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Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed.

Stokowski was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and many others. He was also the founder of the All-American Youth Orchestra, the New York City Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra.

Stokowski conducted the music for and appeared in several Hollywood films, most notably Disney's Fantasia, and was a lifelong champion of contemporary composers, giving many premieres of new music during his 60-year conducting career. Stokowski, who made his official conducting debut in 1909, appeared in public for the last time in 1975 but continued making recordings until June 1977, a few months before his death at the age of 95.

Early life
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was the son of an English-born cabinet-maker of Polish heritage, Kopernik Joseph Boleslaw Stokowski, and his Irish-born wife Annie-Marion (née Moore). Stokowski's birth certificate gives his birth on 18 April 1882, at 13 Upper Marylebone Street (now New Cavendish Street), in the Marylebone district of London. Stokowski was named after his Polish-born grandfather Leopold, who died in the Bethlem Hospital, Southwark, London, on 13 January 1879, at the age of 49. Stokowski was the Polonised Lithuanian family name, originally Stokauskas, where stoka means "lack" or "shortage".

On occasion in later life he altered his middle name to Antoni, per the Polish spelling. Compounding this, there were various rumours and inaccurate entries in otherwise authoritative reference works concerning his name. In Germany there was a rumour that his original name was simply Stock (German for stick). After he had achieved international fame with the Philadelphia Orchestra, unsubstantiated rumours circulated that he was born Leonard or Lionel Stokes or that he had "anglicised" it to "Stokes". The 5th Edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954) rendered his given names as Leopold Antoni Stanisław Bołesławowicz. These canards are readily disproved by reference not only to his birth certificate and those of his father, younger brother, and sister, but also by the Student Entry Registers of the Royal College of Music, Royal College of Organists, and The Queen's College, Oxford, along with other surviving documentation from his days at St. Marylebone Church, St. James's Church, and St. Bartholomew's in New York City.

There is some mystery surrounding his early life. For example, he spoke with an unusual, non-British accent, though he was born and raised in London. On occasion, Stokowski gave his year of birth as 1887 instead of 1882, as in a letter to the Hugo Riemann Musiklexicon in 1950, which also incorrectly gave his birthplace as Kraków. Nicolas Slonimsky, editor of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, received a letter from a Finnish encyclopaedia editor that said, "The Maestro himself told me that he was born in Pomerania, Germany, in 1889."

The mystery surrounding his origins and accent is clarified in Oliver Daniel's 1000-page biography Stokowski – A Counterpoint of View (1982), in which (in Chapter 12) Daniel reveals Stokowski came under the influence of his first wife, American pianist Olga Samaroff. Samaroff, born Lucy Mary Agnes Hickenlooper, was from Galveston, Texas, and adopted a more exotic-sounding name to further her career. For professional and career reasons, she "urged him to emphasize only the Polish part of his background" once he became a resident of the United States.

Education
He studied at the Royal College of Music, where he first enrolled in 1896 at the age of thirteen, making him one of the youngest students to do so. In his later life in the United States, Stokowski would perform six of the nine symphonies composed by his fellow organ student Ralph Vaughan Williams. Stokowski sang in the choir of the St Marylebone Parish Church, and later he became the assistant organist to Sir Walford Davies at The Temple Church. By age 16, Stokowski was elected to membership of the Royal College of Organists. In 1900, he formed the choir of St. Mary's Church, Charing Cross Road, where he trained the choirboys and played the organ. In 1902, he was appointed the organist and choir director of St. James's Church, Piccadilly. He also attended The Queen's College, Oxford, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1903.

New York, Paris, and Cincinnati
In 1905, Stokowski began work in New York City as the organist and choir director of St. Bartholomew's Church. He was very popular among the parishioners, who included members of the Vanderbilt family, but in the course of time, he resigned this position in order to pursue a career as an orchestra conductor. Stokowski moved to Paris for additional study in conducting. There he heard that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra would be needing a new conductor when it returned from a long sabbatical. In 1908, Stokowski began a campaign to win this position, writing letters to Mrs. Christian R. Holmes, the orchestra's president, and travelling to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a personal interview.

Stokowski was selected over other applicants and took up his conducting duties in late 1909. That was also the year of his official conducting debut in Paris with the Colonne Orchestra on 12 May 1909, when Stokowski accompanied his bride to be, the pianist Olga Samaroff, in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Stokowski's conducting debut in London took place the following week on 18 May with the New Symphony Orchestra at Queen's Hall. His engagement as new permanent conductor in Cincinnati was a great success. He introduced the concept of "pops concerts" and, starting with his first season, he began championing the work of living composers. His concerts included performances of music by Richard Strauss, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Glazunov, Saint-Saëns and many others. He conducted the American premieres of new works by such composers as Elgar, whose 2nd Symphony was first presented there on 24 November 1911. He was to maintain his advocacy of contemporary music to the end of his career. However, in early 1912, Stokowski became frustrated with the politics of the orchestra's Board of Directors, and submitted his resignation. There was some dispute over whether to accept this or not, but, on 12 April 1912, the board decided to do so.

Philadelphia Orchestra

Two months later, Stokowski was appointed the director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he made his conducting debut in Philadelphia on 11 October 1912. This position would bring him some of his greatest accomplishments and recognition. It has been suggested that Stokowski resigned abruptly at Cincinnati with the hidden knowledge that the conducting position in Philadelphia was his when he wanted it, or as Oscar Levant suggested in his book A Smattering of Ignorance, "he had the contract in his back pocket." Before Stokowski moved into his conducting position in Philadelphia, however, he returned to England to conduct two concerts at the Queen's Hall in London. On 22 May 1912, Stokowski conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a concert that he was to repeat in its entirety 60 years later at the age of 90, and on 14 June 1912, he conducted an all-Wagner concert that featured the noted soprano Lillian Nordica. While he was director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he was largely responsible for convincing Mary Louise Curtis Bok to set up the Curtis Institute of Music (13 October 1924) in Philadelphia. He helped with recruiting faculty and hired many of their graduates.

Stokowski rapidly gained a reputation as a musical showman. His flair for the theatrical included grand gestures, such as throwing the sheet music on the floor to show he did not need to conduct from a score. He also experimented with new lighting arrangements in the concert hall, at one point conducting in a dark hall with only his head and hands lighted, at other times arranging the lights so they would cast theatrical shadows of his head and hands. Late in the 1929-1930 symphony season, Stokowski started conducting without a baton. His free-hand manner of conducting soon became one of his trademarks. On the musical side, Stokowski nurtured the orchestra and shaped the "Stokowski" sound, or what became known as the "Philadelphia Sound". He encouraged "free bowing" from the string section, "free breathing" from the brass section, and continually altered the seating arrangements of the orchestra's sections, as well as the acoustics of the hall, in response to his urge to create a better sound. Stokowski is credited as the first conductor to adopt the seating plan that is used by most orchestras today, with first and second violins together on the conductor's left, and the violas and cellos to the right. Stokowski also became known for modifying the orchestrations of some of the works that he conducted, as was a standard practice for conductors prior to the second half of the 20th century. Among others, he amended the orchestrations of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Brahms. For example, Stokowski revised the ending of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, by Tchaikovsky, so it would close quietly, taking his notion from Modest Tchaikovsky's Life and Letters of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky (translated by Rosa Newmarch: 1906) that the composer had provided a quiet ending of his own at Balakirev's suggestion. Stokowski made his own orchestration of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain by adapting Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration and making it sound, in some places, similar to Mussorgsky's original. In the film Fantasia, to conform to the Disney artists' story-line, depicting the battle between good and evil, the ending of Night on Bald Mountain segued into the beginning of Schubert's Ave Maria.

Many music critics have taken exception to the liberties Stokowski took—liberties which were common in the nineteenth century, but had mostly died out in the twentieth, when faithful adherence to the composer's scores became more common. Stokowski's repertoire was broad and included many contemporary works. He was the only conductor to perform all of Arnold Schoenberg's orchestral works during the composer's own lifetime, several of which were world premieres. Stokowski gave the first American performance of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder in 1932. It was recorded "live" on 78 rpm records and remained the only recording of this work in the catalogue until the advent of the LP Record. Stokowski also presented the American premieres of four of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies, Numbers 1, 3, 6, and 11. In 1916, Stokowski conducted the American premiere of Mahler's 8th Symphony, Symphony of a Thousand, whose premiere he had attended in Munich on 12 September 1910. He added works by Rachmaninoff to his repertoire, giving the world premieres of his Fourth Piano Concerto, the Three Russian Songs, the Third Symphony, and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Sibelius, whose last three symphonies were given their American premieres in Philadelphia in the 1920s; and Igor Stravinsky, many of whose works were also given their first American performances by Stokowski. In 1922, he introduced Stravinsky's score for the ballet The Rite of Spring to America, gave its first staged performance there in 1930 with Martha Graham dancing the part of The Chosen One, and at the same time made the first American recording of the work.

