ua94/6/1 professor franz joseph strahm
TRANSCRIPT
Western Kentucky UniversityTopSCHOLAR®
Student/Alumni Personal Papers WKU Archives Records
4-26-1982
UA94/6/1 Professor Franz Joseph StrahmArthur White Jr.
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Recommended CitationWhite, Arthur Jr., "UA94/6/1 Professor Franz Joseph Strahm" (1982). Student/Alumni Personal Papers. Paper 42.http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_alum_papers/42
-... AIOIMS .. --•
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
PROFESSOR FRANZ JOSEPH STRAHM
• AMERICAN MUSIC
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
BY
ARTHUR CARLTON WHITE, JR.
APRIL 26, 19 82
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CONTENTS
PART ONE PROFESSOR FRANZ JOSEPH STRAHM
1. INTRODUCTION: BOWLING GREEN'S EARLY MUSICAL HISTORY 1
n. PROFESSOR FRANZ JOSEPH ST RAffi.L . . . Life i n the Old World Life and Work in Nashville, Tennessee Li te and work in Bowling Gr een, Kentucky
Western Kent ucky State Normal School The May Festivals Reci~als and Conce r ts
The Aura of the Musician
PART TWO 1\ LIST ING OF FRANZ JOSEPII STRAHM' S
COMPOSITI ONS
. . . . 2
1. WORKS HOUSED IN TilE WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERS ITY ARCHIVES , aoWLING GREEN . • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • •• 11
II. WORKS HOUSED I N THE KENTUCKY L IBRARY, BOWLING GREEN •• 19
III. MISSING COMPOS ITIONS • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VICTOR HERBERT STRAHM. • 22
FOOTNOTES. • • 26
BIBLIQCRAPIIY • • • • • • • • • • • .32
• PART ONE
I. INTRODUCTION: BOWLING GREEN ' S EARLY MUSICAL HISTORY
At the end of the Civil War, Bowling Green boasted a popu
lation of a mere four thousand. However. music was he l d in
high Bateem in this smal l city. The fi r st person to kindle
the muaicol spark was Professor Kowenberg . Bsqinninq in 1867,
Kowenberg was tho orga nist at the Catholic Church and held
large classes of both voice and p i ano . Following Professor
Kowenberg was Miss Skinner who was i n turn f ollowed by Mr . A.
J . Gantvoort. He organized the firs t community choil' in
Bowling Green , the Philharmonic Club, consisting of s8venty
five voicss. Mr. Gantvoort ia noted as having brought this
organization to high performance standards. Subsequently. Mr.
Cantvoort became president of the College of Music in Cin
cinnati (presently the University of Cincinnati, School of
Music). The year of 189 4 was an impor tant one in the musical
life of Bowling Green. It was this year that two important
organizations had their genesis---the Cho r al society and the
Women's Music Club. The Choral Society was organized by a
musician by the nama of N. B. Bettison . The Women's Mus i c
Club was orga nized by Mr s . John Cooke , who saw that this
organization ' . goal was to b r ing a higher appr eciation of
music to the ci t y of Bowli ng Green .
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Tho School of Music was established in 1909 as part of
the Normal School . The following ye ar, 1910, is II most im-
portant year in the musical growth of Bowling Green. I t was
at this time that Franz Joseph Strahm was appointed Dean of
this School of Nusic. The following year, Professor Strahm
or9~nized the Oratorio Society . l However, for the present
time, the reader should be concerned with Professor Strahm ' s
childhOod and musical maturation.
II: PROFESSOR FRANZ JOSEPH STRAHM
Life In The Old World
Franz Joseph Strahm was born the nineteenth child of a
family of twenty-four children 2 on May 14, 1867 . 3 He was born
4 to II musical family in Friedburg, Baden, Germany . Though a
shoemaker by trade. Franz Joseph Strahm's father was a noted
tenor in Friedburg and held the role of lead tenor in all
Friedburg and South German festivals fo r more than sixty
years. 5 His mother, LOl,lise Sadetsky Strahm,6 was of Russian
extraction , her father having been the di r ector of the Royal
Guard Band 109 and stationed at Karsrl,lhe, Baden. Franz Joseph ' s
eldest sister, a pl,lpil of Moskowski, and his father were his
first teachers. Although wishing their son to become a shoe-
maker or a baker, Franz Joseph Strahm's pa rents recogni ~ed his
musical ability and did not allow it to go I,lncl,lltivated. A
legend states that Strahm ' s father, while at work on the street
floor, lent an attentive ear to his son's practicing in the
room above. "If there was a pause of appreciable duration,
the father knocked on the ceil i ng with a sti ck or moun ted the
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stairs to investigat.e. fl 7
f . 8
ticn at the age 0 SLX.
3
Franz so began his' musical educa-
It was at this stage of his life
that he fortunately attr,,"cted the attention of Reisenauer, a
celebrated pupil of Liszt . 9
Educated in the public sChools of Germany, Franz Joseph
Strahm graduated in 1879, a mere twelve years 01d. 10 TWo
years earlier, at the age of ten ll , he had attracted the atten
tion of the Reverend Joseph Schweitzer, then a well-known
composer of Catholic church music. This same year, Franz
Joseph entered the Catholic School of Husic for the Training
of Choir Directors and Organists in Friedburg. 12 Not only
studying piano. Strahm studied the violin. His musical pro
gress was rapid and in recognition of his ability, Stranm was
awarded a scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of Sonderhausen.
Here his teachers were Dr. Adolph Ritter for composition, Max
Gruenberg for violin and Alfred Reisenauer for piano.
His study with Reisenauer was to be very fortunate for
Strahm ~n that Reisenauer frequently took some of his advanced
pupils to Weimar to play for his famous teacher, Franz Liszt.
Needless to say, Franz Joseph Strahm was one to make this trip . 1J
Strahm recalled later in his life that he was extremely priv
ileged to study with' Liszt. He also told how several students,
inCluding himself, would meet Liszt at the train and carry
him on their shoulders to his carriage. There the students
unhitched the horses and physically pulled the composer to the
conservatory. Strahm also recalled that there were four pupils
in an.one-hour lesson period in which Liszt would listen to
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their assignments and then cri tici~e the playing , often very
severely . Sometimes Li sz t would play for the students a t
night, taking a theme and i mprovi sing on it for twent y to
thirty minutes. Then there were o ther times when the stu-
dents were a sked to play. I t was one s uch time that Franz
Joseph Strahm was asked to play Li sz t ' s o wn Second Hungari an
Rhapsodic . After Strahm finished, "Liszt commented ' Ve ry good;
a little more temperament and less manneri sm. You will become
a pianist ! , .14 After two years of instruction at the Royal
Conservator y of Sonderhausen, Stra hm rece i ved the degree o f
Major-minors , IS
Like all Germans o f his 6ge , St r ahm served three years
i n the German Imperial Ar my. This could have been a se t back
for most musicians, but not for Franz Joseph Strahm . During
these years, he played first trumpe t in his Regimen t a l Band
and s t udied all the brass , woodwind and percuss i on i nstruments)
leaving the army a broader , more expe rienced musician t han
when he had ente r ed it . 16
Af t er his t e n ure in the German Imperial Army, Franz
Joseph Strahm roamed the Continent as both SOl o ist and orches
t ral member with the Roy al Cour t Orches t ra . 17 He was to a l so
perform with orchestras in Switzerland and Holland besides his
na t i vo Ge r many . Evide ntly enjoying foreign travel , St rahm
was qui c k to answer an a dvertisement in his hometown paper
which asked for t wo orches tral players to come to America.
