American Music

[Dundonnell]

William Schuman's Concerto on Old English Rounds.....WOW!! Been hoping to hear this for years!

Thank You

[Latvian]

Night Music with Mitropoulos is currently available on a Deutsche Grammaphon CD reissue [...] and I will remove the Night Music from the file.

If you like, I have a noncommercial live performance of Night Music which I can upload to replace the removed file.

[lechner1110]

　　Hi Arbuckle

    I listened Howard Swanson's symphony no.6 today.
    It sounds me beautiful and old days of America.
    Thanks to upload

   A.S

[jerfilm]

I have a short want list (he says with tongue in cheek) of symphonies by American Composers.  Nothing included from the last 50 years or so.

Paul Allen      Pilgrim Symphony
George Frederick Bristow   Symphonys 1, 3, 5
Howard Brockway       Symphony in D
Cecil Burleigh      Symphonys 1, 2
George Chadwick      Symphony 1
Phillip Clapp      Symphonys 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12
Louis Coerne      Symphonys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Henry Hadley      Symphonys 1, 3, 5
Victor Herbert      Sinfoniettas 1, 2
Ernest Hutcheson      Symphonys 1, 2
Frederick Jacobi      Gulliver Symphony, New England Symphony
Edgar Kelley      Symphonys but not 1
Charles Loeffler      Symphony Mora Mystica
Daniel G Mason      Symphony 1
Horatio Parker      Symphony in c
Lazar Siminsky      Symphonys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ernest Schelling      Symphony in c
Burtrom Shapleigh      Symphonys 1, 2
David Stanley Smith   Symphonys 1, 2
Frederick Stock      Symhonys 1, 2
George T Strong      Symphonys 1, 3
Robert Ward      Symphony 1


Anyone have any of these gems?

Jerry

[dafrieze]

I have the Daniel Gregory Mason 1st symphony, in an old recording (LP, I think) with Howard Hanson and the Eastman Rochester Orchestra. 

[Dundonnell]

I don't suppose anyone out there has either-

Paul Creston's Violin Concerto No.1- which was recorded by Benno Rabinoff and the Detroit SO under Paul Paray

or

David Diamond's Violin Concerto No.3-which was "recorded" by Piotr Janowski and the New York Phil. under Bernstein

...both 'recordings' references coming from the marvellous 20th Century Violin Concertos database.

[semloh]

Amphissa - thank you for these "Diamonds"!

[Amphissa]

I've added a couple more pieces by David Diamond to the American Music collection. His Symphony No. 5 conducted by Leonard Bernstein and the premier performance of his Piano Concerto, which he conducted, from the same concert, both with the New York Philharmonic.

[eschiss1]

Actually (regrettably for this folder, not so regrettably generally since it's good to have such things available- though I haven't listened (yes, I did download it before finding this out) and say that more on principle) Gutchë's Icarus is available on CD (same performance). There's a website about his works with a discography -see recordings (total of one CD there?!? - symphony 5, Genghis Khan, Bongo Divertimento and Icarus. Earlier recordings out of print not mentioned on that particular page- maybe on another.) and see Icarus for specifics about Icarus, op.48 (1975, premiered 1976).
(Another work premiered by Dorati, I see- like some others I could mention that I know I like- I think Roger Sessions' 4th is among his list of premieres, at least I know he did perform it...)

As to the concerto, I see there are two piano concertos it seems? - op24 and op41 - the pianist in op24 is Bernhard Weiser, the conductor may be (according to a google search) not Oliveros but Aliferis? not sure though... have to check again... but anyhow, pianist's name I'm fairly sure of

[Amphissa]

I dunno, I think Korngold was about as American as Rachmaninov was (though granted the later wrote very little after he immigrated).  Or maybe Stravinsky is a better example.

Yes, perhaps Stravinsky would be a good example. Also Dvorak, who wrote his 9th and his Cello Concerto in the U.S., but did not establish roots in the U.S.