Seldom an opera conductor, Stokowski did give the American premieres in Philadelphia of the original version of Mussorgky's Boris Godunov (1929) and Alban Berg's Wozzeck (1931). Works by such composers as Arthur Bliss, Max Bruch, Ferruccio Busoni, Julian Carrillo, Carlos Chávez, Aaron Copland, George Enescu, Manuel de Falla, Paul Hindemith, Gustav Holst, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Walter Piston, Francis Poulenc, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, Albert Roussel, Alexander Scriabin, Elie Siegmeister, Karol Szymanowski, Edgard Varèse, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Anton Webern, and Kurt Weill, received their American premieres under Stokowski's direction in Philadelphia. In 1933, he started "Youth Concerts" for younger audiences, which are still a tradition in Philadelphia and many other American cities, and fostered youth music programs. After disputes with the board, Stokowski began to withdraw from involvement in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1936 onwards, allowing his co-conductor Eugene Ormandy to gradually take over. Stokowski shared principal conducting duties with Ormandy from 1936 to 1941; Stokowski did not appear with the Philadelphia Orchestra from the closing concert of the 1940–41 season (a lackluster performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion) until 12 February 1960, when he guest-conducted the Philadelphia in works of Mozart, Falla, Respighi, and in a legendary performance of the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony, arguably the greatest by Stokowski. The recording of this concert's broadcast had been circulated privately among collectors over the years, though never issued commercially, but with the copyright expiring at the start of 2011, it was released in its entirety on the Pristine Audio label.

Stokowski appeared as himself in the motion picture The Big Broadcast of 1937, conducting two of his Bach transcriptions. That same year he also conducted and acted in One Hundred Men and a Girl, with Deanna Durbin and Adolphe Menjou. In 1939, Stokowski collaborated with Walt Disney to create the motion picture for which he is best known: Fantasia. He conducted all the music (with the exception of a "jam session" in the middle of the film) and included his own orchestrations for Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Mussorgsky's/Schubert's Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria. Stokowski even got to talk to (and shake hands with) Mickey Mouse on screen, in a famous silhouette footage; though, he would later say with a smile that Mickey Mouse got to shake hands with him.

A lifelong and ardent fan of the newest and most experimental techniques in recording, Stokowski saw to it that most of the music for Fantasia was recorded over Class A telephone lines laid down between the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and Bell Laboratories in Camden NJ, using an early, highly complex version of multi-track stereophonic sound, dubbed Fantasound, which shared many attributes with the later Perspecta stereophonic sound system. Recorded on photographic film, the only suitable medium then available, the results were considered astounding for the latter half of the 1930s.

Upon his return in 1960, Stokowski appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra as a guest conductor. He also made two LP recordings with them for Columbia Records, one including a performance of Manuel de Falla's El amor brujo, which he had introduced to America in 1922 and had previously recorded for RCA Victor with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra in 1946, and a Bach album which featured the 5th Brandenburg Concerto and three of his own Bach transcriptions. He continued to appear as a guest conductor on several more occasions, his final Philadelphia Orchestra concert taking place in 1969.

In honor of Stokowski's vast influence on music and the Philadelphia performing arts community, on 24 February 1969, he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit. Beginning in 1964, this award was "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."

All-American Youth Orchestra
With his Philadelphia Orchestra contract having expired in 1940, Stokowski immediately formed the All-American Youth Orchestra, its players' ages ranging from 18 to 25. It toured South America in 1940 and North America in 1941 and was met with rave reviews. Although Stokowski made a number of recordings with the AAYO for Columbia, the technical standard was not as high as had been achieved with the Philadelphia Orchestra for RCA Victor. In any event, the AAYO was disbanded when America entered the Second World War, and plans for another extensive tour in 1942 were abandoned.

NBC Symphony Orchestra
During this time, Stokowski also became chief conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra on a three-year contract (1941–1944). Arturo Toscanini, the NBC Symphony's regular conductor, did not wish to undertake the 1941–42 NBC season due to friction with NBC management, though he did accept guest engagements with the Philadelphia Orchestra and continued to conduct war bond concerts with the NBC Symphony. Stokowski conducted a great deal of contemporary music with the NBC Symphony, including the US premiere of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky in 1943, the world premieres of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto (with Eduard Steuermann) and George Antheil's 4th Symphony, both in 1944, and new works by Alan Hovhaness, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Milhaud, Howard Hanson, William Schuman, Morton Gould and many others. He also conducted several British works with this orchestra, including Vaughan Williams' 4th Symphony, Holst's The Planets, and George Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad. Stokowski also made a number of recordings with the NBC Symphony for RCA Victor in 1941–42, including Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, a work which was never in Toscanini's repertoire, and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Toscanini returned to the NBC Symphony in 1942; he and Stokowski shared conducting duties for the remaining two years of Stokowski's contract.

New York City Symphony Orchestra
In 1944, on the recommendation of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Stokowski helped form the New York City Symphony Orchestra, which they intended would make music accessible for middle-class workers. Ticket prices were set low, and performances took place at convenient, after-work hours. Many early concerts were standing room only; however, a year later in 1945, Stokowski was at odds with the board (who wanted to trim expenses even further) and he resigned. Stokowski made three 78pm sets with the New York City Symphony for RCA Victor: Beethoven's 6th Symphony, Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration, and a selection of orchestral music from Georges Bizet's Carmen.

Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
In 1945, he founded the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra lasted for two years before it was disbanded for live concerts, but not for recordings, which continued well into the 1960s. Stokowski's own recordings (made in 1945–46) included Brahms's 1st Symphony, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony and a number of short popular pieces. Some of Stokowski's open-air HBSO concerts were broadcast and recorded, and have been issued on CD, including a collaboration with Percy Grainger on Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor in the summer of 1945. He premiered "From A Moonlit Ceremony" (Moonlit Peace) by George Frederick McKay in 1946 with Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. (It began giving live concerts again as the "Hollywood Bowl Orchestra" in 1991, under John Mauceri). There was a 1949 cartoon spoof of Stokowski at the Bowl with Bugs Bunny playing the conductor in "Long-Haired Hare" by Chuck Jones.

New York Philharmonic
He continued to appear frequently with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, both at the Hollywood Bowl and other venues. Then in 1946 Stokowski became a chief Guest Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. His many first performances with them included the US premiere of Prokofiev's 6th Symphony in 1949. He also made many splendid recordings with the NYPO for Columbia, including the world premiere recordings of Vaughan Williams's 6th Symphony and Olivier Messiaen's L'Ascension, also in 1949.

International career
However, when in 1950 Dimitri Mitropoulos was appointed Chief Conductor of the NYPO, Stokowski began a new international career which commenced in 1951 with a nationwide tour of England: during the Festival of Britain celebrations he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation of Sir Thomas Beecham. It was during this first visit that he made his debut recording with a British orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. During that same summer he also toured and conducted in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, and Portugal, establishing a pattern of guest-conducting abroad during the summer months while spending the winter seasons conducting in the United States. This scheme was to hold good for the next 20 years during which Stokowski conducted many of the world's greatest orchestras, simultaneously making recordings with them for various labels. Thus he conducted and recorded with the main London orchestras as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the French National Radio Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Hilversum (Netherlands) Radio Philharmonic, and others.

Symphony of the Air, Houston Symphony Orchestra
Stokowski returned to the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1954 for a series of recording sessions for RCA Victor. The repertoire included Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony, Sibelius's 2nd Symphony, Acts 2 and 3 of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and highlights from Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce. After the NBC Symphony Orchestra was disbanded as the official ensemble of the NBC radio network, it was re-formed as the Symphony of the Air with Stokowski as notional Music Director, and as such performed many concerts and made recordings from 1954 until 1963. The US premiere in 1958 of Turkish composer Ahmet Adnan Saygun's oratorio Yunus Emre is among them. He made a series of Symphony of the Air recordings for the United Artists label in 1958 which included Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Shostakovich's 1st Symphony, Khatchaturian's 2nd Symphony and Respighi's Pines of Rome. From 1955 to 1961, Stokowski was also the Music Director of the Houston Symphony. For his debut appearance with the orchestra he gave the first performance of Mysterious Mountain by Alan Hovhaness – one of many living American composers whose music he championed over the years. He also gave the US premiere in Houston of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony (7 April 1958) and made its first American recording on the Capitol label.

American Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and London
In 1960, Stokowski made one of his infrequent appearances in the opera house, when he conducted Giacomo Puccini's Turandot at the New York Metropolitan, in memorable performances with a cast that included Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli and Anna Moffo. At the New York City Opera, he had led double-bills of Œdipus rex (with Richard Cassilly) and Carmina Burana (1959), as well as L'Orfeo (with Gérard Souzay) and Il prigioniero (with Norman Treigle, 1960).

