Evenings on and off the roof

by Dorothy L. Crawford

This is the story of the adventurous concert series that brought Los Angeles to musical maturity. Launched in 1939, the now-famous Evenings on the Roof were the inspiration of writer Peter Yates and his wife, pianist Frances Mullen. In 1954 directorship of the concerts was taken over by Lawrence Morton, and the series continues today as the Monday Evening Concerts. Convinced that Los Angeles concertgoers were exposed only to the most staid and popular classical music, the Yateses determined to create an audience for "that class of music which is always contemporary, whether written by the sixteenth-century composers Byrd and Gibbons or by the twentieth-century composers Hindemith and Ives." To their rooftop studio they welcomed emigre musicians and composers who turned Los Angeles into a capital of the world of art music in the late 30s and early 40s. Performers who came to play gave their talent, with little or no financial return; composers offered their new works; and audiences grew