The advertisement appeared in 189118 and was to cause Strahm
to leave family, fri e nds and a promis ing position a t Sonder
hausen for America ; Nashville, Tennessee , i n particular . l9
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Life and Work in Nashville. Tennessoe
Gustave Fischer was the person responsible for Professor
Strahm coming to America. Then tho director of the orchestra
at the Vendomc Theatre of Nashville, Fischer sent tickets to
Professor Strahm and a friend for the journey to the New
World. It was in Nashville that Franz Joseph Strahm met and
married Miss Alice Jones. For the next ten years, he was a
member of 20 the Vendome Orchestra. The Vendome Orchestra was
evidently verY , notable in its day. The theatre opened on
October 3, 1883, with a performance of II Trovatore as a
very fashionable theatre located on Church Street between
Sixth and Seventh Avenues. 21 The Vendome hosted performances
by such entertainers as Edwin Booth, Ma urice Barrymore, Sarah
Bernhardt, Nora Bayes and Tyrone Power Sr. It was at the
Vendome that Victor Herbert gave a concert during the Tennessee
Centennial Celebration in 1996. 22 The Strahms entertained
Victor Herbert and his orchestra at a midnight supper a fter
their concert . This came about three weeks before the Strahms
were expecting their first child. Victor Herbert asked that
if the child was a boy, to name it for him . It was a boy- -
so the name was Victor Herbert Stra hm. The Strahms were to
have another child later, Louise Strahm, named for Franz
Joseph Strahm's mother and older sister, a concert pianist . 23
Besides playing cello in the Vendome OrChestra, Professor
Strahm was active in other areas of the musical growth of
Nashville . For a time in 1993, he was in Chicago playing vi
ola in the famous Theodore Thomas Orchestra. Back in Nashville,
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, . St rahm taugh t piano at the Nashville Conse r vatory and when it
closed, he taught pr iva t ely.2 4 In 1896, Fran~ Joseph Strahm
founded t he Tenn essee Ac ademy of Music in Nashville 25 on 1226
Se vent h Avenue North. 26 This was the same year that he be-
came a naturalized American c itizen . oranz Joseph Strahm was
a 180 busy with other endeavors during this time. including
Oirec tor of Music at Soulc College at Murfreesboro , t eaching
at B060cobel Co l loge and at saint Ceci l ia Academy. He a180
dir ected the music at the Monteag le Assembly for •• veral
years . 27
The Tennessee Academy was t o become noted in Nashvi lle
for its instructi on in ins trumental mus i c , voice and dance .
lIowever, it was perhaps not as notable a s its founder. Net
only was he a pr ofessor o f mus ic, Fran~ Joseph St r ahm was a
gentleman of the Old World trad ition . TO St r ahm, gal l antry
had not vanished with the nineteenth century; therefore a l l
of his young man students were instructed to ask all the gi rls
t o danc e . Under his inf l uence, bits o f Ol d Wo r ld finesse held
on jus t a little longer in Nashville . Every Monday night,
Pr ofessor Strahm left hi s q uarters abo ve the Tennes see Aca-
demy fo r the Ge rman-Ameri ca n Hal l on Ce d ar Street (Charolette
Avenue) . Thi s state ly gen t l eman must have been .quite a mag
netic fo r ce, for Monday nights became ma jor occasions f o r
North Nashvil~e youths of Ge r man blood and romantic aqe .
lie r e they came in lar ge numbers t o dance t he polka and the
waltz to the music of Franz Jose ph Strahm . 28 lie al so served
as 0~9anist and choir director o f the Wood land Street
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Presbyterian Church in Nashville,29 In 1908, Professor
Strahm organized the Nashville Choral Society, g iving three
spring festivals (1906. 1909 and 1910) . Nof only were these
concerts important to the musical growth of Nashville, they
attracted the attention of a man from a town ever so slightly
north of Nashville. The man was Dr. Henry IJ"rdin Cherry of
Bowling Green, Kentucky . 30
Coming from Nashville in September, 1910, Franz Joseph
Strahm was not leng in establishing himself in Bowling Green.31
Engaged as the Director of Music at Western Kentucky Normal
School,J2 Professor Strahm had an almost impossible task be
fore him. Western Kentucky Normal School only really began
to f unction as a state institution in 1907. All the depart
ments had a lowly beSinninSI however, the music department
had added problems. Dr . A. M. Stickles wrote of the situa-
tion:
For the first two years of the collese's existence, the music department h~d a director who had little comprehension of what was So ins on or how he should fit into the purpose of the younS institu tion. The other one, who was Mr. Strahm's immediate predecessor for a year, was scholarly and hi Shly trained, but he could not comprehend the low status of music on the campus or that it was his duty to change the order. Our students, and this included the faculty we had then, were after all human beinss, and we cr&ved s~methins better. 3
After the arrival, Strahm was quick ly at work. His
first task was to arouse an interest for Sood music in both
the c.olleg6 and the cOlMlunity. For many years he did practically
the total work with but the assistance of an instructor in
voice, popUlarizing mus ic and p l acing it on a solid founda
tion. 34 While at Western Kentucky State Normal School ,
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Strahm was involved in a great number of activities. In
January of 1926, the reader may find in the college newspaper.
an announcement of an upcoming concert tour for Febr uary in
which Strahm, Lenore Wilson (instructor in voicel and Mrs. T .
C. Cherry were to concertize in Murfreesboro, Tennessee:
Owensboro , Kentucky; and Marion, Kcntucky . 35 The following
year, Strahm ;rganized and directed the Western Band . 36
early as 19 24, he established the Strahm Music Club for all
students interested in music. 3? Two remaining programs tell
of the work of Strahm ' s Music Club. On May 31, 1926, a
~grand" concert was presented entitled In A Japanese Garden,
featuring various soloists, the college orchestra and the
college choir.38
The following year, Strahm's Music Club
presented Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan complete with
orchestra on March 29, 1927. 39
Though very active in teaching and conducting, Franz
~oseph Strahm did f i nd time to compose . Though most of his
compositions date before the thirties, as late as 1937, he
won first place in the Kentucky Composers Guild for the com
position of five hymns . 40 Having labored long and hard for
Western Kentu,cky, Strahm resigned as he ad of the music depart-
ment in 1935, but continued as head of the piano department
for six years . 41 A former president recalls talking with
Professor Strahm in the fall of 1941. Strahm had decided
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, that at the (lnd of the year, he must retire. His reason was
that he was no longer able to play the more difficult pas
sages (on the piano) to suit himself. 42 "Many people demand
perfection for others---indeed too many---be he demanded per
fection for himselfl· 43 80 it was agreed that he should re
tire at the end of the school year. 44 However. bronchial
pneumonia brought his death on June 26, 1941.45
Just ill. year
before, the Talisman (1940), the annual of Western Kentucky
State Teacher ' s, College, was dedicated to Professor Strahm
with the inscription:
TO Western's pioneer mus~c~an, whose influence has been the guiding light in the musical life of the college since its early days, we respectfully
4gedi
cate this seventeenth volume of the Talisman.
He was indeed the moving force of music in Bowling Green,
well thought of and appreciated for his tireless efforts.
Two of his greatest achievements were the establishment of
the Oratorio society and tha May Festival. It was the merg
ing of these two activities in Which Fran~ Joseph Strahm
greatly influenced the musical growth of the Whole Bowling
Green community and southwestern Kentucky.