In 1962, at the age of 80, Stokowski founded the American Symphony Orchestra. His championship of the 20th-century composer remained undiminished, and perhaps his most celebrated premiere with the American Symphony Orchestra was of Charles Ives's 4th Symphony in 1965, which CBS also recorded. In addition, he continued to collaborate with noted contemporary soloists of the time including the pianist Glenn Gould in a recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, Op 73 "Emperor Concerto" in 1966. Stokowski served as Music Director for the ASO until May 1972 when, at the age of 90, he returned to live in England. On 3 January 1962, still showing his interest in using technological innovation, he was featured in a telecast for WGN-TV conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which has since been made available on DVD. One of his British guest conducting engagements in the 1960s was the first Proms performance of Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, Resurrection, since issued on CD.

Stokowski continued to conduct for a few more years, but failing health forced him to conduct only for recording sessions. An eyewitness said that Stokowski often conducted sitting down in his later years; sometimes, as he became involved in the performance, he would stand up and conduct with remarkable energy. His last public appearance in the UK took place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 14 May 1974. Stokowski led the New Philharmonia in the 'Merry Waltz' of Otto Klemperer (in tribute to the Philharmonia's former Music Director who had died the previous year), Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole and Brahms's 4th Symphony. Stokowski's final public appearance took place on 22 July 1975 during the Vence Music Festival in the South of France. He conducted the Rouen Chamber Orchestra in several of his own transcriptions of Bach.

Last years
Stokowski gave his last world premiere in 1973 when, at the age of 91, he conducted Havergal Brian's 28th Symphony in a BBC radio broadcast with the New Philharmonia Orchestra. In August 1973, Stokowski conducted the International Festival Youth Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London, performing Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Edward Greenfield of The Guardian wrote: "Stokowski rallied them as though it was a vintage Philadelphia concert of the 1920s". Stokowski continued to make recordings even after he had retired from the concert platform, mainly with the National Philharmonic, another ad-hoc orchestra made up of first-desk players chosen from the main London orchestras. In 1976, he signed a recording contract with Columbia Records that would have kept him active until he was 100 years old.

Stokowski died of a heart attack on 13 September 1977 in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, at the age of 95. His very last recordings, made shortly before his death, for Columbia, included performances of the youthful Symphony in C by Georges Bizet and Felix Mendelssohn's 4th Symphony, "Italian", with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in London. He is interred at East Finchley Cemetery.

Recording
Stokowski made his very first recordings, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in October 1917, beginning with two of Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Other works recorded in the early sessions were the scherzo from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream incidental music and "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. He found ways to make the best use of the acoustic recording process, until electric recording was introduced by Victor in the spring of 1925. He conducted the first orchestral electrical recording to be made in America (Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre) in April 1925. The following month Stokowski recorded Marche Slave by Tchaikovsky, in which he increased the double basses to best utilise the lower frequencies of early electrical recording. Stokowski was also the first conductor in America to record all four of Brahms' symphonies (between 1927 and 1933).

Stokowski made the first US recordings of the Beethoven 7th and 9th Symphonies, Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony and Nutcracker Suite, César Franck's Symphony in D minor, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Sergei Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto (with the composer as soloist), Jean Sibelius's 4th Symphony (its first recording), Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th and 6th Symphonies, and many shorter works. His early recordings were made at Victor's Trinity Church studio in Camden, New Jersey until 1926, when Victor began recording the orchestra in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra later participated in long playing, high fidelity, and stereophonic experiments, during the early 1930s, mostly for Bell Laboratories (Victor even released some early Long Playing Records around this time, which were not commercially successful for several reasons). Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra continued to make records exclusively for Victor through December 1940. One of his last 1940 sessions was the world premiere recording of Shostakovich's sixth symphony. In addition to RCA Victor, Stokowski recorded prodigiously for several other labels until shortly before his death, including Columbia, Capitol, EMI/HMV, Everest, United Artists, and Decca/London.

In 1954, Stokowski made his first commercial stereo recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra for RCA Victor. These records were of excerpts from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet and the complete one-act ballet Sebastian by Gian Carlo Menotti. From 1947 to 1953, Stokowski recorded for RCA Victor with a specially assembled 'ad hoc' band of players drawn principally from the New York Philharmonic and NBC Symphony Orchestras. The records were credited to 'Leopold Stokowski and His Symphony Orchestra' and the repertoire ranged from Haydn (his Imperial Symphony) to Schoenberg (Transfigured Night) by way of Schumann, Liszt, Bizet, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sibelius and Percy Grainger. Stokowski's recordings for Capitol Records in the 1950s were distinguished by the use of three-track stereophonic tape recorders.

Stokowski was very careful in the placement of musicians during recording sessions and worked closely with the recording staff to achieve the best possible results. Some of the sessions took place in the ballroom of the Riverside Plaza Hotel in New York City in January and February 1957; these were produced by Richard C. Jones and engineered by Frank Abbey with Stokowski's own orchestra, which was typically drawn from New York musicians (primarily members of the Symphony of the Air). The CD reissue by EMI included selections originally released on two LPs -- The Orchestra and Landmarks of a Distinguished Career—and featured music of Paul Dukas, Samuel Barber, Richard Strauss, Harold Farberman, Vincent Persichetti, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Debussy, Bach (as arranged by Stokowski), and Sibelius. Although he officially used the Ravel orchestration of the finale to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in his 1957 Capitol recording, he did add a few additional percussion instruments to the score. His Capitol recording of Holst's The Planets was made with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI, which acquired Angel Records and Capitol in the 1950s, reissued many of Stokowski's Capitol recordings on CD; these recordings are now controlled by Warner Classics, as EMI ceased to exist in 2013. All of the music that Stokowski conducted in Fantasia was released on a 3-LP set by Disneyland Records, in the 1957 soundtrack album made from the film. After stereo became possible on phonograph records, the album was released in stereo on Buena Vista Records. With the advent of compact discs, it appeared on a 2-CD Walt Disney Records set, in conjunction with the film's 50th anniversary.

In 1958, Stokowski signed a contract with Everest Records, which was noted for its use of 35 mm film instead of tape and the resulting highly vivid sound. One of Stokowski's most notable Everest recordings was a coupling of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini and Hamlet with the New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra (the summer name for the New York Philharmonic). Stokowski's other remarkable Everest recordings include Villa-Lobos' tone poem Uirapuru, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Prokofiev's ballet suite Cinderella. Several of Stokowski's televised concerts have been issued on both VHS and DVD, including Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Schubert's Unfinished Symphony with the London Philharmonic on EMI Classics 'Classic Archive' label; the Nielsen 2nd Symphony with the Danish Radio Orchestra on VAI (Video Artists International); and Charles Ives' 4th Symphony with the American Symphony Orchestra on Classical Video Rarities.

In 1973, Stokowski was invited by the International Festival of Youth Orchestras to conduct the 1973 International Festival Orchestra, numbering 140 of the world's finest young musicians, in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The Cameo Classics LP label recorded the concert, and also, by special permission of the maestro, the final rehearsals, which would make up a 2-LP set. Edward Greenfield in The Guardian reported "Stokowski rallied them as though it was a vintage Philadelphia concert of the 1920s". Robert M. Stumpff ll (Leopold Stokowski Club of America) called the performance "The finest ever performance of this symphony". This unique Dolby recording was restored in 2014 by Klassik Haus and is available from Cameo Classics on CD (Nimbus Records Distribution).

Marriages
Stokowski married three times. His first wife was American concert pianist Olga Samaroff, to whom he was married from 24 April 1911 until their divorce on 30 July 1923. They had one daughter: Sonya Maria Noel Stokowski (born 24 December 1921), an actress, who married Willem Thorbecke and settled in the US with their four children, Noel, Johan, Leif and Christine.

His second wife was Johnson & Johnson heiress Evangeline Love Brewster Johnson, an artist and aviator, to whom he was married from 11 January 1926 until their divorce on 2 December 1937. They had two daughters: Gloria Luba Stokowski and Andrea Sadja Stokowski. In March 1938, Stokowski began a highly publicized relationship with film actress Greta Garbo after the two vacationed together in Italy, on the island of Capri. Whether or not their relationship was romantic or platonic was the subject of much speculation and scrutiny in the press.

On 21 April 1945, Stokowski married heiress and actress Gloria Vanderbilt. They had two sons, Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski (born 1950) and Christopher Stokowski (born 1952). They divorced on 29 October 1955.

