words toIn a Garden Filled With Roses (1939) to a melody by Charles Wakefield Cadman.[14]
He wrote the following books:
