Jerome Moross (1913-1983)
Frankie and Johnny • Those Everlasting Blues • Willie the Weeper
A native New Yorker, Jerome Moross began piano lessons at the age of five and was composing by the time he was eight. In a feat of musical and logistical virtuosity, he held a Juilliard School of Music conducting fellowship while finishing his degree at the New York University School of Music. Moross was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships in 1947 and 1948. In his early career, he wrote extensively for the concert stage, including his Symphony No. 1, which was first performed by Sir Thomas Beecham with the Seattle Symphony in 1943.
Moross’s music was distinctively American and remained tonal and melodic throughout his career. He loved folk-tunes and popular songs of his day, and in his formative years continually sought out indigenous music influences.
As well as writing Broadway musicals, ballets and concert works, Moross worked in Hollywood, first as an orchestrator for numerous films in the late 1930s and 1940s, and later as a composer. Of his seventeen film scores, The Big Country (1958) is the best known and is now recognized as a ‘Western’ classic.

Tracklist:
Melissa Barrick (soprano), Denise Edds (soprano), Diane Kesling (mezzo-soprano)
Performed by: Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by: Richard Rosenberg
Frankie and Johnny
1. Introduction (01:11)
2. Bawdy House Stomp (02:22)
3. Frankie and Johnny Blues (02:50)
4. Beer Parlour Rag (03:57)
5. Bartender's Rag (03:30)
6. Frankie Tune (02:29)
7. Fox - Trot Murder (02:13)
8. Funeral Party One - Step (04:10)

Those Everlasting Blues
Diane Kesling, mezzo-soprano
Performed by: Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by: Richard Rosenberg
9. Those Everlasting Blues (06:12)

Willie the Weeper
John De Haan (tenor)
Performed by: Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by: Richard Rosenberg
10. Introduction (05:40)
11. Rich Willie (03:22)
12.Lonely Wille (03:28)
13. Famous Willie (02:31)
14. Baffled Willie (02:14)
15. Big Willie (06:28)
16. Contented Willie (02:41)
17. Sexy Willie (07:57)
Total Playing Time: 01:03:15