Legacy
After Stokowski's death, Tom Burnam writes, the "concatenation of canards" that had arisen around him was revived — that his name and accent were phony; that his musical education was deficient; that his musicians did not respect him; that he cared about nobody but himself. Burnam suggests that there was a dark, hidden reason for these rumours. Stokowski deplored the segregation of symphony orchestras in which women and minorities were excluded, and, Burnam claims, his detractors got revenge by slandering him. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding Burnam's claims, attitudes towards Stokowski have changed dramatically since his death. In 1999, for Gramophone magazine, the noted music commentator David Mellor wrote: "One of the great joys of recent years for me has been the reassessment of Leopold Stokowski. When I was growing up there was a tendency to disparage the old man as a charlatan. Today it is all very different. Stokowski is now recognised as the father of modern orchestral standards. He possessed a truly magical gift of extracting a burnished sound from both great and second-rank ensembles. He also loved the process of recording and his gramophone career was a constant quest for better recorded sound. But the greatest pleasure of all for me is his acceptance now as an outstanding conductor of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music, including a lot that was at the cutting edge of contemporary achievement."

Notable concert premieres

 * Edgard Varèse, Ameriques, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia, 9 April 1926
 * Sergei Rachmaninoff, Fourth Piano Concerto, composer as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1927
 * Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composer as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore, 7 November 1934
 * Sergei Rachmaninoff, Third Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1936
 * Arnold Schoenberg, Violin Concerto, Louis Krasner as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, 6 December 1940
 * Arnold Schoenberg, Piano Concerto, Eduard Steuermann as soloist, NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, 16 February 1944
 * Nathaniel Shilkret, Concerto for Trombone, Tommy Dorsey as soloist, New York City Symphony Orchestra, 15 February 1945
 * Elie Siegmeister, Symphony No. 1, New York Philharmonic, New York City, 30 October 1947
 * Alan Hovhaness, Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Houston, Texas, 1955
 * Charles Ives, Fourth Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, New York, 26 April 1965

Notable recording premieres

 * Arnold Schoenberg, Gurre-Lieder, Philadelphia Orchestra, 9 and 11 April 1932, RCA Victor
 * Jean Sibelius, Fourth Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, 23 April 1932, RCA Victor
 * Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composer as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, 24 December 1934, RCA Victor
 * Dmitri Shostakovich, Sixth Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, August 1940, RCA Victor
 * Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sixth Symphony, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, 21 February 1949, Columbia
 * Gustav Mahler, Eighth Symphony, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, Westminster Choir, Schola Cantorum of New York, Public School Boys' Chorus, 9 April 1950, NYP Editions (first complete recording)t

In Popular Culture

 * In the 1936 musical film Born to Dance, during the “You'd be so Easy to Love” sequence in Central Park, Jimmy Stewart “conducts” Eleanor Powel l's dance with a balloon-seller's stick. A policeman (Reginald Gardiner) approaches, snaps Stewart's stick, shakes out his hair, retrieves a balloon stick for himself, and launches into 3 minutes of intense, speechless parody of Stowkoski conducting orchestral variations on the theme—and faints.
 * The 1940 Walt Disney animated film Fantasia stars Stokowski leading the Philadelphia Orchestra and performing, among other pieces of music, his transcription of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, as the opening piece of the program.

 * A statue of the maestro shaking hands with Mickey Mouse, a recreation of that memorable moment in Fantasia, stands in the lobby of Disney's Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

 * The 1949 Looney Tunes episode "Long-Haired Hare" has a satirical homage to Stokowski: Bugs Bunny impersonates him at the Hollywood Bowl. The cartoon pokes gentle fun at Stokowski's habit of conducting without a baton by having Bugs break the baton handed to him.

title: Leopold Stokowski


text:
Harry McClintock

Harry Kirby McClintock (October 8, 1884 – April 24, 1957), also known as "Haywire Mac", was an American railroad man, radio personality, actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, best known for his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains".

Life
McClintock was born on October 8, 1884, in Uhrichsville, Ohio. Both his parents were from nearby Tippecanoe, Ohio; however, his family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee soon after his birth. In his youth, McClintock ran away from home to join the circus and drifted from place to place throughout his life. He railroaded in Africa, worked as a seaman, supplied food and ammunition to American soldiers while working as a civilian mule-train packer in the Philippines, and in 1899 worked as an aid to newsmen in China covering the Boxer Rebellion.

In America, Mac traveled as a railroader and minstrel. He worked for numerous railroads during his life.

On October 8, 1917, McClintock married Bessie K. Johnson in Farmington, Utah. They had one daughter.

Radio and music
In 1925, McClintock participated in a KFRC Radio talent contest. His performance of his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" won him spots on two new KFRC radio shows: a children's program titled Mac and His Gang where he sang popular cowboy songs with his "Haywire Orchestry",  and a variety program titled Blue Monday Jamboree, which he hosted with Meredith Willson, Bea Benaderet, Edna Fischer, and future I Love Lucy producer Jess Oppenheimer. McClintock was also a member of Al Pearce's The Happy Go Lucky Hour, a KFRC spin-off of Blue Monday Jamboree, alongside Edna Fischer and Tommy Harris.

"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" reached No. 1 on Billboard's "Hillbilly Hits" chart in 1939. The song was featured in the 2000 Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. McClintock's song "The Old Chisholm Trail" was featured in the end credits of "The Grandest Enterprise Under God" (episode 5) of the TV documentary miniseries The West. He was included in Robert Crumb's series of "Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country" trading cards.

Politics
McClintock was active in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He served with Frank Little in the Fresno Free Speech Fight from January 12 to March 4, 1911, and participated in the Tucker Utah strike on June 14, 1913, with Joe Hill. McClintock wrote the marching song of the IWW, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", and he is credited with being the first person to sing Hill's song "The Preacher and the Slave" in public. In the early 1920s, McClintock worked and organized union men in the oil fields of West Texas, where he met and recruited author Jim Thompson, who later incorporated him into several short stories using the name Strawlegs Martin.

Memberships

 * Initiated by W.F. Little into IWW Union No. 66 on March 4, 1911
 * Deputy sheriff, San Francisco, California, deputized on February 7, 1930
 * Screen Actors Guild, inducted as a member on May 5, 1939
 * American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), inducted as a member on September 30, 1940

Stories

 * "Railroaders are Tough" (Railroad Magazine, April, 1943)
 * "Boomer and Their Women" (Railroad Magazine, December, 1957)

Articles

 * "New Publications – Railroad Songs of Yesteryear" (Railroad Magazine, August 1943) Short biography is part of review.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Harry McClintock


text:
SMPTE timecode

SMPTE timecode ( or ) is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a timecode. The system is defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in the SMPTE 12M specification. SMPTE revised the standard in 2008, turning it into a two-part document: SMPTE 12M-1 and SMPTE 12M-2, including new explanations and clarifications.

Timecodes are added to film, video or audio material, and have also been adapted to synchronize music and theatrical production. They provide a time reference for editing, synchronization and identification. Timecode is a form of media metadata. The invention of timecode made modern videotape editing possible and led eventually to the creation of non-linear editing systems.

Basic concepts

SMPTE timecode is presented in hour:minute:second:frame format and is typically represented in 32 bits using binary-coded decimal. There are also drop-frame and color framing flags and three extra binary group flag bits used for defining the use of the user bits. The formats of other varieties of SMPTE timecode are derived from that of the linear timecode. More complex timecodes such as vertical interval timecode can also include extra information in a variety of encodings.

Sub-second timecode time values are expressed in terms of frames. Common supported frame rates include:
 * 24 frame/sec. (film, ATSC, 2K, 4K, 6K)
 * 25 frame/sec. (PAL (Europe, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia), SECAM, DVB, ATSC)
 * 29.97 (30 ÷ 1.001) frame/sec. (NTSC American System (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Colombia, et al.), ATSC, PAL-M (Brazil))
 * 30 frame/sec. (ATSC)

In general, SMPTE timecode frame rate information is implicit, known from the rate of arrival of the timecode from the medium. It may also be specified in other metadata encoded in the medium. The interpretation of several bits, including the color framing and drop frame bits, depends on the underlying data rate. In particular, the drop frame bit is only valid for 29.97 and 30 frame/sec.

Discontinuous timecode, and flywheel processing
Timecodes are generated as a continuous stream of sequential data values. In some applications wall-clock time is used, in others the time encoded is a notional time with more arbitrary reference. After making a series of recordings, or after crude editing, recorded timecodes may consist of discontinuous segments.

In general, it is not possible to know the linear timecode (LTC) of the current frame until the frame has already gone by, by which time it is too late to make an edit. Practical systems watch the ascending sequence of the timecode and infer the time of the current frame from that.

As timecodes in analog systems are prone to bit-errors and drop-outs, most timecode processing devices check for internal consistency in the sequence of timecode values and use simple error correction schemes to correct for short error bursts. Thus, a boundary between discontinuous timecode ranges cannot be determined exactly until several subsequent frames have passed.