The May Festivals
One of Professor Strahm's greatest ach~evements at Wes-
tern Kentucky was the establiShment of the May Music Festi
vals, which gained a national reputation. The festival helped
to make the people of western Kentucky not only reali~e the
existence, but also the value of, the school on the lIill.47
An examination of the programs of these festivals from 1911
to 1935 attests to the high quality of both music and soloists
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engaged for these events. The first festival took place in
1911 with the performance of Spohr ' s The Last Judgment by the
Oratorio Society of one hundred and seventy-five voices as
the climax. The soloists included Marie Zimmerman, a soprano
of New York City; Walter Earnest, a tenor of Pittsburg;
Charles C. Washburn, a bass of Nashville; and Mrs . Fred
Mutchler, an alto of Bowling Green. 48 The performance met
with great success and even surprized the Bowling Green com-
munity that sucp a wonderful event could happen in their own . ' 49
Cl.ty. The second festival en May 10, 1912, climaxed with
the performance of Haydn ' s Creation under Professor Strahm's
direction. 49 The local orchestra was augmented this sesson
with the Orpheum Orchestra from Memphis, Tennessee. 50 The
following year, Professor Strahm chose Eli by Sir Michael Costa
to end the May Music Festival. This festival also included
a return performance of the tenor Walter Earnest. 5l The
fourth annual May Music Festival took place on May 7-B, 1914,
also under Professor Strahm ' s direction. This festival is
notable in that it featured "Grand Festival March"---a new
composition by Strahm and Sir Arthur Sullivan's The Light of
the world 52 for which Professor Strahm wrote an orchestration. 53
The fifth annual festival on May 6-7, 1915, featured a
concert version of the comic opera, Chimes of Normandy and
Professor Strahm playing Liszt's Hungarian Fantasie. The
following year on May 11-12, 1916, Pro fessor Strahm secured
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; Karl Schmidt, cellist:
and Frances Morton-Crume, who was now soloist at the Central
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Pre~byte ri~n Ch~rch of New York City, after having taught
voice between 1913 and 1914 at the Normal School. The fellti-
val also featured another orchestration of Profeeeor Strahm ' s
own hand , this tima for the oratorio Abraham by MOlique. S4
The seventh annual May Music Festival on May 10-11, 1917,
is also of special note. It was at this festival that Pro
fessor Fran~ Joseph Strahm engaged the coloratura soprano of
the Metropolitan Opera Company, Frieda Hempel. The proqrams
featured Spohr : s The Last Judgement and ~Our lIero" ---an ode
for choir, quartet and orchestra, written by Strahm . 55 The
next May Music Festival was held on May 8-9. 1919. It fea
tured performances by Sophia Sraslau, then II. leadinq contralto
at the Metropolitan Opera Company and Virginia Seck-Helm, a
pianist still active in Bowling Green. This feltival allo
featured a performance of Haydn's creation. 56 For the ninth
festival on Hay 6- 7, 1920; Strlhm secured the RUllian Symphony
Orchestra of New York conducted by ~~dest Altschuler. The
programs included several pieces by Russian composers; "A
Dream," a piece by Strahm: and excerpts from the American
opera, Cleopatra's Niqht by Henry 57 Hadley.
It was not until four years later on May 8-9, 1924, that
the next May Music Festival was held . The high point of this
festival was tho performance of Professor Strahm's Vespers in
~ by soloists , choir and orchestra. 58 A review in a local
paper noted that in this work "Fr an: Strahm has taken his
place with the foremost composers of the day."59 The arti c le
went·on t o say that the forty-five minute work was espocial ly
• beautiful because of its excellent ' . 60 orchestra tl.on. Tho
following year saw a record number in the chorus of the May
Festival---twQ hundred and tWenty-five voices. The festival
on May 7 - 8. 1925, featured a performance of Eli by Costa in
which the majority of the solo parts were taken by people of
the community . 61 The next and last festival was to take
place ton years later on May 9 - 10, 1935. Though still direc -
tor of the festival , Professor Strahm was not conducting the
majority of the festival as he had in previous years . How
ever, he did appear on t he program conducting the Men ' s Glee
Club .62
It was Franz Joseph Strahm who had brought the May
Music Festival to importance in this once musically barren
land.
Recitals and Concerts
Besides being active in his teaching, administrative
tasks, and composition; Professor Strahm found time to be
active in the recital and concert life of Bowling Green . A
program dated November 29, 1910 wa s probably his first reci
tal in Bowling Green . It was at th i s recital that he accom
panied Mrs. Marshall Settle, vocalist and ~!iss Pauline Drake,
violinist. On this early recital, it is easy to discern his
musical taste; Mende l sohn, Chopin and Lis~t are the predomi
nate composers .63
A program dated only "1939" shows a wider
repertoire with selections by Bach , Tompkins, Chopin, Cadman,
Beach and Lis~t.6 4 Correspondence with Mrs . Virgina Beck-
Helm shows that Professor Strahm was able to take time out
of h i s busy schedule to give a conoert for the Smi ths Grove
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• Women '5 Mus ic Club on 6,
February 22, 193 4 .
13
Two undated pro-
grams tell of Pr ofessor Strahm 's appearances at tho Woman ' s
Music Club of Bowling Gr een. The first shows a prog ram o f
Schuman . Chopin and Strahm (predomina tely ) ,66 while the se
cond shOws a wider spectrum with Chopin, McDowell, Straus s
and Liszt (predominately). 61 As early as 1923, Professor
Strahm was spe nding his s ummers in Monteag le, Tennessee. It
i s this year that the Nashville Banner printe d an arti c le tell
ing o f Strahm's success in a piano recital in Monteagle,6S
Besides working so actively with the May Fest ival. Strahm
was busy preparing and conducting o t her concerts. Several
programs from h i s tenure in Bowl ing Gr een me rit con.ideeation.
Among these are a per fo rmance o f lIaydn' s Creation on March 10,
1929, utilizing o ne hundred and twenty-five cho ir membe r .
t r om the Women ' . Club . various Church c hoi rs and t he choi rs
ot State Teacher' s college . 69 The following year on Januar y
19, 19 30 , the Col l ege Choral Soc iety o f one hundre d and twenty-
five voices p r esented a program f e atur ing Professor Strahm ' s
V . 0 70 •• ~ • • • n • With a choir of one hundr ed and sixty-eight
voices , Profeslor Strahm presented The Las t J udgment by Spohr
(evidently quite popular in Bowling Green ) o n March 26, 1933 . 71
A progr am dated three yearl later, April 5 , 1936 , is e s pe
cially inte resting . The second half of t his concert was
g i ven en tirely t o the performance of Strahm ' s Fes ti va l Mass ,2
in 0 under the composer ' s di rection.
However . it was the las t two year s of Strahm's leader-
shi~ al head o f t he mus i c department at Western KentUcKy State
14
Teachers College that he directed the Men ' s Glee Club. Es
t abl i shed to further the name of the college, the glee club
appeared throughout Kentucky giving concerts of ensemble num
bers, quartet selections , solos and novelty selections.73
The selections presented by the glee club ranged "all the way
from the best male choral music to some fro l icsome s ketches
.• f f ." . . . Jus .. or un.
The Aura of The Musician
Although it is effective to study the different stages
of Professor Franz Joseph Strahm ' s life as a musician , scme-
thing else i~ needed. Professor Strahm was a unique person
. slity and a very complex person . Mrs. Sam M. Woolsey wrote
of her teacher ,
He tad an intangible quality that caused pupils to respect h i m, admire him , and love him i!md it stirred within them ideals and mus i c"l "mbi t ion . Because he was a keen judge of character he was able to give his students the type of music that suited them and to develop the best of the pupils own style of playing. His teaching and the type of work he expected from his students were t horough, neat, me t hodical, and punctual. I do not mean that he was a 5eVere stereotype. !Ie was always his own humorous self. When we handed him some pretty poor musical composi t ion he'd tell us in English that always betrayed him and smacked of his homeland, ~Ach. 9~t sounds chust like stepping on a eat' s tail. ~
Mrs. Woolsey also states that Professor Strahm was a master
story teller, capitalizing on h i s broken Eng l ish and adding
just the correct amount of pantomi rte . He was a man devoted
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, to the beauti ful and dispensed joy and good humor t o all that l
· 76 knew him . Vi r gini a Beck-Helm tells also of h is humor,
stating that he was fond of mispronouncing her maiden name
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and calling her ~HiBB ~eck. ~7 7 Perhaps t he most obvi ous
example of Profe •• or Strahm ' s sense of humor was a concert at
which the uni va c,lty Qrchestra presented a costumed burlesque
number entitled "A Rehearsal o f the Villago orchestra.· 78
Professor Strahm was B natural musician, as he both
loved and lived his music, h~ had the ability of imparting
e nthusiasm for mUlle in the minds an d hearts of t hOle who
knew him. 79 Profeslor Strahm was a religious man, not t he
loud puritani~al type, but rather one of qui te sincerity. eo
While in Bowling Green, he wa s a membe r of St. Joseph Catholic
Church . 8l The maje sty of his music is adequate testimony of
his genius , but his friends reca ll the devotion that he had
for the people around him .hawing his even g r eate r genius fo r
friendship.82
Perhaps the most dramatic trait of Profe.sor Strahm ' s
personality was his patriotism. It was well known that from
the beginning of the first World War , Professor Strahm ' ,
sympathies were with his native homeland prio r to the Uni ted
Statu's entr y against Germany in Apr il, 1917. At this t ime,
members of his immediate family and many relatives were still
in Germany . Evidently he suffered intensely from well-inten
tioned people trying to prove themselves aa super-pat r iots.
