I am a longtime reader and admirer of this forum. Oxford University Press has just published a new title that will hopefully be of interest to you: Orchestrating the Nation: The Nineteenth-Century American Symphonic Enterprise (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/orchestrating-the-nation-9780199358649?cc=us&lang=en&#). It is the first in-depth treatment of nineteenth-century American symphonists, their music, and the environment in which they lived and worked.
The well-known "unsung" American composers who appear prominently in the text include: Charles Hommann, Anthony Philip Heinrich, George Frederick Bristow, William Henry Fry, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, John Knowles Paine, George Whitefield Chadwick, George Templeton Strong, and Amy Beach. But you will find that the repertoire itself is much more extensive. Virtually unknown figures such as Ellsworth Phelps and Louis Maas also play key roles in the narrative.
Forum readers whose interests lie primarily with European music will also find much to appreciate in the book. American orchestras frequently programmed music by "unsung" figures like Joachim Raff (one of my personal favorites) and Carl Goldmark. I included a generous amount of reception history related to these composers in order to set the context. My perception of the nineteenth century is that classical music culture was much more "transatlantic" than we tend to think. ("Sung" composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Liszt, Brahms, and Dvorak also appear.)
The book is as jargon free as possible and includes little detailed technical analysis, though there are about 100 music examples. The publisher generously constructed a companion website (http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199358649/) that has recorded excerpts cued to the examples as they are printed on the page. We will add new clips to the website as works appear on new recordings (e.g., Bristow's Second Symphony). Frankly, as an unsung music lover myself, I wrote the book with sympathetic readers like you in mind.
The book is now available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Orchestrating-Nation-Nineteenth-Century-Symphonic-Enterprise/dp/0199358648) in the US (and other online retailers), and it should be reaching the UK and the rest of Europe in a matter of weeks.
If you have any questions or comments, either before reading the book or after, I will be happy to follow up on this thread. And I hope you enjoy it!
Good to have you with us, Douglas. And what a marvellous new book! It's certainly gone on my wants list. Availability on this side of the pond is December 1st:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0199358648?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0199358648?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE)
Welcome to UC, Douglas. Your book is great news and it'll be required reading for me. Roll on Christmas!
Bravo and thanks, Mr. Shadle, that you also consider G. T. Strong!
Adriano, Zürich
Strong's Sintram could easily hold its own in concert halls today, in my opinion. As you can imagine, what kept it out of halls after its premiere was the accusation (made most forcefully by Henry Krehbiel) that it was "mere" program music.
The death of conductor Anton Seidl in 1898 was also a huge blow for American composers. Despite being a Wagner apostle, he was very supportive of native-born Americans, even those of non-German ethnicity. He deserves a biography that examines this angle of his career in more detail. (Seidl premiered Sintram.)
Excellent, and right up my alley. On my Christmas list as well ;)
I've pre-ordered my copy. What a nice surprise to see this title. It's nice to know that there's at least one American college professor still doing serious musicology that isn't about rock/hip-hop/jazz/broadway. Looking forward to it.
I think this is a welcome addition and I'll order it. Now I have a question for Mark and Alan. Are you secretly working on a European version?
Tom
QuoteAre you secretly working on a European version?
It's a nice thought. I certainly don't have the expertise, though. The nearest you'll get is Chris Fifield's book:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5216.0.html (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5216.0.html)
+ 1 for Fifield's excellent book! It fills a huge hole for scholars and other music lovers alike.
That's a hugely welcome endorsement for Chris Fifield's book, Doug. I'm sure he'll appreciate your support.
Thanks for the vote of confidence but, like Alan, I bow to Christopher, whose fine book really does fill a huge gap. It's enthusiastically recommended by me. Not only is it thorough and erudite, it's eminently readable.
I put in a request through the Minnesota library system to have them order it but so far nothing has come through yet.
Tom
Welcome to UC, Douglas, and thanks for the post regarding your book. I look forward to the monograph in progress about Dvorak's "New World Symphony" as well. Do you have any idea when that might appear?
Quote from: sdtom on Saturday 28 November 2015, 16:03
I put in a request through the Minnesota library system to have them order it but so far nothing has come through yet.
Tom
Thanks, Tom! Hopefully it will be there sooner rather than later. Amazon was inexplicably out of stock for a couple of weeks, so there may be some system-wide problems with warehouses, etc. Please do keep us updated, though, because another nearby library may get one sooner and you could use the interlibrary loan system.
Quote from: Amphissa on Sunday 29 November 2015, 05:50
Welcome to UC, Douglas, and thanks for the post regarding your book. I look forward to the monograph in progress about Dvorak's "New World Symphony" as well. Do you have any idea when that might appear?
Thanks for your interest! The New World Symphony book is scheduled to come out in 2018 for the 125th anniversary of the work's premiere.
I did find that out Douglas. The University of Minnesota ordered a copy so perhaps my request will be processed as soon as it comes in.
