Episode description

April 29th, 1865: Fifteen days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Philharmonic paid tribute to the late president with the Funeral March from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Beethoven intended this work to honor Napoleon — but ripped out the dedication page when Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France. Now, the symphony merely known as “Eroica” (or “heroic”) is fitting music to honor any national leader or heroic figure.

Later, in the wake of an all-too-familiar tragedy, students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reached out to two New York Philharmonic musicians. Clarinetist Anthony McGill, trombonist Joseph Alessi, and former band director of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Alex Kaminsky discuss how music helped console a community in the face of violence and loss.

The NYPhil Story: Made in New York production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Helena de Groot, Sapir Rosenblatt, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, Eileen Delahunty, Christine Herskovits, Natalia Ramirez, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes: George Wellington and Ed Haber. Production assistance from: Ben James, and Jac Phillimore and Mary Mathis. Special thanks to Monica Parks, Adam Crane, Gabe Smith, and the New York Public Radio Archives. 

This episode contains discussions of self-harm and school violence. If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, help is available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. And if you’re outside the U.S., you can visit findahelpline.com to find resources for your country. You can also find free multilingual trauma resources online from the Child Mind Institute. 

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com