Carl Ruggles / How Now, Dow Jones

On this day in classical music: Carl Ruggles’ “Men and Mountains” received its premiere in New York City in 1924. Born in 1876, Ruggles taught composition at the University of Miami from 1938 to 1943. He spent most of the next three decades living in a converted school house in Vermont. His compositional style often makes use of dissonant counterpoint. His musical output is quite small due in part to his lengthy composition process and frequent revision. Listen to the Christoph von Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra perform “Men and Mountains.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ig5Ql2iNQk

On this day in the musical theatre: Elmer Bernstein and Carolyn Leigh’s musical “How Now, Dow Jones” opened on Broadway in 1967. Set on Wall Street, “How Now, Dow Jones” follows the life of a woman who announces the Dow Jones numbers. Kate’s fiance will not marry her until the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 1,000. One day, she decides to disregard the actual stock market gains and announces that the Dow Jones has indeed reached the 1,000 mark. The confusion that ensues lands Kate in hot water but the U.S. economy manages to survive the false rise. Known primarily for his film scores, Bernstein composed a decent score for “How Now, Dow Jones,” with the hit “Step to the Rear” enjoying popularity outside the show. Because of its unusual plot device, the musical has not been revived. Listen to Marilyn Maye perform the rousing “Step to the Rear.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoCmYd6Tc6Y

Musical musings: “How Now, Dow Jones” is still another example of the musical that begins with talented and original people who have only the vaguest idea of exactly what they want to do. With the need to actually put something on that stage and have it last for two hours, frenzy moves in where conception fails to tread. Noise replaces sound, panic replaces movement and they cover over the whole business — usually assisted by specialists-in-emergency — relying on facility rather than organized inspiration. If Max Shulman, Carolyn Leigh and Elmer Bernstein had any idea for musical theater when they began work on “How Now, Dow Jones,’ that idea is nowhere apparent. From the looks of things, it was conceived, in doomed vague terms, as a musical about the stock market. (George) Abbott staged the whole business without a trace of interest in content, seeking the speed and the flash that once passed for entertainment. It passes no more. – Martin Gottfried in Women’s Wear Daily

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