The following morning after America declar ed war against
Germany, he arose from his seat near the piano during the
chapel exercises and asked the president '. permission to
speak. 83 Or. A. M. Stick les r ecounts the stor y:
·ne (Pr ofe s sor St rahm) explaine d his former posit ion to the chapel, which was crowded to its f ullest
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capacity . But now his homeland was at war with his adopted country. He said he had been a solider for some years and was sorry his age prohibited his going now in defense of our common country . Then in broken English and with tears in his eyes came this dra mat ic exclamation to that hushed audience: ~I got a boy . He go." Then he sat down. Every one in that tense, hushed audience, knowing t he sincerity of the man, was choked with emotion. an d women and strong men shed teftis with h im while they loudly applauded his action .
16
Franz Joseph Strahm was a strongly patri otic American. It is
said that he was so overcome after America is victory i n World
War I, that upon hearing that the war had ended, he opened
all the windows of his house end played victory marches and
patriotic songs on the piano for everyone to hear.a5
Vi rginia
Beck-Helm recalls having traveled from Smiths Grove t o have
her weekly piano lesson soon after World War I had ended onl y
to find that Professor Strahm so overcome with joy that he was
no< " able to teach.
Perhaps the most f itting tribute to Franz Joseph Strahm
is part of a speech given at h i s memorial service on May 29,
1942 by Hugh Johnson,
I wonder what a composer woul d write in memory of Mr . Strahm? No solo of any kind would be suitable. A single instrument could not produce the proper effect . A choral numbe r might suffice, but undoubtedly a symphony would be best . It would a symphony with its infinite possibilities in and color to sound a picture of his life . A symphony with one movement not solemn but rather maj e stic, hinting here and there o f Wagner and of Liszt. But the remaining movemen ts, it would seem to me, should be in a r o l l i cking, fast-moving sty l e---a style typifying a gay spirit, and happiness, and the joy of living. And from time to time, rather faintly in the background, we should hear the strains of a Vienna waltz. No discor ds, no modern rhythms , but a composi t ion abounding in ~ovely melodies-- -for that was the music he loved. S
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PART TWO
A LISTINC Of FRANZ JOSEPH STRAIIM ' g COMPOSITIONS
I . WORKS HOUSED IN TilE WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES , BOWLING GREEN
Needless to say, thore are duplications between Fran~
Joseph Str ahm's works housed in the Western Kentucky Unive r
s ity Archives ~nd those works housed in the Kentucky Library.
lIowever, these listings shoul d be II help to the roader rather
than a source of confusion. The following i, 8 l isting of
t hose works found in the Wastern Kentucky University Archives:
"A Dream" - piano solo
published by Standard Music Co .• Nashville, Tennessee under the pen name of f rant Sade t ky.
-A Toast- - vocal Bolo
Words by Geor ge H. Mayo Jr. Published by Standard Music Co., Nashville,
Tennessee. 1918. Dedicated -To the Boys in the A.E.~.w
wBehold Our God, The Lor d w - sacred song with violin obligato
Published by A. w. Perry ' s Sons, Sedalia, Mo., 1937 . Dedicated wTO Margaret DeVore Posey.w
wThe Bowling Green Business university March" - piano solo
Published by St.nd. rd Music Co., Nashvil l e, Tennessee, 1914.
Dedicated "To the students of Business University, Bowling Green, Ky,·
·Columbia Schottische" - piano solo
Published by Otto Zimmerman and Son , Inc., Cincinnati , Ohi o.
17
• ftOew Drops - Six Pieces for Children" - piano Bolo
Published by Standard ~!usic Co., Nashville , Tennessee (1915 - 1918).
NO . 1 No . 2 No . 3 NO. 4 No . 5 No . 6
"Valsette" 1915 "Children's ~Iarch" 1918 "Swing Song" 1918 "Recess" 1918 "Playing Bal l" 1918 "April Showers" 1918
Festival Mass in G - mixed choir
18
Published by J. Fischer and Brothers, New York City , 1923.
Dedicated "To Miss Lenore Wilson, a Pupi.l . "
"Funeral March Heroica" - piano solo
Published A. W. Perry ' s Sons, Seda lia . Mo. In Memoriam: "The Fallen Heroes of the A.E.F."
"In June Days" - piano solo
Published by Hatch Music Co., Phi lade lphia, Pa. Dedicated "To Miss Sara Antoinette Bell. Souele
College. "
"Kentucky State Normal March" - piano solo
Published by Strahm, printed by Otto Zimmerman, Cincinnati, Ohio .
Copyrighted 1911. Oedicated "Respectfully dedicate d to Dr . II. II. Cherr y,
President ' Western Kentucky State Teachers College ."
"March Impromptu" - piano solo
Published by Standard Music Co., Nashville,
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Tennessee, 1915, under the pen name Fran z J . Sade zky . •
"Prayer For Strength" - sacred song with violin obl igato ~
Published by A. W. Perry's Sons, Sedalia, Mo. Dedicated "To Margaret DeVore Posey ."
"Sleep, Baby Sleep (Lullaby)" vocal solo
"Sweet Recollections" - piano solo
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Subtitled "Siisse Errinerungen" and "Valse de Concert" Published by lIatch Music Company , Philadelphia, Pa. Dedicated ~To the Standard Club, Nashvi lle, Tennessee." I
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Vespe rs i n D - mi xed choir
Published by A. W. Perry ' s Sons, Sedalia , Mo., 1924. Dedica ted ~To Rev . Thomas J. Hays , Bowling Green, Ky ."
"Vivien Ha zurka" - p iano solo
Published by A. W. Perry ' s Sons, Sedalia, Mo ., 1 92 4.
II . Ii'ORKS HOUS ED IN THE KENTUCKY LIBRARY, BOWLING GREEN
- ... Dream- - o r chestrat i on of p i ano solo
Manuscript .
"A Dream" '- p iano solo version - all ready listed .
"A la Hungary" and "A Short Prelude" - p iano 5010--stil l in sketch stage.
Manuscript .
"A Toas t" - vocal sQlo---all ready listed.
" An Unseen Hand Is Leading Me" - sacred song
Manuscr l pt.
"Ave Maria " - vocal solo for soprano with piano accompaniment .
Manuscript.
"Behold Our God, The Lord " - sacred song with viol in obligato---all ready listed.
"Bowling Green Business University March" - orchestr ation of piano solo
"Columbia Schottische" - orchest ration of piano sol o
"Crimson a nd Gold" - piano solo
Subtit led "Grand Valse Brillante." Published by Hatch Music Co. , Philade lphia, Pa .,
1902. Oedicated "To the Students of Soule College ,
Mur f reesboro , Tennessee. "
"Dew Drops - Six p i ece s for Chi l dren" - piano 8010---. All ready listed. .
"Fantasie " - orchestra piece
Manuscript .
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"Festival March" - orchestration of a piano piece
Dedicated "To the Scottish Rite 320 Masons . "
Festival Mass in G - mixed choir---all ready listed.
20
"Funeral March Heroica" - piano solo- --all ready listed.
"Gentle Reproach" accompaniment
"Nocturne" for violin with piano
Published by George B. Jennings Co . , Cincinnat i, Ohio., 1902 .
Dedicated "To Dr. Charles S. Briggs, Nashville , Tennessee . "
"Good Night Song" - medium voice solo with cello obligaeo
Manuscript.
"He Caroe~ - sacred song for soprano
Words by W. E. Henry . Oedicated "To Rev . IL C . Golden." Copyrighted 1999.
"Hungarian Dance" tion
Nanuscript. .
orchestration of a piano composi -
"In J une Days" - orchestration of piano solo version
Manuscript.
"In June Days" piano 5010---all ready listed.
" Immer Fidel (In Good Humor)" - piano solo
Published by Hatch Music Co . , Philadelphia, Pa. Copyrighted 1901. Oedicated "To The German-American Societ.y, Nashville,
Tennessee." I
"Kyrie E1eison" f rom voice parts---all
orchestration wi th
"March Impromptu" piano solo---all ready listed.