Drop-frame timecode
Drop-frame timecode originates from a compromise introduced when color NTSC video was invented. The NTSC designers wanted to retain compatibility with existing monochrome televisions. To minimize subcarrier visibility on a monochrome receiver it was necessary to make the color subcarrier an odd multiple of half the line scan frequency; the multiple originally chosen was 495. With a 30 Hz frame rate the line scan frequency is (30 × 525) = 15750 Hz. So the subcarrier frequency would have been $495⁄2$ × 15750 = 3.898125 MHz.

This was the subcarrier frequency originally chosen, but tests showed that on some monochrome receivers an interference pattern caused by the beat between the color subcarrier and the 4.5 MHz sound intercarrier could be seen. The visibility of this pattern could be greatly reduced by lowering the subcarrier frequency multiple to 455 (thus increasing the beat frequency from approximately 600 kHz to approximately 920 kHz) and by making the beat frequency also equal to an odd multiple of half the line scan frequency. This latter change could have been achieved by raising the sound intercarrier by 0.1% to 4.5045 MHz, but the designers, concerned that this might cause problems with some existing receivers, decided instead to reduce the color subcarrier frequency, and thus both the line scan frequency and the frame rate, by 0.1% instead. Thus the NTSC color subcarrier ended up as 3.579$\overline{54}$ MHz ($315⁄88$ MHz), the line scan frequency as 15.$\overline{734265}$ kHz ($9⁄572$ MHz) and the frame rate 29.$\overline{970029}$ Hz ($30⁄1.001$ Hz).

The altered frame rate meant that an hour of timecode at a nominal frame rate of 29.97 frame/s was longer than an hour of wall-clock time by 3.6 seconds (for 29.97 non-drop timecode of 01:00:00:00 drop-frame timecode is 01:00:03;18 and for non-drop 00:59:56:12 drop-frame is 01:00:00;00), leading to an error of almost a minute and a half over a day.

To correct this, drop-frame SMPTE timecode was invented. In spite of what the name implies, no video frames are dropped or skipped when using drop-frame timecode. Rather, some of the timecodes are dropped. In order to make an hour of timecode match an hour on the clock, drop-frame timecode skips frame numbers 0 and 1 of the first second of every minute, except when the number of minutes is divisible by ten. This causes timecode to skip 18 frames each ten minutes (18,000 frames @ 30 frame/s) and almost perfectly compensates for the difference in rate (but still accumulates 1 frame every 9 hours 15 minutes).

For example, the sequence when frame counts are dropped:
 * 01:08:59:28
 * 01:08:59:29
 * 01:09:00:02
 * 01:09:00:03

For each tenth minute
 * 01:09:59:28
 * 01:09:59:29
 * 01:10:00:00
 * 01:10:00:01

While non-drop timecode is displayed with colons separating the digit pairs—"HH:MM:SS:FF"—drop-frame is usually represented with a semicolon or period (.) as the divider between all the digit pairs—HH;MM;SS;FF, HH.MM.SS.FF—or just between the seconds and frames—HH:MM:SS;FF or HH:MM:SS.FF. Drop-frame timecode is typically abbreviated as DF and non-drop as NDF.

Color framing and timecode
A color framing bit is often used to indicate field 1 of the color frame so that editing equipment can make sure to edit only on appropriate color frame sequence boundaries in order to prevent picture corruption.

Studio operations and master clocks
In television studio operations, longitudinal timecode is generated by the studio master sync generator and distributed from a central point. Central sync generators usually derive their timing from an atomic clock, using either network time or GPS. Studios usually operate multiple clocks and automatically switch over if one fails.

Music production
Longitudinal SMPTE timecode is widely used to synchronize music. A frame rate of 30 frame/s is often used for audio in America, Japan, and other countries that rely on a 60 Hz mains frequency and use the NTSC television standard. The European Broadcasting Union standard frame rate of 25 frame/s is used throughout Europe, Australia and wherever the mains frequency is 50 Hz and the PAL or SECAM television standards are used.

Variants
Timecode may be attached to a recording medium in a number of different ways.
 * 1) Linear timecode, a.k.a. longitudinal timecode (LTC): suitable to be recorded on an audio channel, or carried by audio wires for distribution within a studio to synchronize recorders and cameras. To read LTC, the recording must be moving, meaning that LTC is useless when the recording is stationary or nearly stationary. This shortcoming led to the development of VITC.
 * 2) Vertical interval timecode, (VITC, pronounced "vit-see"): recorded into the vertical blanking interval of the video signal on each frame of video. The advantage of VITC is that, since it is a part of the playback video, it can be read when the tape is stationary.
 * 3) AES-EBU embedded timecode, SMPTE timecode embedded in an AES3 digital audio connection.
 * 4) control track longitudinal timecode (CTL timecode): SMPTE timecode embedded in the control track of a videotape.
 * 5) Visible time code, a.k.a. burnt-in timecode and BITC (pronounced "bit-see") - the numbers are burnt into the video image so that humans can easily read the time code. Videotapes that are duplicated with these time code numbers burnt-in to the video are known as window dubs.
 * 6) Film labels, such as Keykode.

History
There were several iterations of timecode in the late 1960s (EECO, DaVinci, Seimens, etc.). The version adopted by SMPTE was developed by Leo O'Donnell while he was working for the National Film Board of Canada. Leo's version referenced time of day and used an 80-bit word that was derived from rocket telemetry. There were several patents issued on Leo’s version (US3877799, for example). Since that time, several changes have been made by SMPTE to keep up with technology.

title: SMPTE timecode


text:
S&P Global Ratings

S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is considered the largest of the Big Three credit-rating agencies, which also include Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Its head office is located on 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Corporate history
The company traces its history back to 1860, with the publication by Henry Varnum Poor of History of Railroads and Canals in the United States. This book compiled comprehensive information about the financial and operational state of U.S. railroad companies. In 1868, Henry Varnum Poor established H.V. and H.W. Poor Co. with his son, Henry William Poor, and published two annually updated hardback guidebooks, Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States and Poor's Directory of Railway Officials.

In 1906, Luther Lee Blake founded the Standard Statistics Bureau, with the view to providing financial information on non-railroad companies. Instead of an annually published book, Standard Statistics would use 5-by-7-inch cards, allowing for more frequent updates.

In 1941, Paul Talbot Babson purchased Poor's Publishing and merged it with Standard Statistics to become Standard & Poor's Corp. In 1966, the company was acquired by The McGraw-Hill Companies, extending McGraw-Hill into the field of financial information services.

Credit ratings
As a credit rating agency (CRA), the company issues credit ratings for the debt of public and private companies, and public borrowers such as governments, governmental agencies, and cities. It is one of several CRAs that have been designated a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Long-term credit ratings
[[File:BlankMap-World S&P.svg|thumb|552x552px|Countries by Standard & Poor's long-term sovereign rating. Legend:

S&P rates borrowers on a scale from AAA to D. Intermediate ratings are offered at each level between AA and CCC (such as BBB+, BBB, and BBB−). For some borrowers issuances, the company may also offer guidance (termed a "credit watch") as to whether it is likely to be upgraded (positive), downgraded (negative) or stable.

Investment Grade
 * AAA: An obligor rated 'AAA' has extremely strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. 'AAA' is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by Standard & Poor's.
 * AA: An obligor rated 'AA' has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated obligors only to a small degree. Includes:
 * AA+: equivalent to Moody's Aa1 (high quality, with very low credit risk, but susceptibility to long-term risks appears somewhat greater)
 * AA: equivalent to Aa2
 * AA−: equivalent to Aa3
 * A:  An obligor rated 'A' has strong capacity to meet its financial commitments but is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligors in higher-rated categories.
 * A+: equivalent to A1
 * A: equivalent to A2
 * BBB: An obligor rated 'BBB' has adequate capacity to meet its financial commitments. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitments.

Non-Investment Grade (also known as speculative-grade)
 * BB: An obligor rated 'BB' is less vulnerable in the near term than other lower-rated obligors. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties and exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
 * B:  An obligor rated 'B' is more vulnerable than the obligors rated 'BB', but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments.
 * CCC: An obligor rated 'CCC' is currently vulnerable, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments.
 * CC: An obligor rated 'CC' is currently highly vulnerable.
 * C:  highly vulnerable, perhaps in bankruptcy or in arrears but still continuing to pay out on obligations
 * R:  An obligor rated 'R' is under regulatory supervision owing to its financial condition. During the pendency of the regulatory supervision, the regulators may have the power to favor one class of obligations over others or pay some obligations and not others.
 * SD: has selectively defaulted on some obligations
 * D:  has defaulted on obligations and S&P believes that it will generally default on most or all obligations
 * NR: not rated

Short-term issue credit ratings
The company rates specific issues on a scale from A-1 to D. Within the A-1 category, it can be designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the issuer's commitment to meet its obligation is very strong. Country risk and currency of repayment of the obligor to meet the issue obligation are factored into the credit analysis and reflected in the issue rating.