Tom
I know of Ellsworth C. Phelps (and of Edward H. and Edward B. Phelps... sometimes hard to tell since their scores would be published just as "E.C.", "E.H." or "E.B." Phelps... as usual... sigh) but did not know he composed symphonic music. I wonder if Frédéric-Louis Ritter's symphonies (or those of somewhat more early-20th century David Stanley Smith) find their way in :)
To keep you up to date the University of Minnesota refuses to inter loan this item.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Monday 30 November 2015, 05:22
I know of Ellsworth C. Phelps (and of Edward H. and Edward B. Phelps... sometimes hard to tell since their scores would be published just as "E.C.", "E.H." or "E.B." Phelps... as usual... sigh) but did not know he composed symphonic music. I wonder if Frédéric-Louis Ritter's symphonies (or those of somewhat more early-20th century David Stanley Smith) find their way in :)
I did not have a chance to look at Ritter's symphonies, but his name does appear in several contexts because his music was supported by the same conductor who supported Phelps: Carl Bergmann. Like Phelps, I think Ritter's hope for more performances died along with Bergmann in 1876. There might have been some other isolated performances later, but I haven't kept track. Maybe for the paperback. :-)
David Stanley Smith does not appear in the book. I tried to keep strict chronological boundaries, or else it would have spiraled out of control! He is definitely someone who needs more attention. Looks like a boatload of his materials are at Yale.
Well, I finished reading Orchestrating the Nation this morning. It's a terrific feast for those of us interested in the symphonic developments in the US. It's not a book to read quickly - the companion website has loads of musical examples that you simply have to listen to. There's information and detail about composers and their work that was completely new to me - and I thought I was pretty well versed in the US symphony. The Introduction alone is terrific as it summarizes and explains quite clearly the problems facing American composers, not the least of which is the "Beethoven Problem". Gilbert Chase was certainly not a help.
The book also really whets the appetite to hear a lot of music that hasn't been recorded, such as the Louis Maas "On the Prairies". I've played his "Rooster Polka" and it would be quite interesting to hear if his orchestral writing is more serious.
A great contribution to the music library and long, long overdue. Almost makes me want to decipher the manuscript of the Chadwick 1st, put it on Finale, and get a performance!
That's very heartening, Martin. My copy is on it's way, but I'll have to wait until Christmas to get my hands on it.
I'd love to read it, but $50 for a Kindle edition seems a bit outrageous.
All you can do is put in a library request like I did.
Tom
Ah, ok, I see one of Phelps' orchestral works at the American Music Collection catalogue (@NYPL). Forgot to look there... (correction: 2; NYPL has his symphony Hiawatha in score. (http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16689317~S1))
Quote from: eschiss1 on Tuesday 01 December 2015, 21:51
Ah, ok, I see one of Phelps' orchestral works at the American Music Collection catalogue (@NYPL). Forgot to look there... (correction: 2; NYPL has his symphony Hiawatha in score. (http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16689317~S1))
Exactly. Hiawatha was microfilmed at my request.
Kyle Gann has written a sympathetic review:
http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2015/12/a-critical-conspiracy.html (http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2015/12/a-critical-conspiracy.html)
In an earlier post he has to say some interesting things about Ethel Smyth and Rachmaninoff.
You wouldn't expect this from a maverick avantgarde microtonal composer who has written a lot on 20th century American composers and music, would you? I admire his willingness to keep an open eye or ear or heart on things which lie outside his academic interests.
(Sorry, I am not sure if I expressed myself reasonably.)
Is there any mention of Silas G. Pratt ( 1846 -1916) who wrote 73 symphonies? Surely, the Wagner of America!
Quote from: mikehopf on Wednesday 09 December 2015, 23:02
Is there any mention of Silas G. Pratt ( 1846 -1916) who wrote 73 symphonies? Surely, the Wagner of America!
Good call! There are two brief references to Pratt, but I was not able to work him into the text as fully as I had originally wanted. I've been collecting a lot of primary source data about him, though, and I hope to cook up something more official on him sooner rather than later. What an interesting person!
(My understanding is that he wrote *3* symphonies, not 73!)
Re Kyle Gann: you might moreso if you knew his Fanfare reviews (iirc...), which is mainly how I do know him (though I know of his compositions). (Somewhat similarly for Robert Carl, though they both review(ed) a fair amount of modern music, Carl moreso...)
Groves says 73 symphonies. Perhaps, the Haydn of America?
Groves not infrequently makes egregious errors.
Quote from: mikehopf on Thursday 10 December 2015, 04:56
Groves says 73 symphonies. Perhaps, the Haydn of America?
Thanks for pointing to Grove as the source of this info. To my eye, it says, "?3," not 73.
The new print edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music has clarified this issue. (I wrote the revision of the Pratt article, but it is not yet online.)
My eyes are dim... I cannot see..
Mea culpa, a magnifying glass reveals a ? not a 7
QuoteMy eyes are dim... I cannot see..
...I left my specs...in the lavatory.
At least, that's where they were when I last heard the rhyme ;)
Not to worry, Alan.
I found them in the Quartermaster's Stores.