"Meteor March and Two Step" - piano solo
Published by ,Frank G. Fite, Nashville, Tennesllee, 1902 . "
Dedicated "To the Cit.y of Murfreesboro, Tennessee."
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·Our Hero· - an ode f o r soloists, chorus and orchestra
Published by Willis Music Co .• Cincinnati, Ohio, 1914 •
Dedicated "To the Presid en t o f the Western Kentucky State Normal School , Dr . 11 . H. Cha r ry."
Text by Miss Lo ttie McLure .
"Prelude f or Pipe Organ" - organ Bolo
Manuscrip t.
"RoCK City March" piano solo
Published by F ran~ J. S trahm, Nllshville, Tenne ssee, 1899.
Dedicated "To the Chamber of Commerce . Nashville. Tennessee . •
·Solitude" - song for soprano
Text by Ella Whee l e r Wilcox. Manus cript .
"Summer Bonum" 90ng for soprano
Text by Robert Dr owning . Manuscript .
·Sweet Forget Me-Not" - piano solo
Pu blished by A. W. Perry ' s Sons, Sedalia , Mo ., 1921 . De d icated to Mary Evelyn Kerr.
· Sweet Recollections" - piano soleM- Ma ll ready listed.
~Trinklied· - orchest ra piece
Manuscript .
Vespers i n 0 - mixed choir---all ready listed.
"Virtue" - s ong for sopr ano
Te xt b y Geor 'le Her be rt. Manusc ript.
There may al so be f ound in the Kentucky Lib rary a whole box
o f lessons. compl ete with e xamples. for a course i n both har
mony and compositi on.
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III. MI SSING COMPOSITI ONS '
According to ill. list of Fran z Joseph Strahm' s works found
in h is biographical file in the Western Kentucky Unive r s ity
Archives , there are several composi tion s t ha t are missing or
have be en lost since his death. Re ported l y , they we re in the
Music Building as late as April of 1944. The fo llowing is ill.
listing of such compositions'
~ College Heights" - mal e chorus
Written by Mary F. Bradley, arranged by Strahm .
~ Fune ri!l. l March Herocia" - o r chestration of p iano 5010
~Grave ~ Movement - probably for a piano sonata
" Ken t ucky State Normal March" - orchestration of piano solo
Manuscript Notebook - containing harmony exercises and sketches with words.
"Sonata In E Flat" (Andante. Allegro ; Andante, Allegro) - no composer i nd i c ated but undoubtedly Strahm .
"Soule College Ma rch " - p iano solo
Copyrighted 1899, by Franz J . Strahm . Dedicated "To Miss V. O. Wardlow, A.M., President, Soule Co l lege, Murfreesboro, Tennessee ."
"SOul e , Col l ege March " - piano due t version
Manuscript.
"Soule College March" - o r chestration of p iano 5010 88
VI CTOR JlERBERT STRAHM
To complete ly understand Franz Joseph Strahm , the reader
mus t also have a p i ctur e of hi s son, Victor Her bert Strahm .
Named for the great Irish-American composer , Vict or Herbert
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(0 family friend); Victor Strahm was born in 1996 while his
father was working in Nashville . A good student in school,
Professor Strahm was a n xious for his son to become a musi-
cian o However, Victor had other ideali-- - automobiles and
electr ici ty interested him . final l y, Professor Strahm re
lented and allowed Victor to stop his study of music . Victor
was also II splendid athlete, playing football and basketball
in the high school department of the Normal School. After
graduation, V~ctor went to Kentucky State University, study-
ing electrical engineering_ With the outbreak of war in 1917,
Victor entered the army after some debate with his father.
He was accepted and sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison. Indiana,
for his training. Passing both the strenuous physical and
academic examinations with honors, he was ordered to Ohio
State UniVersity, Columbus, Ohio, to receive his aeronautic
trai ning. Finishing a six months course in six weeks, Victor
lIerbert Strahm was commissioned First Lieutenant in the United
States Aviation Department and was ordered east to embark for
France. 89
In France, Victor was trained to photograph enemy for
tifications, trenches and the like . On a maneuver to obtain
information concerning the trenches in Alsace Lorraine,
Victor was unsuccessful at first. lie was attacked by German
planes and anti-air - craft guns, taking twenty-seven shots .
Returning to his station, he received another plane and in
half an hour had obtained thirty-six excellent photographs of
the ·large German fortress, Metz . On this second ende avor ,
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Victor Strahm was attacked by seven German planes, but by
skillful maneuvers, he managed to escape and bring horne two
of his attackers. After this heroic episode, he was promoted
to Captain and >:'eceived special mention by the French \',Tar
Department for his heroism.
After the Armistice, he became Major and was ordered
with nis squadron to Coblenz, Germany. After nine months in
Coblenz, he was ordered to return to the United States of
America and received his honorable discharge in the fall of
H20. 90
He entered the World War (I) as a private. He came out a captain and one of a limited number of American air aces such of whom had brought down at least five enemy planes behind the German lines. In addition he was awarded the highest decoration bestowed upon any American solider, the Distinguishsd Service Cross, and also the French Croix de Guerre with palm. 91
A few residents of the Bowling Green Community can still
remember that Victor inherited his father's sense of humor.
After World War I, Bowling Green residents were treated to
his tricks of swooping over buildings and writing things in
the sky with his plane.
One of his favorite tricks, and one which he invariably pulled on arrival here, was a swoop at the spire atop the First Presbyterian Church . After missing the spire "by inches" he ' d head for the Hill. Seconds later he'd be coming down State (Street), his plane jumping the taller building~ and church spires like a grasshopper. That trick did its wo§~. "That ' s that Dutchman," his watchers would say.
Victor Strahm was also active during World War II, hav-
ing risen to the rank of Brigadier General. It was August 5,
1943, in Cairo, Egypt; t~at Victor Strahm was awarded the
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L~qion of Merit for performing • 'outstanding" se r vice ' during
the North Afri can c ampaign. from t he battle of El Alamein to
the expulsi on of the enemy fr om Afr i ca . ~ 9 3 After World I~ar
II. he was made commander of Barksdale Field in Shreveport,
Louisiana on January 11, 19 46 . !lavi ng served at this a r my
pos t in 19 32 . he met and then marri ed in 1934, the former
Nonie Sr usch of Shrevaport. 94 To have lived auch an adven
turesome a nd "model" life, Victor Strahm's life ended ver y
sadly . Having been diagnosed as having cancer,95 he inf l ic ted •
a gun- shot wound on himself on April 7 , 1957 Which r e s ulted
in his dea th on May 11, 195 7 . 96
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NOTES
IMrs. Macon A. Leiper, "Br i ef History of Music In Bowling Green Since the Close of the Civil Hal'," Park City Daily News (Special Edition), April 1917, p . S .
2Mrs . Sam M. Woolsey, "Franz J. Strahm," Speech, Strahl'l Memorial. 29 May 1942 .
3"Franz J. Strahm 1867-1941," College Heights Herald, 3 October 1941, p. 2 .
4 "Franz Strahm Succumbs To Operation '," Bowli ng Gl'cen Times Journal, 27 June 1941. p . l.
S"Franz J. Strahm 1867-1941," College Heights Her...!!li. 3 October 1941, p. 2 .
6 Ibid .
7;... M. Stickles, "A Tribute To Franz J. Strahm," "peech, Strahm Memorial, 29 May 1942 .
ewoolsey, p. 1 .
9Stickles, p. 2.
lO " Franz Stra hm Succumbs Times Journal, 27 June 1941,
TO Operation, " Bowling Gl'~en p. 1.
ll·prof. Strahm Has Record As student Mi",,, Ollie Miles Writes About His Career . Pupil of Lisz t ," College Heights Herald, 14 January 1926, p. 7.
12woolsey, p. 1 .
13Stickles, p. 2.
14"prof. Strahm Has Record As Student, Miss Ollie Miles Writes About His Career. Pupil of Liszt," College Heights Herald, 14 January 1926, p. 7 .
