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Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

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Tim Augustin Is 2021 Jussi Björling Society Prize Winner, Bengt Krantz

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

American tenor Tim Augustin has one strong source of inspiration. That source is Jussi Björling. This strong model has brought him to Sweden. He shares this fascination with many other tenors, but Tim seems to have absorbed an enormous amount of knowledge through analytical studies of Jussi’s art of singing. The result is not imitation but a very sophisticated closeness to the tools that are the singer’s: breath control, articulation, textual understanding, expansion and warmth. He has found these constituents in his own voice and applies his insight in a very healthy voice production, which easily brings him through the …

Singer’S Choices:, Allan Buchalter

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

On occasion, a composer will place an additional musical staff above a solo singer’s staff so that the singer can choose which version he/she wishes to sing. Sometimes it is a difference of just a few notes, but can also completely change the melodic line, as I’ll illustrate towards the end of this article, with a Björling and Corelli example, after first mentioning a few “oppure” choices (generally abbreviated in scores as “Opp.”).

What oppure is not, is when due to tradition, or for some other reason, a singer takes it upon himself/herself to add something to an aria, duet, …

Voice Types:, Nils-Göran Olve, Sue Flaster ,Translator, Harald Henrysson ,Translator

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Just as for sopranos, there are, of course, various kinds of tenors. Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Rodolfo in La bohème, and Siegmund in Die Walküre, are probably never candidates for each other’s roles. For audiences, Rodolfo in particular defines what it means to be a tenor. That role fach (voice type) is called lyric tenor, and from the 1840s and up to our day, there is one such in every stereotypical opera libretto: the more or less tragic male figure in a love story. At the beginning of the 1800s, similar tenor roles were often written for …

Thoughts On “O Helga Natt”, Kristian Krogholm

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

“No singer was ever more loved than Jussi Björling,” said Elisabeth Söderström at the big concert in Stockholm 1985 to celebrate his memory. Jussi had a quality that set him apart from everyone else. A voice sent from Heaven. So beautiful, so brilliant, so perfect yet so intensely emotional. Every note he sang went straight into the depths of the heart. That kind of attraction cannot be explained, because it is, and will always remain, a mystery.

What is deepest in the heart of every human being is that which we cannot put into words. And what do we all …

Hugo Hasslo Speaks About Jussi Björling, Hugo Hasslo

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

(From the program of the Jussi Björling Memorial Concert, 1985, Stockholm Konserthuset)

When speaking of Jussi Björling, my Norwegian singing teacher would sometimes say, “He is unique as a singer.” And truly Jussi was utterly unique. I don’t know of anyone who sounded like an instrument as he did. He sang like an instrumentalist; that was precisely what he did naturally. He made music.

Many singers don’t seem to care much once they become famous. Jussi didn’t do that and therefore was so perfect. His enormously sharp memory surely helped. He never sang anything wrong. I admired him tremendously.

“The Researcher’S Lot Is Not An ’Appy One”, Andrew Farkas

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Wonderful people that they are, Karl and Toby Hekler no doubt have been called by nicer names or described in more flattering terms in the past. For the purpose of this report, however, let’s just called them catalysts. Many of you reading these lines attended our successful inaugural Jussi Björling Society-USA conference in Washington, D. C., last June. The organizers were kind enough to invite me to speak, and through a series of coincidences I chose for my topic “Ma se m’è forza perderti,” the third act aria of Un ballo in maschera that Björling consistently and inexplicably omitted in …

If Only:, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The idea is perpetual. It meanders through most of our noggins, yet remains welcome in its brain-draining manner. The Anna-Lisa Björling/ Andrew Farkas biography, Jussi, keeps reminding us of the likes of Il tabarro with Leontyne Price and George London (Amadeus Press, 1996, page 335). Elsewhere it is suggested that the RCA/Serafin Otello with Jon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek and Tito Gobbi was RCA’s means of salvaging what was to have been Jussi’s Otello recording. The facts and tales are out there. We salivate every time we read or re-read them. Since many others have had a hand in that creative …