Among the rats, no doubt...
http://ajm.pioneeringprojects.org/qmstore.htm (http://ajm.pioneeringprojects.org/qmstore.htm)
Some of you might be interested in commentary on the book that appeared in last week's New York Times. It is great that the reviewer highlighted the composers themselves so prominently. In a later issue of the Times, the same critic wrote brief remarks on the old NY Philharmonic recording of Paine's Second Symphony:
Book Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/books/review-douglas-w-shadles-orchestrating-the-nation.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/books/review-douglas-w-shadles-orchestrating-the-nation.html)
CD Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/arts/music/reviews-classical-music-albums.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/arts/music/reviews-classical-music-albums.html)
I am hoping that the increased attention on this music will interest the Times and other outlets to consider JoAnn Falletta's recent recordings of Paine's orchestral works in addition to the new George Frederick Bristow recording.
What Doug - modestly - doesn't tell us is that the CD review calls his book 'superb'.
And the Minneapolis library system has yet to come up with a copy >:(
Tom
are you asking them to buy it or interloan it? if the latter, you may have to wait a year (if your system is like mine)- I know, I've said that already, and you may have mentioned that it isn't...
Since the book has been out only for a couple of months, it doesn't surprise me that only a few libraries have purchased a hard copy (WorldCat tells me that this number is 77, though it will keep rising over the next several months).
The larger academic libraries often have standing orders with major university presses like Oxford and then hand select other titles. Public libraries tend to order bestsellers and then rely on other methods (trade reviews, etc.) to determine other purchases. To my knowledge, only a two public libraries (Seattle, WA and Greenwich, CT) have copies available for direct borrowing right now.
For interlibrary loan, as was mentioned, it could take a very long time for the book to start flowing more freely. It's possible that a cheaper paperback might be available before the hardback enters full circulation among the libraries.
Thank you all for your interest! And for Martin's generous feedback above.
My copy duly arrived on Christmas Day and is on my bedside table. I just have to finish the novel in which I'm currently immersed.
Ordered and looking forward to the read, particularly the discussion of Charles Hommann's work. Hommann's string quartets, clearly modeled on Beethoven's Razumovsky quartets, deploy those compositional resources remarkably well, often with great élan. When one thinks of the sacrifices a man like Hommann (as with most of the other composers) made to further classical music in "the colonies," the forty-odd dollar price for this book (on Amazon) seems trivial -- the cost of a single meal for two plus tip at a chain restaurant.
Quote@Gareth: Groves not infrequently makes egregious errors.
Graduate students who contribute to Groves can tell how this happens ;)
I was asking them to purchase. I need to recheck that it was ordered.
They are sure dragging their feet on this one.
I'm resurrecting this old thread to give a couple of updates. The book was reviewed in the June issue of Gramophone and (surprisingly) the controversial "Greatest Symphony" issue of BBC Music Magazine. As a lurker I noticed the thread devoted to that issue and had to laugh--the review of the book comes across in much the same way as the rest of the issue: "Sometimes Beethoven is just better."
The book is now available at quite a few public libraries around the USA (and many more university libraries). Thanks to all of you who have picked up a copy! The general reception has been fantastic, and I'm so thankful for emails that say things like, "I've always wanted to know what was going on in the USA during the era of Beethoven and Brahms." There is nothing more gratifying than to hear you have satisfied someone's curiosity.
Sometimes Beethoven is just better -- and overplayed. I'm juggling rehearsals with three orchestras right now. In one, it's Tchaikovsky 5. How many more times to I have to play that! In another the Beethoven 7th. One of the greatest. Too bad the conductor doesn't have a clue. Every danged repeat! It goes on and on. And I've played it quite a few times, too.
And then comes the last group: the Negro Folk Symphony by American composer William Dawson. What a beautiful, well-written piece. I've known it by recording for a long time (thanks, Stokowski) but never have encountered it either as an audience member or with a bassoon (in this case contra) on hand. What a relief it is to play something different for a change and this is a wonderful composition. It would be easy to say it's unperformed since the composer is black, but what's worse is he's American - and one of those mid-century guys who didn't go down the ugly-music path. Is it a masterwork on the level of the Beethoven or Tchaikovsky? Nope, but so what! It still packs a emotional wallop and is very gratifying to listen to and play.
I have little enthusiasm for the first two - they're over-familiar and need a rest. I look forward to each rehearsal with the latter.
Couldn't agree more. The Dawson is a gem, but for different reasons than the other two. So glad you are playing it!!
Leaving the idiotic phrase "ugly music path" to one side, copyright makes it rather more expensive to perform or purchase a 1952 work by a composer who died in 1990, compared to most of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky which are largely in the public domain (of themselves, though particular editions may not be).
Oh come on, you know what I mean by "ugly music path". It's just a shorthand term to classify music. I didn't invent it, and it is rather simplistic, but it also effective, I think. The Dawson is hardly salon music, and has it's shares of dissonance and other modernisms, but is a much, much more attractive work than some nearly contemporaneous symphonies by Roger Sessions!
I disagree, but only you[r side] are allowed to press that case here w/o breaking the rules. So: And my more important point? (If you can point me, btw, to many more late Sessions symphonies performances of late than Dawson syms, then your point is made and perhaps I'll have to buy a hat - to eat.)
We're getting off-topic here, gentlemen...