15 "Franz J. Strahm 1867-1941, " College Heights Herald, ) October 1941. p. 2 •
l6stickles, p . 2 •
l7"Franz J . Strahr:t 1867-1941. " College Heights Herald, ) October 1941, p . 2 •
26
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18Stickles . p. 3 .
19HFranz J . Strahm 1867-1941," College Heioh t 9 Herald, 3 October 19 41, p. 2.
20StickIes , p . 3 .
"
21Nashville ' s Theatres - Vendol'!'.e , Nashville Room, Clipping File , Nashville Publ i c Library , Nashvi lle , Tennessee .
22"Leowe's Vandome," Nashville, June 1968, p . 4,
23HFranz J . Strahm 1 867-1941 ," College He i ghts Herald, 3 October IH1, p . 2.
24stickles. p. 3 .
25William WiHler, cd ., Nashville in t he 1990's (Nashvi lle: Vanderbil t. University Press, 1970) , p. 35.
University
27St i ckles , p . 3 .
28Ed Huddleston, ed . , {Nashvil l e : Nashville
(Nashville : Vanderb ilt
29HFranz Strahm Succumbs To Opera t ion, " Bowl i ng Green Ti mes Journal, 27 June 1941. p. 1.
JOStickles. p . 3 .
311'. . M. St.ickles, "In Memory of Fran z Joseph Strahm,~ Speech , Strahm Memorial , 29 May 1942, p . 2.
32 Idem , ~A Tr ibute '1'0 Franz J . St r ahm ," Speech, Strahm Memorial, 29 May 1942 .
33 Idem , "In Memory of Franz Joseph Strahm ," Speech , Strahm Memorial, 29 May 1942, p . 2.
3 4 I b i d .
35"Concert Tour," Coll ege Heights Herald, 28 January 1926 , p . 1.
36"college Band Plays At Chapel,'· College Hoight s Harald, April 1927, p . 2 .
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39WStrahm ' s Music Club Presents Grand Concert, 'In'" Japanese Garden,'" Western Kentucky State Teachers College Program,. 31 May 1926.
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39~Iolanthe or The Peer and the Peri, An Operetta In Two Acts By Gilbert and Sullivan , Sponsored by Strahm Music Club," Western State Teacher's College Program, 29 March 1921.
40HFitting Tribute," Park City Daily News, 24 May 1937.
41"HOld Memorial Chapel services for Prof. Strahm," College Heights Herald,S June 19 4 2, p. l.
42Paul L . Garrett, "Strahm MelOOr i a l , " Speech, Strahm Memorial. 29 May 1942 .
4 3Ibid .
4 4Ibid .
45"Franz J. Strahm Dies At Hospital In Louisville," College Heights Herald, 27 June 1941, p . 1.
46Mary Francis Ford, ed. Kentucky: Western Kentucky pp. 8-9.
47Cornette, p . 149 .
The
49"Second Annual Music Festival,· Normal School Hay Festival Program,
(Bo\~ling Green, College, 1940),
" ,
50"IS Bowling Green Mus i cal?," undated, Clipping File : Music, Kentucky Library, Bowling Green, Kentucky .
51 "Third Annual Mus i c Festival," Western Kentucky St ... te Normal School May Festival Program, 8 May 1913, p . 1 .
52"Fourth Annu ... l Music Festiva l ," Norma l SchooL May Festival Program, 7
53Stickles, "In Memory of Franz Joseph Strahm," p. 3 .
54 "Sixth Annual Music Festival," Normal School May Festival Program,
55 "Seventh Annual Music Festival," Normal School May Festival Program, 10
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56"Eiqhth Annu~l Music Fe.tiva l, ~ Normal School May Festi val Program. 8
57 "Ninth Annual Music Festival," Nor mal Sc hool May Festival Pr ogram.
29
58"Musi c Festival 1924," Wes t ern Ken tucKY State Teache r ' s College May Festival Program, 9 ~jay 1924.
59-Artists Score Fi r lt Nigh t Of May Fes t ival , Park Ci ty Daily News, 9 May 1924, p. l.
60 lbid •
61'Music Fe stival 1925." western Ken tucky Stat e Nor~l School and Teacher ' . College May Festival Pr ogr am. 7 May 192 5 .
• 62 Ibid .
6J·Program." Weste rn Ken t ucky St ate Normal School, 29 November 19 10 .
64 · Plano Recital, Franz J . Strahm , Pi!milt," 1939, Clipping File: RecitaLs, Western Ken tuc ky Uni versity Archives , Bow ling Green . Kentucky.
6SLetter t o Mrs . J . Bryant He lm, 17 January 1934, f'ran~ J. Strahm Papers, Manuecript e Di v ision, Kentucky Library , Bowling Green, Kentucky .
66· Fran z J. Strahm,· Bowlinq Gr een Music Club Proqram , undated .
6a · Prof • F . J. Str a hm Oelights Assembly,· Nashville Banner, 30 August 1923 .
69 flThe C reation,~ Western Kentucky State Te ache rs Co lleqe Program , 10 March 1929 .
70 ~Ve sper Service, · Western Kentucky State Teachers Col
leqe Program , 19 January 1930 .
71_The Last Judgment, An Orato rio By Spohr,· We.te r n Kentucky St ate Teachen Col lege PrOQ ram, 26 March 1933 .
7 2 flTh e College Chor us and College Or ches tra In A Sacred Program , " Western Kentucky State Te a chers College Prog ram, S April 1936.
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7)"Walltern Glee Cl ub,H We5tern KentucKy State Teachers Co ll ege Program, 1934 .
74 Ibid .
7SWoolsey, p . 2 .
. 76 Ibid .
77Interview with Virginia Beck-Helm , l1usician, Bowling Green, Kentucky. 16 April 19 92 .
30
7S"College lIeight9 Orchestra, Glee Club To Give Concert." Lou i sville Times Journal, 2 April 1932, p. 1 .
79HFranz J. Strahm," Bowling Green Ti mes Journal, 27 June 1941. p. 1-
80Stickles, "In Memor y of Franz Joseph Strahm," p . J .
St"Franz Strahm Succumbs To Operation," Bowling Green Times Journal, 27 June 1941, p. 1.
82Carrett, p. l.
83Stickles, "In Memor y of Franz Joseph Strahm," p. S .
84 Ibid .
85Interview with Julia Neal, Hi storian, Bowling Green , Kentucky, 9 April 1982.
86Interview with Virginia Beck-Helm, Musici~n, Bowling G.reen , Kentucky, 16 Ap.r i l 1982 .
8711ugh Johnson, "P.rofesso.r St.rahm ~s ~ F.riend , " Spee ch , St.r~hm Memo.rial, 29 Hay 1942, p. 2 .
88"F.ranz J . St.rahm Original Composi t ions ," undated, Biog.raphy File: F.ran z J. St .rahm , Wes t ern Ken tucky Uni ve.rsity A.rchives, Bowling G.reen, Kentucky.
89"Victo.r He.rbe.rt St.rahm," Teache.rll Collage He i ghts , January 1934, p. 28.
90 Ibid .
91Pol l ye Braswell, "Tablecloth Salute, Thus A Bowling Gr een Mother Greet!! Her Aviator Son , Capt. Victor H. Str ahm," Nashville Banner , 22 October 1933, p . 1.
92"Homefolks News and Views," Pa rk City Daily tlews, 9 December 1938 , p. 1.
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9) wGene ral St rahm Cited," New York Tirnes~ 6 Auqu.t 1943.
94·Kunish Will Succeed Strahm at Barksda l e , " Shreveport Times . 16 July 1947.
9SInterview wi th Virginia Beck-Helm, Musician. Bowl ing Green. Kentucky. 16 Apri l 198 2 .
" "Vi c t or H. Strahm Dies Of Wounds Suffered In Apr il," Co llege Heights Herald , 24 May 1957 .
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
~ J\ Christmas Oratorio, The N;!;';::'i~;c.M1~"'v. Teachers College Pr09r!m,
~Annual Music Fes tival
"Annual Music Festival." The Elevator. M",y 191 4 , pp. 347 -348.