 * A-1: obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong
 * A-2: is susceptible to adverse economic conditions however the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory
 * A-3: adverse economic conditions are likely to weaken the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation
 * B:  has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial obligation but faces major ongoing uncertainties that could impact its financial commitment on the obligation
 * C:  currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation
 * D:  is in payment default. Obligation not made on due date and grace period may not have expired. The rating is also used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition.

Governance scores
S&P has had a variety of approaches to reflecting its opinion of the relative strength of a company's corporate governance practices. Corporate governance serves as investor protection against potential governance-related losses of value, or failure to create value.

CGS scores
S&P developed criteria and methodology for assessing corporate governance. It started issuing Corporate Governance Scores (CGS) in 2000. CGS assessed companies' corporate governance practices. They were assigned at the request of the company being assessed, were non-public (although companies were free to disclose them to the public and sometimes did) and were limited to public U.S. corporations. In 2005, S&P stopped issuing CGS.

GAMMA scores
S&P's Governance, Accountability, Management Metrics and Analysis (GAMMA) scores were designed for equity investors in emerging markets and focused on non-financial-risk assessment, and in particular, assessment of corporate governance risk. S&P discontinued providing stand-alone governance scores in 2011, "while continuing to incorporate governance analysis in global and local scale credit ratings".

Management and Governance criteria
In November 2012, S&P published its criteria for evaluating insurers and non-financial enterprises' management and governance credit factors. These scores are not standalone, but rather a component used by S&P in assessing an enterprise's overall creditworthiness. S&P updated its management and governance scoring methodology as part of a larger effort to include enterprise risk management analysis in its rating of debt issued by non-financial companies. "Scoring of management and governance is made on a scale of weak, fair, satisfactory or strong, depending on the mix of positive and negative management scores and the existence and severity of governance deficiencies."

Downgrade of U.S. long-term credit rating
On August 5, 2011, following enactment of the Budget Control Act of 2011, S&P lowered the US's sovereign long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+. The press release sent with the decision said, in part:
 * " The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics.
 * " More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.
 * " Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government's debt dynamics any time soon."

The United States Department of the Treasury, which had first called S&P's attention to its $2 trillion error in calculating the ten-year deficit reduction under the Budget Control Act, commented, "The magnitude of this mistake – and the haste with which S&P changed its principal rationale for action when presented with this error – raise fundamental questions about the credibility and integrity of S&P's ratings action." The following day, S&P acknowledged in writing the US$2 trillion error in its calculations, saying the error "had no impact on the rating decision" and adding: "In taking a longer term horizon of 10 years, the U.S. net general government debt level with the current assumptions would be $20.1 trillion (85% of 2021 GDP). With the original assumptions, the debt level was projected to be $22.1 trillion (93% of 2021 GDP)." In 2013, the Justice Department charged Standard & Poor's with fraud in a $5 billion lawsuit: U.S. v. McGraw-Hill Cos et al., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 13-00779. Since it did not charge Fitch and Moody's and because the Department did not give access to evidence, there has been speculation whether the lawsuit may have been in retaliation for S&P's decision to downgrade.

On April 15, 2013, the Department of Justice was ordered to grant S&P access to evidence.

Downgrade of France's long-term credit rating
On November 11, 2011, S&P erroneously announced the cut of France's triple-A rating (AAA). French leaders said that the error was inexcusable and called for even more regulation of private credit rating agencies. On January 13, 2012, S&P truly cut France's AAA rating, lowering it to AA+. This was the first time since 1975 that Europe's second-biggest economy, France, had been downgraded to AA+. The same day, S&P downgraded the rating of eight other European countries: Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Cyprus.

Publications
The company publishes The Outlook, a weekly investment advisory newsletter for individuals and professional investors, published continuously since 1922. Credit Week is produced by Standard & Poor's Credit Market Services Group. It offers a comprehensive view of the global credit markets, providing credit rating news and analysis. Standard & Poor's offers numerous other editorials, investment commentaries and news updates for financial markets, companies, industries, stocks, bonds, funds, economic outlook and investor education. All publications are available to subscribers.

S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes several blogs that do not require a subscription to access. These include Indexology, VIX Views and Housing Views.

Role in the 2007–08 financial crisis
Credit rating agencies such as S&P have been cited for contributing to the financial crisis of 2007–08. Credit ratings of AAA (the highest rating available) were given to large portions of even the riskiest pools of loans in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market. When the real estate bubble burst in 2007, many loans went bad due to falling housing prices and the inability of bad creditors to refinance. Investors who had trusted the AAA rating to mean that CDO were low-risk had purchased large amounts that later experienced staggering drops in value or could not be sold at any price. For example, institutional investors lost $125 million on $340.7 million worth of CDOs issued by Credit Suisse Group, despite being rated AAA by S&P.

Companies pay S&P, Moody's and Fitch to rate their debt issues. As a result, some critics have contended that the credit ratings agencies are beholden to these issuers in a conflict of interests and that their ratings are not as objective as they ought to be, due to this "pay to play" model.

In 2015, Standard and Poor's paid $1.5 billion to the U.S. Justice Department, various state governments, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System to settle lawsuits asserting its inaccurate ratings defrauded investors.

Criticism of sovereign debt ratings
In April 2009, the company called for "new faces" in the Irish government, which was seen as interfering in the democratic process. In a subsequent statement they said they were "misunderstood".

S&P acknowledged making a US$2 trillion error in its justification for downgrading the credit rating of the United States in 2011, but stated that it "had no impact on the rating decision".

Australian Federal Court decision
In November 2012, Judge Jayne Jagot of the Federal Court of Australia found that: "A reasonably competent ratings agency could not have rated the Rembrandt 2006-3 CPDO AAA in these circumstances"; and "S&P’s rating of AAA of the Rembrandt 2006-2 and 2006-3 CPDO notes was misleading and deceptive and involved the publication of information or statements false in material particulars and otherwise involved negligent misrepresentations to the class of potential investors in Australia, which included Local Government Financial Services Pty Ltd and the councils, because by the AAA rating there was conveyed a representation that in S&P’s opinion the capacity of the notes to meet all financial obligations was “extremely strong” and a representation that S&P had reached this opinion based on reasonable grounds and as the result of an exercise of reasonable care when neither was true and S&P also knew not to be true at the time made."

In conclusion, Jagot found Standard & Poor's to be jointly liable along with ABN Amro and Local Government Financial Services Pty Ltd.

Antitrust review
In November 2009, ten months after launching an investigation, the European Commission (EC) formally charged S&P with abusing its position as the sole provider of international securities identification codes for United States of America securities by requiring European financial firms and data vendors to pay licensing fees for their use. "This behavior amounts to unfair pricing," the EC said in its statement of objections which lays the groundwork for an adverse finding against S&P. "The (numbers) are indispensable for a number of operations that financial institutions carry out – for instance, reporting to authorities or clearing and settlement – and cannot be substituted.”

S&P has run the CUSIP Service Bureau, the only International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) issuer in the US, on behalf of the American Bankers Association. In its formal statement of objections, the EC alleged "that S&P is abusing this monopoly position by enforcing the payment of licence fees for the use of US ISINs by (a) banks and other financial services providers in the EEA and (b) information service providers in the EEA." It claims that comparable agencies elsewhere in the world either do not charge fees at all, or do so on the basis of distribution cost, rather than usage.

title: S&P Global Ratings


text:
...And Justice for All (film)

...And Justice for All is a 1979 American legal drama film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Al Pacino, Jack Warden and John Forsythe. Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, Craig T. Nelson, Thomas Waites, and Sam Levene, in his final screen performance, appear in supporting roles. The Oscar-nominated screenplay was written by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson. It was filmed in Baltimore, including the courthouse area. It received two Academy Award nominations: Best Actor (Pacino) and Best Original Screenplay (Curtin and Levinson).

The film includes a well-known scene in which Pacino's character yells, "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!"

Plot
Arthur Kirkland, a Baltimore defense attorney, is in jail on a contempt of court charge after punching Judge Henry T. Fleming while arguing the case of Jeff McCullaugh. McCullaugh was stopped for a minor traffic offense, then mistaken for a killer of the same name, and has already spent a year and a half in jail without being guilty of a crime. Fleming has repeatedly stymied Kirkland's efforts to have the case reviewed. Although there is strong new evidence that McCullaugh is innocent, Fleming refuses to consider his appeal due to its late submission, so he remains in prison. Kirkland then starts a new case, defending Ralph Agee, a young black cross-dresser arrested for a robbery, who is terrified of being sent to prison.