Three Societies, Four Books, One Museum, Sue Flaster

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The Jussi Björling Society - USA, and our sister societies, the Jussi Björling Sällskapet in Sweden and the Jussi Björling Appreciation Society in the UK, are among literally thousands of such groups dedicated to various passions, activities and avocations. Many of these groups have grown out of almost-random encounters among enthusiasts, although the Internet has made those meetings much less random and much more frequent and targeted. For many of these groups, the reasons for their existence and development were known at one time to some few people, but are no longer remembered as the originating members drop away for …

Serenades For The Queen, Janel E. Lundgren

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

On the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, whose accession to the throne of the United Kingdom took place seventy years ago, we look back at Jussi Björling’s songful participation in the Coronation events, and a subsequent meeting with Her Majesty in 1956. Princess Elizabeth became Queen on February 6, 1952, imme-diately upon the unexpected death of her father, George VI. The Coronation was held more than a year later on June 2, 1953, allowing the traditional year of preparations for the ceremony and festivities.

Front Matter

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

From Zwingli’S Switzerland To The American South:, Celeste Carroll Onchuck

Swiss American Historical Society Review

“Here – here shall be my grave!” declared Rudi Gallmann, standing near Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli and his comrades on the damp ground in the gently sloping Albis hills of the Zurich countryside on October 11, 1531. When the weather was clear and the sun shone over the towering Kappel monastery, one might be overcome with a sense of peacefulness, but that day, the clouds hung low, bringing light rain to accompany the winds that blew over the hillsides. Although morale was not at its zenith among the Protestant troops at Kappel am Albis that day, Gallmann and the others …

From Islands To Mountains:, Stephanie Velasco Poserio

Swiss American Historical Society Review

This reflection, by Ms. A. Martinez, a Filipino-American living and working in diversity education at a castle museum near Bern, Switzerland, highlights how cultural connections are maintained even when one is geographically distant from one’s country of origin. In addition to Ms. Martinez’s Filipino-American perspective, I met and interviewed others who shared their stories as Filipino or Filipino-Swiss migrants. The migration of Filipinos from the islands of the Philippines to the mountains of Switzerland illustrates a dynamic journey that began with labor migration in the early 1970s and reflects a vibrant diaspora today. This article presents a cultural and historical …

Hollywood’S Toughest Stunt Clan Comes From Gossau, Canton St. Gallen:, Roland Schäfli

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Hans Epper from eastern Switzerland conquered Hollywood as a stuntman in the 1930s. His descendants continue to perform death-defying stunts for Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg to this day. A family history like something out of a movie.

When Hans Epper arrived in New York on Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost) in 1926, he gave his name as “John” to the immigration authorities.

He discarded “Hans” just as he wanted to discard his origins: his past in the eastern Swiss municipality of Gossau. An official at the town hall of the industrial village in St. Gallen had scribbled “Off …

Book Review, Marianne Derron

Swiss American Historical Society Review

As historian Jürg Flückiger writes in the title, this story is only “almost forgotten.” It is well known that during World War II, many foreign citizens who had ended up in Switzerland for a variety of reasons were interned there. While some were there voluntarily, fleeing the Nazis, others had ended up in Switzerland in the course of actual combat operations, but would have preferred to avoid this exile. This was the fate of a number of American fighter pilots whose planes had been damaged over Germany and had to make emergency landings in Switzerland.

Sahs Advisory Board, 2025–2028

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

President’S Annual Report, Thomas Quinn Marabello

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The past year has been a very busy and fruitful one for the Swiss American Historical Society (SAHS), with many developments and achievements. We formed new partnerships, engaged in outreach, published a book, began our centennial plans, and gained 35 new members (many of whom are not Swiss)!

2025 began with us awarding a grant to Celeste Onchuck, an SAHS member and doctoral student who is writing her dissertation about Huldrych Zwingli and her ancestors, the Gallmann family who immigrated to South Carolina (her article exploring some of this is in this issue). The grant allowed Celeste to travel to …

Publications Report, The Editorial Board

Swiss American Historical Society Review

2025 was a busy year for the Editorial Board. In addition to publishing three issues of the SAHS Review, we also completed editing and publishing Helvetic Heights: A Human History of the Swiss Alps by our own Richard Hacken. The book has been well received by members and others as a comprehensive history of people living and working in the Swiss Alps since prehistory.