"Artists Score First Night Of ~Iay Festival. " Park City Daily News. 9 May 1924 , p. l-
Beck- Helm. Vi r ginia . Musician. Bowling Gr een, Kentucky. Interview, 16 April 1982.
Bowling Green, Kentucky Library. Cl i ppings File: Biographies . Alice E. St r ahm, -Biog raphic al Article About Victor Strahm. ·
Bowling Green , Kentucky Library. Cl ipping Fi l e: Bioqraphies . ·Captain Victor II . Strahm Now An Ace Among Birdmen."
Bowling Green, Kentucky Library. Cl i pping File: Biographies . "Lieut. Strahm Tells of Hi s Experience.·
8",011n9 Green, Kentucky Library. Clipping File: Biographies. ~This Teacher Bagged Five German Planes, Captain Victor Strahm."
Bowling Green, Kentucky Library. Clipping File: Biographies . ~Victor Strahm Off For France . "
Bowl ing Green, Kentueky Library. Clippings File: Biographies. "Vict or Strahm To Go To France Or Egypt . "
Bow lin g Green, Kentueky Librar y. Cl i pping File: Franz J. Strahm . ~Work of Profe850r Franz J. S trahm TO Be Presented In Honor . "
Bowling Green, Kentucky Library. " IS Bowling Gr een Musica11,~
Bowling Gr een, Arthur W. b rary," 6
Bowl inq Green, Arthur w. brary," 5
Kentueky Library. Henderson, "Letter September 1943.
Kentucky Library. Henderson, "Letter April 194 4.
J2
Clipping undated.
File: Music .
Franz J . Strahm Collection. to Mr s. Hoore. Kentucky Li-
F r anz J. Strahm Co llection . to Mrs. Moore, Kentucky Li -
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33
Bowling Green, Kentucky Libr~ry . franz J. Strahm Collection. "Manuscripts (of Franz J . Strahm)." undated .
Bowling Green, Kentucky Li brary . Franz J . Strahm Collect i on . Voge l Scrapbook , "Prof, Strahm Defends Germany In The Lusitania Crisis , " 1915 .
Bowling Green, Kentucky by Libr,u'Y . Franz J. Strahm Collection. Vogel Scrapbook , "Recital TO Honor Western Instructor Pro f . Franz J . Strahm," 1935 .
Bowling Green, Ken t ucky Li brary . Manuscripts Division. Franz J . Stl:'ahm Papers, "Letter to Mrs . J . Bryant Helm," 17 January 1934 .
Bowling Green, Kentucky Library. J. Strahm Papers, "Letter to February 1934.
Manuscripts Division. Mrs. J . Br yant Helm,"
Franz 23
Bowling J . 29
Green , Kentucky Li brary. Strahm Papers , "Letter to September 1936.
Manuscripts Division . Franz Mrs. Helm f rom Roxie Gibbs,"
Bowling Gr een, Kentucky Library . J. Strahm Papers, "Letter to Strahm," 12 April 1950.
Bowl ing Green, Kentucky Library . J. Strahm Papers, "Letter to 1935 .
Bowl ing Green, Kentucky Library . J . Strahm Papers, "Postcard 1 July 193 5 .
Hanuscripts Division. Franz Virginia Helm f r om Alice E .
Manuscripts Division . Franz Walter Pearce," 21 August
Manuscr i pts Oivision. Franz to Mr . Walther (sic) Pearce,"
Bowling Green, Western Kentucky unive r sity Archives. Biography File . "Franz J. Strahm Original Composi t ions , " undated .
Bowling Green, Western Kentucky Univers ity Archives . Clipping File: May Festival. Hugh Hardin Cherry "Publicity Letter," May 1935.
Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University Archives. Clipping File : Oratorio Society . "Criticism By An Expert On ' The Last Judgment' (unidentified newspaper article ) ," 1914 .
Bowl ing Green, Western Kentucky Archives . clipping Fi le: Oratorio Society. "Spohr's Great Orator io 'The Last Judgment ' TO Be Presented a t New vanme ter I!all, ~!ay 12th by Oratorio Socie ty," undated.
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Bowli ng Green, Western Kentucky Un iversity Archives. Clipp iog File: Oratorio Soci ety . "Packed House Showed (unidenti fied newspaper article) ,n 1913 .
Bowling Green , ing File' Pianist,"
Western Kentucky Un i versi t y Archives. ClippRecitals . "Piano Reci t al , Franz J . Strllhm,
1939 .
Bowling Green , Western Kentucky Un i versity Archives . Fran z J. Strahm Collection . Champion cup of Lieut . Victor H. Strahm, 25-28 March 1921 .
Bowling Green , Western Kentucky univers ity Archives . Franz J. Strahm Collection . "File Of Music Composed by Franz J . Strahm," undated.
Bowli ng Green, ~estern Kentucky Univers ity Archives. Franz J. Strahm COllection . Loving Cup . 1913.
Bowl i ng Gr een , Western Kentucky University Archives. Franz J . Strahm Col lection, Plaque Given Upon Retirement , 1935 .
Bowling Green, Western Kentucky Univers i ty Archives . Franz J. Strahm Collection. "Sheet Mus i c By franz J . Str ahm, Gi ven by Mrs . Carl Barber , " 30 June 1975.
"Boy Gets Honors." Col lege Heights Herald , March 19)9, p. 3 .
Braswell, Pollye . "Table cloth Salute , Thus A Bowling Green Mother Greets Her Aviator Son , Capt . Victor H. St rahrl." Nashville Banner, 22 October 1933 .
. "Captain Victor H. Strahm." Aerial Age Weekly, 2" January 1919, p. 995.
"Choral Number of Prof. Strahm's A Feature of Music Festival ." Park City Daily News, 5 May 1924, p. 1.
"College Band Plays At Chapel ." Co l lege Hei ghts He ral d, April 1927, p. 2 .
"College Heights Orchestra, Glee Club To Give Concert ." Louisville Times Journal, 2 April, 1 932 .
"Composition", By Western Teacher Best In Contest . " Park City Dai ly News, 23 May 1937 .
"Concert At Teachers TO Be Real Treat ." Bowling Green Times Journal, 7 April 1932 , p . 1.
"Concert planned By School Group Over Radio , \~ord." Park City Daily News, 6 April 1932, p. 1.
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"Concert Tour . " Colleqe Heights Herald , 28 January 19 26 , p . 1.
l5
"Ei ghth Annual Music Festival ." I,estern KentuckY S t ate Normal School Ma y Fest i va l Program , 8 May 191 9 .
"Ended I n Blaze Of Gl ory . " Bowling Green Messenger , 11 M~Y 1913 . p . 1.
"Fifth Annua l ~!us i c Fest i val. n school May Fe stiva l Progr am ,
"Fitt i ng Trib utfl '" Par k Ci ty Daily News, 24 ~lay 1937 .
Fo r d , Mary Fra nc is , ed . Tal i sman 19 40 . Bowl in g Green : Weste r n Kentuck y Stat e Teacher 's Colle ge , 1 94 0 .
Fran:;:: J . Strahm (p rinted biog r aphical l e a flet) .
"Franz J . Strahm. " Bowl ing Green Mus i c Club Pr ogram, und a ted .
"Fr anz J . S trahm . " Bowling Gr een Times Journa l, 27 J une 19 41 .
"Franz J . Str ahm 18 6 7 - 19 41 . " Col lege Heights I!erald , 3 October 19 41, p . 2 .
" Fr anz J. Strahm Die s At. Hospi t. a l In Loui svi lle . " Col lege Heigh t. s Herald , 2 7 .June 1941 .
"Fran z St.rahm Succumbs To Operat. i on . " Bowling Gr een Ti nes .Journa l, 27 .June 1941, p . 1.
HFourt.h Annua l Musi c "
Gar rett. Paul L . "S t. rahm Me mor ial . " Speech, Strahm Memoria l, 29 May 1 942 .
"Gene ral Str ahm Cited ." New York Ti mes. 6 Augus t 19 43.
"General St r ahm Spe ak s I n Chapel . " Coll ege He ights He rald, 25 Hay 1945 .