Kirkland pays regular visits to his grandfather Sam, in a nursing home, who is progressively becoming senile. It is revealed that Kirkland was abandoned by his parents at a young age, and it was Sam who raised him and put him through law school. Kirkland also begins a romance with a legal ethics committee member, Gail Packer.

Kirkland has a friendly relationship with Judge Francis Rayford, who takes him on a hair-raising ride in his personal helicopter. Rayford laughs in amusement as he tests how far he can fly before running out of fuel. Meanwhile, Kirkland is terrified and begs him to land; Rayford eventually crashes his helicopter in knee-deep water. Rayford, a Korean War veteran, is borderline suicidal and keeps a rifle in his chambers at the courthouse and an M1911 pistol in his shoulder holster at all times. He even eats his lunch on a ledge outside his office window, four stories up.

One day, unexpectedly, Kirkland is requested to defend Judge Fleming, who has been accused of brutally assaulting and raping a young woman. As the two loathe each other, Fleming feels that having the person who publicly hates him argue his innocence will be to his advantage. Fleming blackmails Kirkland with an old violation of lawyer-client confidentiality, for which Kirkland will likely be disbarred if it were to come to light.

Kirkland's friend and partner, Jay Porter, is also unstable. He feels guilt for gaining acquittals for defendants who were truly guilty of violent crimes. Porter shows up drunk at Kirkland's apartment, after one of his (guilty) clients kills two kids following his acquittal. Porter soon shaves his head, claiming this will make his hair grow back thicker, but keeps shaving it. After a violent breakdown inside the courthouse – wherein he ends up throwing dinner plates at everybody in the hallway – Porter is taken to a hospital. Before leaving in the ambulance, Kirkland asks another partner, Warren Fresnell, to handle Agee's court hearing in his absence. Kirkland gives Fresnell a corrected version of Agee's probation report and stresses that it must be shown to the judge so that Agee will receive probation, rather than serve jail time. Fresnell shows up late and forgets to give the judge the corrected version, causing Agee to be sentenced to jail time. Kirkland is livid and attacks Fresnell's car, revealing that 30 minutes after he was sentenced, Agee committed suicide. Meanwhile, Jeff McCullaugh, who has been sexually and physically assaulted by other inmates, finally snaps and takes two hostages. Kirkland pleads with him to surrender, promising to get him out, but a police sniper shoots and kills McCullaugh when he moves in front of a window.

A clearly disturbed Kirkland takes on Judge Fleming's case. He tries to talk the prosecuting attorney, Frank Bowers, into throwing the case out but Bowers, who recognizes the prestige that convicting a judge would earn him, refuses to back down. Kirkland meets with another client, Carl Travers, who offers photographs proving that Fleming engaged in BDSM acts with a prostitute. Gail warns Kirkland not to betray a client, revealing that the ethics committee has been keeping their eye on him ever since the contempt of court incident. Kirkland shows the pictures to Fleming, who freely admits he is guilty of the rape.

As the trial opens, Fleming, while looking at the victim, makes a casual remark to Kirkland that he "wouldn't mind seeing her again sometime." Kirkland's face indicates his disgust. In his opening statement, Kirkland begins by mocking Bowers' case while speculating on the ultimate objective of the American legal system. He appears to be making a strong case to exonerate Fleming – but then, unexpectedly, he has a breakdown, during which he repeatedly declares that Fleming is guilty and must be sent to jail. Kirkland is dragged out of the courtroom, venting his rage all the way and condemning Fleming for his and the legal system's abuse of the law. As the courtroom spectators cheer for Kirkland – including Gail – Fleming sits down in defeat, and a fed-up Rayford storms out.

In the end, Kirkland sits on the courthouse's steps, knowing his antics will probably cost him his career in law. An apparently uncured Jay Porter passes by, and tips his wig to Kirkland in a greeting, leaving him sitting on the steps in utter disbelief.

Production
The film was filmed in Baltimore, including the courthouse area, the Washington Monument of the Mount Vernon district, and Fort McHenry. Pacino practiced the "You're out of order!" scene 26 times at the building ledge.

Release
The film premiered as the closing night gala presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 15, 1979.

Reception
...And Justice for All opened to critical acclaim and box office success. Produced on a modest budget of $4 million, it grossed over $33.3 million in North America, making it the 24th highest-grossing film of 1979. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads, "A volcanic Al Pacino holds court in this histrionic legal drama, the star grounding a tonally imbalanced script with the conviction of his impassioned performance." Zagat gave the film 23 of 30 possible points overall; the quality of acting a score of 26 of 30, and story and production 22 each, where 20 to 25 represents "very good to excellent"; 26 to 30 "extraordinary to perfection".

Brian W. Fairbanks in the book The Late Show called the film's screenplay "overly contrived", despite Pacino's "trademark" phrase in the courtroom. Empire magazine called it a "solid but slightly clichéd courtroom drama" and rated it three stars out of five.

Kirkland's opening courtroom statement near the film's ending, as well as his subsequent outburst "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!" (commonly misquoted as "I'm out of order?! You're out of order! This whole courtroom is out of order!"), has been often discussed: Filmsite named the ending one of the Best Film Speeches and Monologues. MSN Canada noted that the whole phrase is one of the top 10 "misquoted movie lines".

The film received two Academy Award nominations. Al Pacino was nominated for Best Actor, and Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson were nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Pacino was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

Legacy
The line "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!" has been parodied many times in popular media, such as in The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory. It is also echoed in Pacino's speech in the film Scent of a Woman.

title: ...And Justice for All (film)


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The Great Santini

The Great Santini is a 1979 American drama film written and directed by Lewis John Carlino. It is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Pat Conroy. The film stars Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, and Michael O'Keefe.

Plot
A warrior without a war, Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum, a pilot known as "the Great Santini" to his fellow Marines, sets off with his reluctant family at 3 a.m., moving to the military base town of Beaufort, South Carolina, in peacetime 1962. His wife, Lillian, is loyal and docile, tolerant of Meechum's temper and drinking. Their teenage children, Ben and Mary Anne, are accustomed to his stern discipline and behave accordingly while adapting to their new town and school.

Ben's talent at basketball earned him a spot on the school team, and he became a dominant player on the court. During one-on-one games with Meechum at home, though, his father refuses to let Ben win, using unnecessarily rough physical tactics and humiliating insults and criticizing the rest of the family when they try to interfere. When Ben finally wins a game, Meechum unleashes a torrent of verbal abuse while bouncing the ball off his head. Later that night, Ben finds his father practising basketball alone in the driveway in the pouring rain. Lillian urges Ben not to be angry at his father and explains that Meechum is showing Ben that he will have to work to compete with his son now. During a school game, Meechum orders Ben to strike back against a rival player who has committed a foul. Ben tackles the player and breaks his arm, getting himself ejected from the game and dismissed from the team.

Ben is befriended by the young black man, Toomer Smalls, whose mother Arrabelle is the family housekeeper. After Toomer uses his beehives to defend himself from a group of racists who come to attack him at home, he is shot. Ben defies his father's orders to wait for more help and follows Arrabelle's pleas to go out and help Toomer but he dies by the time Meechum confronts them on the road. Ben stands his ground, and Meechum backs down. His CO later tells Meechum he should be proud of his son.

After seeing Ben and Mary Anne off to the prom together, and insisting on splurging on "the best" dress, Meecham goes out on a routine mission. His engines fail, and he chooses to crash his plane into the sea rather than eject and let the aircraft crash into the nearby town. The family leaves Beaufort after his funeral at 3 a. m. just as they had before, with Ben at the wheel.

Production notes
Lewis John Carlino adapted the script from Conroy's novel. Carlino also directed the film. The title character, Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum, aka "The Great Santini", was based on Conroy's father.

The story, for the most part, follows the book. The movie's major divergence is the absence of Ben Meechum's Jewish best friend, Sammy. The spelling of the family's surname was also changed from Meecham to Meechum. Also changed is Meechum's aircraft; in the book, he flies and commands a squadron of F-8 Crusaders, while in the film, the fighters shown are F-4 Phantom IIs.

Much of the film was shot on location in Beaufort, South Carolina. Tidalholm, the 19th-century house used for the Meechum residence, was later used in The Big Chill (1983).

The film was shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio but was only produced in that ratio in the LaserDisc format. The VHS and DVD releases are in 1.33:1, also known as full screen or pan and scan. To date the film has not had a release in the Blu-ray format.

Herman Raucher misattribution
Herman Raucher is often credited as a ghostwriter for the film. However, Raucher did no work on the film; the misconception arises from the fact that, in the 1980s, Raucher was hired to write a television pilot based on the movie; he only wrote "a couple of pieces," he explained.