As for Rachmaninoff, after immigrating to the U.S., he wrote his revision to Piano Concerto No. 3, composed Piano Concerto No. 4, Symphony No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, and his Symphonic Dances -- the latter two being among his best and most performed works. Rachmaninoff lived all of his adult life in the U.S. became a citizen, and is buried in the U.S. alongside his wife. I don't think most people would refer to him as American despite all that, but the music he wrote while living in the U.S. could go in this folder -- except that he's not unsung, of course.

A much more substantial case can be made regarding Rudolf Friml. He moved permanently to the U.S. in 1906 at age 17 and settled in as a happy philandering Hollywood composer for more than 60 years.

To my knowledge, Korngold never expressed much interest in returning to Europe, although I've not read any detailed biographies. And the majority of his most substantial and successful works were composed in the U.S.

The problem is, the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Everyone here, except for Native Americans, are from other parts of the world. So, one hears a lot of African American, Italian American, Asian American, Mexican American, Irish American, etc, etc. Those labels adhere even if one is 3rd, 5th or 10th generation in this country. People take pride in their heritage, yet still consider themselves Americans.

At what point does one's country of birth become less relevant than one's place of life and death? Yo-Yo Ma was born in France of Chinese parents, but has lived in the U.S. since his mid-teens. Most everyone considers him American. Stokowski was born in London, with an English father of Polish heritage and an Irish mother, but he moved to the U.S. when young and became a citizen, so most people consider him American. Friml moved to the U.S. at around the same age as Yo-Yo Ma and Stokowski. Why would he not be considered American as well?

I don't have clear cut answers for many cases. Most people in the U.S. accept as their own anyone who has permanent residence in the U.S. and becomes a U.S. citizen. Heritage is appreciated, but they are Americans.

Of course, others can disagree. That's just my opinion.

And my apology for getting off topic. I'll add some more American music to counter this tedium.

[JimL]

African-American, Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, Mexican-American or Native American music?   

[semloh]

On the subject of Korngold and America, a you would know, Australia is much the same .... mostly immigrant backgrounds but all proud to be Australian. I don't think one can do much better than to give the casting vote to the individuals themselves.

Whether it is possible to identify, or even imagine, a distinctively "American music" or "Australian music" is a moot point, and in the end one can ony sustain such a description based on the composer's nationality. As such, I think it's only value is for arranging music files or books in a library, or on a classical music forum!

[eschiss1]

Tangentially re Bristow, the preface to the very recently published score of his 2nd (Jullien) symphony, readable at Google Books, has interesting things to say about the US musical climate in the 1850s socially etc. (what orchestras were playing, why, why this may have mattered, etc. - Walker talks about somewhat similar things in a wide and narrow European context(s) in the 2nd volume of his Liszt biography for similar reasons I think, but the reasons why I find his efforts to be expansive and detailed, though doomed , to be valuable are a tangent within a tangent - if one that- ... well, interests me... erm.)

, and a brief but maybe "placing" mention of Cipriani Potter's D major symphony into the bargain... here if one can read it (preview).

[Amphissa]

So my latest addition to the collection is a work by African American composer William Grant Still.

[Sicmu]

To my knowledge, Korngold never expressed much interest in returning to Europe, although I've not read any detailed biographies. And the majority of his most substantial and successful works were composed in the U.S.

Nationality is definitely not the most important thing to consider when it comes to music but I have to clarify what you stated about Korngold : both the Serenade and the Symphony were intended to be first performed in Austria by the Vienna PO, Kornglod DID want to return to his country  to rekindle the flame of his fame there, it was his dream, he was not particularly happy in the US, he actually said that when he started to write film music he didn't understand english and when he was able to do it he realized how ridiculous some of this movies he scored were, that's quite ironic in the sense that he really set down the Hollywood film music standards.

Anyway I think one should not be confused with the citizenship of the composer and the the music itself : music rnot only tells about  the man ( or woman) but also about the country, the traditions and the folklore he grew up with. This is the reason Copland tried to do that and so many other composers as well, this is not important in itself but it may be a source of inspiration for some composers.