The February 2025 issue of the SAHS Review featured five interesting and very different articles. Thomas Quinn Marabello researched and wrote about the connection between Zermatt, Switzerland and Vail, Colorado. The founders of Vail, a ski …

Swiss Chapter Financial Report, Kurt Morf

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Financial Report Of The Swiss American Historical Society, Ernie Thurston

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Submitted to the Annual Membership Meeting, Oct. 4, 2025, in New York City

Website & Social Media Report For 2025, Richard Hacken

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Society’s website (https://swiss-american-historical-society.org) has undergone a series of positive changes this year. This is one case where an “upgrade” has not become a “downgrade” in disguise! The Menu (which is where you can access links to other pages on the website) is now more minimalistic, sleek, and user friendly. You will also find a newly inserted search button that helps you find keywords from the entire site.

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Alma Gildenhorn:, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Alma Lee Gildenhorn (née Alma Lee Gross), born on January 14, 1932, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a distinguished American philanthropist, civic leader, and cultural advocate whose life exemplifies service, generosity, and dedication to the public good. Over the course of more than seven decades, she has played an influential role in advancing education, strengthening U.S.–Swiss relations, promoting the arts, and supporting countless community institutions.

End Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Swiss Settlers On The Nebraska Prairie In The 1880s, Karl Horat

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Hundreds of thousands of emigrants from all over Europe, as well as many Americans, were attracted to the West in the nineteenth century. It was the time of the “Homestead Act,” a law for land settlement signed by President Abraham Lincoln. It had taken force on New Year’s Eve, 1863.

Among the early settlers in the Great Plains of Nebraska in the 1880s were landless Swiss farmers. The presence of two families from the Bernese Oberaargau, Lisette and Ueli Uhlmann-Schütz, along with Annelies and Hans-Ueli Kleeb-Heiniger, was documented on 19th century photographic plates. The black and white pictures illustrate both …

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Officers (Executive Board)

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Thomas Quinn Marabello became President of the Swiss American Historical Society in November 2024. As president, he is focused on increasing membership, organizing engaging and interesting annual meetings, and supporting young historians.

Beth Zurbuchen has been Vice President of the Swiss American Historical Society since November 2024. She served as President of the Swiss Center of North America in New Glarus, Wisconsin from 2009 until retiring in April 2024.

Barbara Müller joined the SAHS in 2013, became Vice President of the SAHS Swiss Chapter in 2016 and is President of our sister organization, Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society …

Swiss American Historical Society Annual Business Meeting Report, Jane C. Maurer

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM. Observed Moment of Silence to remember longtime members who passed away in the past year (Dr. Heinz B. Bachmann, former SAHS President and Treasurer; Heinrich L. Wirz, Max A. Gonzenbach, Fred C. Moser, Richard Blatter and Paul R. Judy).

Annual Membership Report

Swiss American Historical Society Review

We have 208 current members, a 1% increase over the 205 reported last year at this time. We received a donation of $10,000 from the Northlands Foundation. And one of $1,000 from the Gonzenbach Family Foundation, in honor of former member Max Gonzenbach (now deceased.). Other members made extra contributions this year totaling $1,240, and one became a Life member.

Friends Of The Swiss American Historical Society (Sahs) Switzerland Chapter, Barbara Müller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Swiss Chapter of SAHS held their annual general meeting and outing in St. Legier, Canton Vaud at the Pepperdine University campus in the renovated Château d’Hauteville on September 10th, 2025. The château belonged to Pierre-Philippe Canac, who installed Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rods on the château roof when he built it in the 1760s. It then passed through marriage to Daniel Grand, the youngest son of Franklin’s French banker. The installed lightning rods still protect the château today from the storms passing over Lake Geneva. Pepperdine has done a wonderful job in renovating the château and keeping it for generations …