Raucher has stated that, into the 2000s, he continued to receive fan mail for Santini and that the volume of letters he received was surpassed only by those for Summer of '42.

Release
Warner Bros. executives were concerned that the film's plot and lack of bankable actors would make it challenging to market. It premiered in Beaufort in August 1979 and was soon released to empty cinemas in North Carolina and South Carolina. Believing the film's title, which implied it was about circus stunts, was the problem, it was tested with other titles: Sons and Heroes in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Reaching Out in Rockford, Illinois, and The Ace in Peoria, Illinois. As it tested better in Peoria, The Ace stuck. Even with its new title, the film performed poorly. Orion Pictures pulled the film and sold cable rights to HBO and airline rights to recoup its losses.

Producer Charles A. Pratt still believed in the film and raised enough money (some from Orion) to release The Great Santini in New York City under its original title. It received positive reviews, and business was steady. Two weeks later, it debuted on HBO, and audiences stopped coming. Orion executive Mike Medavoy blamed the film's box-office failure on a lack of a traditional release: screening it first in New York and expanding markets due to word-of-mouth.

Critical reception
The film was well received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 95% rating based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Like almost all my favorite films, The Great Santini is about people more than it is about a story. It's a study of several characters, most unforgettably the Great Santini himself, played by Robert Duvall ... There are moments so unpredictable and yet so natural they feel just like the spontaneity of life itself." John Simon of National Review wrote that The Great Santini was "an uneven achievement that nevertheless contains enough of value to justify catching it".

In popular culture
Movies and television have referred to the one-on-one basketball game from The Great Santini during which Bull Meechum repeatedly bounces the ball off Ben's head while asking, "You gonna cry?" Parodies of the scene appear in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and in episodes of The Simpsons and Roseanne. This movie was referred to in season 2 of the television series King of the Hill in the 17th episode "Hank's Dirty Laundry", where Hank mentions that he had rented and returned this movie 23 times.

The scene is invoked in the father–son tetherball match in Kicking & Screaming, a comedy in which Robert Duvall plays a tough-love father reminiscent of Bull Meechum. Another reference appears in Daddy's Home 2 in a scene featuring Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg.

title: The Great Santini


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Paul Heyse

Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty dramas. The sum of Heyse's many and varied productions made him a dominant figure among German men of letters. He was awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories." Wirsen, one of the Nobel judges, said that "Germany has not had a greater literary genius since Goethe." Heyse is the fifth oldest laureate in literature, after Alice Munro, Jaroslav Seifert, Theodor Mommsen and Doris Lessing.

Berlin (1830–54)
Paul Heyse was born on 15 March 1830 in Heiliggeiststraße, Berlin. His father, the distinguished philologist Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Heyse, was a professor at the University of Berlin who had been the tutor of both Wilhelm von Humboldt's youngest son (during 1815–17) and Felix Mendelssohn (during 1819–27). His paternal grandfather Johann Christian August Heyse (21 April 1764, Nordhausen – 27 July 1829, Magdeburg), was a famous German grammarian and lexicographer. Paul Heyse's mother was Jewish.

Heyse attended the renamed Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium until 1847. He was later remembered as a model student. His family connections gained him early entry to the artistic circles of Berlin, where he made the acquaintance of Emanuel Geibel, a man fifteen years his elder who was to become his literary mentor and lifelong friend, and who introduced him to his future father-in-law, the art historian and writer Franz Kugler.

After leaving school Heyse began studying classical philology. He met Jacob Burckhardt, Adolph Menzel, Theodor Fontane and Theodor Storm, and in 1849 joined the Tunnel über der Spree literary group. Frühlingsanfang 1848, the first of Heyse's poems to see print, expressed his enthusiasm for the recent Revolution. After a brief excursion to see the student militias he returned home without joining them, apparently out of consideration for the concerns of his parents and friends.

Having studied for two years at the University of Berlin he left for Bonn in April 1849 in order to study art history and Romance languages. In 1850, he finally resolved on a career as a writer and began a dissertation under the supervision of Friedrich Diez, a pioneer of Romance philology in Germany; but when it was discovered he was conducting an affair with the wife of one of his professors he was sent back to Berlin. Heyse's first book, Der Jungbrunnen (a collection of tales and poetry) was published anonymously by his father that same year as was his tragedy Francesca von Rimini. About the same time, Heyse received from the publisher Alexander Duncker a manuscript by the then-unknown Theodor Storm. Heyse's enthusiastic critique of Sommergeschichten und Lieder laid the foundations of their future friendship.

In 1851, Heyse won a contest held by the members of the "Tunnel" for the ballad Das Tal von Espigno, and his first short story, "Marion" (1852), was similarly honoured. It was followed in 1852 by the Spanisches Liederbuch, a collection of translations of poems and folk songs by Geibel and Heyse which was to be a favourite with composers, including Robert Schumann (Opp. 74 & 138), Adolf Jensen (Op. 21) and Hugo Wolf (Lieder collection Spanisches Liederbuch, 1891). Wolf also set poems from Heyse's collection Italienisches Liederbuch of 1860 (Lieder collection Italienisches Liederbuch 1892–96). Throughout his career Heyse worked as a translator, above all of Italian literature (Leopardi, Giusti).

Several members of the "Tunnel" began to find its formalities and public nature distasteful, and a smaller circle, the Rütli, was formed in December 1852: it included Kugler, Lepel, Fontane, Storm, and Heyse. In May 1852, Heyse was awarded a doctorate for his work on the troubadours, and a Prussian scholarship allowed him to depart for Italy to look for old Provençal manuscripts. He made friends with Arnold Böcklin and Joseph Victor von Scheffel but was banned from the Vatican library after being discovered copying passages from unpublished manuscripts. He returned to Germany in 1853, where, with the Italian landscape still fresh in his mind, he wrote the works which first made him famous: his most famous short story, "L'Arrabbiata" ("The Fury", 1853, published in 1855); and the Lieder aus Sorrent ("Songs of Sorrento", 1852/53). Much of his new writing appeared in the Argo, the yearbook of the Rütli writers.

Munich (1854–1914)
Emanuel Geibel persuaded the King of Bavaria, Maximilian II, to grant Heyse a titular professorship in Munich. Heyse was thus appointed professor of Romance philology, although he never taught at that city's university. After his marriage on 15 May to Margarete Kugler he arrived in Munich on 25 May 1854. At his first audience with the King, Heyse presented his verse tales, Hermen, and began a productive life as one of the Nordlichtern ("northern lights": Geibel, Heyse and Riehl) and establishing another literary society, Die Krokodile, which included Felix Dahn, Wilhelm Hertz, Hermann Lingg, Franz von Kobell, the cultural historian Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl, Friedrich Bodenstedt, and the travel writer and art patron Adolf Friedrich von Schack. In December Heyse began a long correspondence with Eduard Mörike.

On 22 August 1855, Heyse's first son, Franz, was born. Heyse had four children by his first marriage: Franz (1855–1919), Julie or Lulu (Frau Baumgarten, 1857–1928), Ernst (1859–1871) and Clara (Frau Layriz, 1861–1931). In 1859, obligations to the Kugler family led Heyse to take up a position as editor of the Literaturblatt zum deutschen Kunstblatt, and he declined a tempting offer from the Grand Duke Carl Alexander von Weimar which would have involved moving to Thuringia.

On 30 September 1862, his wife Margarete died in Meran of a lung illness. He completed the historical drama, Ludwig der Bayer – a Bavarian period piece which Maximilian II had long been eager to see – but its theatrical production was a failure. Nevertheless, Heyse worked throughout the 1860s on new plays, eventually achieving his greatest success with Kolberg (1865).

He married Anna Schubart in 1867. Over the next three decades, Heyse continued to write prolifically. Despite a number of bereavements his life was uneventful, and his fame grew steadily until he was a world-famous figure. He was a very early opponent of naturalism, making critical references to it in print long before its influence could be felt in Germany. Younger critics who favoured naturalism made attacks on his writings, to which he replied in Merlin (1892): but their influence on the public was negligible. He was dubbed Dichterfürst, prince of poetry, and he worked tirelessly to promote international understanding within Europe. He was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1895. In 1900, he was named an honorary citizen of Munich, and several special publications honoured his 70th birthday; and in 1910, he was made a member of the nobility, before being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on 10 December. He could not attend the ceremony, and was represented in Sweden by Count von Pückler.

His last published works were Letzten Novellen and Italienischen Volksmärchen (1914). He died on 2 April 1914, several months before the outbreak of World War I, and was buried in the old section of the Waldfriedhof (Nr. 43-W-27).

A street and tunnel in Munich, "Paul-Heyse Strasse" and "Paul-Heyse-Unterführung" are named after him as well as “Heysestrasse” in Hamburg Bergedorf.

title: Paul Heyse