"Great Credi t Due Strahm For Festi val---Success of 1925 Even t Is Largely Due To Effor t of Dea n Of Music---Al1 Ar t ists Make Hi t - - - t.;onderfu1 Vo i ce Of Phra die t're l ls Re velati on To Audi ence At Con certs ." Pa r k City Da i l y News . 9 May 1925 , p . 1.
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"History Of Hill Is Told In \'/ord And Song Dec . 7.~ College Heights He r ald. 1 4 December 1934 , p . 1 .
~Hold Memorial Chape l Services for Prof . Strahm . " College Heights Herald,S June 1942, p . 1.
~Homefolks News and Views . " Park City Daily News, 9 Decenber 1938.
Huddleston, Ed . Nashvi l le ; Nashville Banner,
- Iolanthe or The Peer and The Peri, An Operetta In TWo Acts By Gilbert and Sul l ivan Spom;or ed By Strahm Music Club." Western State Teacher ' s College, 29 Harch 1927 .
Johnson, Hugh, "Professor Strahm as a Friend." Speech, Strahm Memor ial . 29 May 1942 .
"Kentucky ' s Gr eatest Ace, Hajor Victor Herbert Strahm, Of Bowling Green, Still In Reqular Army, Decorated By U.S. And France." Kentucky Veteran. ~!arch 1928 .
"Kunish will Succeed Strahm at Barksdale." Shreveport Times, 16 July 19 47 .
Leiper , Mrs . Macon A. "Brief History of Music ·In Bowling Green Since the Cl ose of The Civil War . " Park City Daily News (Special Edition), April 1917, p . 5.
~ Leowe ' s Vendome . ~ Nashville, June 1968, p . 4 .
~Louisvi11e Boy Wi th Noted Flyers . " Louisville Eveni ng Post , undated.
HMajor Strahm Again Ti es Knots In The Pennsylvania Ozone . " Pa rk City Daily News , 26 July 1923 . p. 6.
"Major Strahm Is Wearer Of Medal Seldom Bestowed . " Park City Daily News, 10 March 1928 .
"Maj . Victor Strahm Re t urns To Tho City TO Visit His Father." College Heights Herald, June 1928, pp. 1, a-9 .
"May Festival To Be May 7-8- - -Annual Event To De Held In Teachers ' College Auditorium Under Direction of Prof . Strahm; Speci al Orchestra Engaged . " Park City Daily News, 2S April 1925, p . 1 .
McGee, Mrs. Curti s M. , comp o Kentuckv Composers And Composers Of Folk Husic. Frankfort, Kentucky : State Journal (Kentucky ) , 1950 .
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"Memorial Chapel For The Late Franz J. Strah.'1'l, Next Friday . " College Heights Heral". 22 May 1942, p . 1.
"Men ' s Glee Club . " Western Kentucky Teachers College Program. 23 March 1934.
"Men's Glee Cl':";.·;·b<Hl~:'Progra/f!.
"Men's Glee Club Season of 1934 - 1935 . " Western Kentuck y State Teachers College Program, 1934.
"Mrs. Alice E . Strahm . " Park City Daily News, 26 Febru ... ry 1963 .
"Mrs . Guest Dies; Was Well-Known Teacher . " The Nashville Banner, 9 ;1uly 1963, p . 4.
"Music Festival 1924." Hester" I:entucky St ate Teacher's College May Festiva.l Program, 8 May 1924.
"Music Festival 1925 . " \'Iestern Kentucky State Norma l School and Tea cher ' s College Hay Festival Program, 7 May 1925.
"Nashville ill. ' Good Town, ' Say Musicians, Long Given Enthusiastic "udiences . ~ Nashville . Banner, 1 2 April 19 36.
Nashville ·, Tennessee, Nashville Public Library. Nashville Room : Clipping File . "Nashville ' s Theat res-Vendome . "
Neal, Julia . 9 April
Historian, Bowling Green, Kentucky . 1982 .
Interview,
"Ninth Annual Music Festival. ~ Western Kentucky State Normal School May Festival Program, 6 May 1920 .
"Old Order Passing . " Park City Daily News, 29 June 19 41.
"Oratorio : The Last Judgment By Louis Spohr . " tucky State Normal School Oratorio Society May 1911.
J . St rahm ." lB
Western KenProgram, 12
"Prof. And Mrs. Strahm Celebrate Anniversity . " Park City Daily News, 11 May 1933, p. 3.
"Prof. F. J . Strahm Delights Assem.b1y . " Na shville Banner , 30 August 1923 .
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~Prof. Strahm Has Record AI Student. Mi ss About His Career. Pupil of Liszt . R
Herald, 1 4 January 1926 , p. 1 .
Ollie Mile s Writes College Heichts
·P rof. Str ahm Visits £urope,R College Heigh t s He r ald, 11 Oct ober 1935, p. 1.
"Pr o fe ssor Strahm To Direct All-State Orches t ra At K.E.A." College He i ghts Herald. April 1928, p . l.
"P rog ram." western Kentucky S t ate Normal School. 29 November 191 0 .
" Second Annual Husia Festival . " School May Fe.tival Pr ogram,
·Seventh Annual Festival,"
·Sixth Music
Stickles , A. M., "/\ Tribute To f r an z J. St rahm," Speech, Strahm Memo rial, 29 May 1942.
Stickles , A. M., "In ~'emory of Franz Joseph Str ahm . " Speech , Strahm Memorial, 29 May 1942.
·Str ahm Honored by Music Cl ub . " College Height. Herald. 3 October 1941, p. 1 .
·Strahm Honored by Music Cl~b.- Pa rk City Oai l y News, 2 October 1941.
"Strilhm Recipient of Leqion of Merit. " Louisv ille Times, 6 A~quEit 1943.
"Str ahm Remains In Criti cal Condi tion. " Park City Dai l y News, 1 0 April 1957 .
"Strahm Talks On MUllic Trend ." College Hei ghts Uerl1ld, Janu ary 1927, p . S .
"Strahm To Be In Charqe Of Concert Here . " College Heights He r ald, December 1929, p. 1.
"S tr ahm ' s Mu S ic Cl
ub P' "~'J'~'~"~'~',,!~~~~:;;;~i..~' ~'"'J;~i;~;:~~ Gar den . ' " ~ gram, 31
"The Co llege Chorus and College Orchestra In A Sacred Prog ra~ ." Western Kentucky St~te Teachers College Program, 5 Apr il 19)6 .
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"The Croation . H
gram, 10
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"The Last Judgment , An Oratorio By Spohr . ~ Western Kentucky State Teachers Colleoo Program, 26 March 1933 .
"Three Kentuckians Have Big Jobs In War ' s Biggest Air F i ghting Uni t." Louisville Courier-Journa l, 26 May 1944 .
"Two Thous and Hear Opera ' Eli I Sung by 2S0---May Mu sic Festiva l Opened Before Record Crowd At Teachers' Col lege . " Park Ci ty Daily News, 8 May 1925 , p . 1 .
"Vespe r Service . " Proqram, 19
"Vesper Servi ce Gi ven In Honor Of Pr of . Strahm ." College Hei ghts Herald, n May 19 35 , p . 1.
"Vesper Service In Song . " Western Kentucky State Teachers College Program, 17 March 19 35 .
"Vic St. r ahm Repor t ed In Cri tical Condition . " Park City Daily News, 9 Apr i l 1957 .
"Victor Herbert. Strahm." Teachers Col lege Heights, January 1 934 , p . 28.
"Vi ctor H. Strahm Di es Of Wounds Suffered In Apri l." College Heights Herald , 24 May 1 957.
"Victor H. St rahm Die s of Wounds Suffered In April." Pa rk City Daily News , 14 Hay 1957 .
"Victor H. Strahm Named For No t ed, Composer, Report . " ParK Cit y Daily News , 1 3 December 19211, p . 1.
Nashville ,
Waller, William, ed . Nashville 1 900 to 1910. Nashvil le : Va nderbil t Uni versity Press , 1972 .
"Hestern Glee Club ." Western Kentucky State Teachers Co llege , 1934.
"We .. tern Orchestra Concert. " Bo .... 1 i ng Green Times Jour nll1, 15 May 1 937 .