Editing Ferde Grofé (section)

==Grofé's compositions==
In addition to being an arranger, Grofé was a composer in his own right. While still with Whiteman, in 1926, he wrote ''[[Mississippi Suite]]'', which Whiteman recorded in a shortened format in 1927. He wrote a number of other pieces, including a theme for the [[1939 New York World's Fair]] and suites for [[Niagara Falls]] and the [[Hudson River]]. Possibly as a result of his World's Fair theme, October 13, 1940, was designated "Ferde Grofé Day" at the American pavilion of the World's Fair.<ref>''New York Times'', October 14, 1940</ref> In 1961, Grofé conducted his ''[[Niagara Falls Suite]]'' as part of the ceremony marking the opening of the first stage of the [[Niagara Falls#Hydroelectric power|Niagara Falls Power Generation]] project.<ref>''New York Times'', 7 February 1961</ref>

Other notable compositions by Grofé were the ''[[Death Valley Suite]]'' and a music production about [[Mark Twain]]. The ''Death Valley Suite'' is a short symphonic suite written by Grofé in 1949, depicting the westward travels of pioneers through the "harsh lands" of [[Death Valley]] in California. Grofé was commissioned by the Death Valley 49ers, a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving the pioneering and mining history of the Death Valley region encompassing Death Valley National Monument (now [[Death Valley National Park]]) and the surrounding area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deathvalley49ers.org/|title=About Us|website=deathvalley49ers.org/|publisher=Death Valley 49ers|last1=49ers|first1=Death Valley|access-date=2014-08-01}}</ref> The composition and music was part of a pageant performed on December 3, 1949, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the [[California Gold Rush#Forty-niners|Forty-niners]] who came by way of Death Valley in search of gold and other riches, as well as celebrating the [[California]] state centennial (1850–1950).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grofe|first1=Ferde|title=Ferde Grofe|date=1949|publisher=Grofe and State of California|url=http://www.ferde-grofe.net/scores/Desert_Water_Hole_Preview.pdf|access-date=2014-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092151/http://www.ferde-grofe.net/scores/Desert_Water_Hole_Preview.pdf|archive-date=2014-10-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 1949 pageant setting was outdoors at Desolation Canyon in Death Valley. Grofé was the conductor, and actor [[James Stewart]] was the narrator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dannyraythomas.com/dv'49er_keepsakes.html|title=49ers Keepsakes|website=dannyraythomas.com|publisher=Death Valley 49ers|last1=Thomas|first1=Danny Ray|access-date=2014-10-01}}</ref> In 1960, work was announced on a musical production based on the life of Mark Twain. The music was first assigned to [[Victor Young]], but Grofé was later brought in to complete the work.<ref>''New York Times'', 14 May 1960</ref>

Grofé is best known for his composition of the ''Grand Canyon Suite'' (1931), a work regarded highly enough to be recorded for [[RCA Victor]] with the [[NBC Symphony]] conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]] (in Carnegie Hall in 1945, with the composer present). The earlier ''[[Mississippi Suite]]'' along with the later ''Death Valley Suite'' are occasionally performed and recorded. Grofé conducted the [[Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra]] in his ''Grand Canyon Suite'' and his piano concerto (with pianist [[Jesús María Sanromá]]) for [[Everest Records]] in 1960; the recording was digitally remastered and issued on CD in 1997.

In 1958, [[Walt Disney]] released a live-action, short subject film of the [[Grand Canyon]] using the Grand Canyon Suite music. The 30-minute Technicolor and [[CinemaScope]] film, entitled ''[[Grand Canyon (1958 film)|Grand Canyon]]'', used no actors or dialogue, simply shots of the Grand Canyon itself and several animals around the area, all shown with Grofé's music accompanying the visuals. The short won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Subject,<ref>{{Citation|last=Algar|first=James|title=Grand Canyon|date=1958-12-17|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051677/awards|access-date=2016-05-25}}</ref> and was shown as a featurette accompanying Disney's 1959 ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]''. Today, the ''Grand Canyon Suite's'' third movement, "On the Trail", can be heard playing as the [[Disneyland Railroad]] passes the Grand Canyon sections of the "Grand Circle Tour" of [[Disneyland]].

[[Robert Moses]], master urban planner, commissioned Grofé to compose the music for the [[1964 New York World's Fair]]. The fair's opening day's big musical performance was [[Paul Lavalle]] conducting a 94-piece orchestra in the world premiere of Grofé's "World's Fair Suite". Moses had previously commissioned Grofé to compose the theme for his [[1939 New York World's Fair]]. Mr. Grofé was present, listening from a wheelchair, having suffered a stroke in 1961. His score was in five movements—"Unisphere", "International", "Fun at the  Fair", "Pavilions of Industry" and "National".<ref>"Music: A listener's Fill" ''[[New York Times]]''. April 23, 1964. p. 31.</ref>