Blanche Wetherill Walton played a significant role in the development of America’s modernist music culture throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Her legacy has largely been preserved through her roles as a patron and salonnière during this time, which included sending financial aid to composers, housing modernist musicians, hosting meetings of the New York Musicological Society, and hosting musicales in her home. However, Walton’s participation in modernist music extended far beyond traditional patron or salonnière roles. In addition to offering financial gifts, Walton carried out tasks typical of a music agent. These activities included organizing auditions, sending and receiving programs and scores, disseminating writings, corresponding, booking dates, securing venues, coordinating networking opportunities, handling contracts, and arranging lessons on behalf of modernist musicians. The depth and breadth of Walton’s work sets her apart from other music patrons; she acted as a one-woman agent for a select, yet still large, group of modernists. Walton’s upbringing in a wealthy Philadelphia family ensured that she gained managerial skills necessary for overseeing and running a large household. As a young woman of the elite class Walton also learned social etiquette and benefitted from her family’s connections to influential individuals in American music culture. These experiences would prove to be invaluable to Walton’s work in assisting modernist musicians in the early twentieth century. Walton’s upbringing also featured strong ties to her family’s Quaker background. As direct descendants of the founder of the Free Quakers, the Wetherills would have been well versed in Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. These tenets influenced Walton’s work in modernist music culture as she generously offered her resources, skills, time, and energy to promote modernist musicians and their music. Despite her family’s wealth and a large settlement she received following the death of her husband in 1903, Walton experienced financial strains in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash. In addition to providing funds and housing to musicians whenever possible, Walton supplemented this support with managerial assistance. Thanks to her upbringing, Walton knew how to be involved in the day-to-day activities of music culture, understood the importance of working hard on behalf of others, and lived comfortably enough to devote her time and energy to this work. Her influence was far reaching and influenced the careers of many modernist musicians, including Henry Cowell, Ruth Crawford, Imre Weisshaus (Paul Arma), Aaron Copland, Joseph Szigeti, and Wesley Kuhnle. This project examines her work on behalf of these six composers, though many others also benefitted from her work and generosity. This group of musicians speaks to the diversity of Walton’s interests in modernist music, encompassing a wide range of modernist compositional approaches, individuals from a variety of backgrounds, both composers and performers, and both male and female modernists. Examining Walton’s managerial work not only illuminates the extent of her involvement in modernist music culture but also provides a better understanding of the structure and state of America’s modernist music culture in the 1920s and 1930s. By looking at the influence Quaker beliefs had on Walton’s work as a manager, this project also suggests that religious values may serve as a new framework through which we may better understand modernist music culture. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Spring Semester 2019. / March 13, 2019. / Agent, Blanche Wetherill Walton, Manager, Modernist, Quaker, Stewardship / Includes bibliographical references. / Denise Von Glahn, Professor Directing Thesis; Rachel Lumsden, Committee Member; Douglass Seaton, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_709745 |
| Contributors | Eubanks, Emily Rebecca (author), Lumsden, Rachel (Committee Member), Seaton, Douglass (Committee Member), Von Glahn, Denise (Professor Directing Thesis), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Music (degree granting college) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, master thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (127 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Coverage | United States |
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