Frederick Shepherd Converse
Henry F. Gilbert
(The "first" school was an informal group of singing-school masters and composers during and after the American Revolution) best known was William Billings
Their music and significance has never been celebrated
Charles Martin Loeffler 1861 - 1935
Henry F. Gilbert 1868 - 1928
Frederick Shepherd Converse 1871 - 1940
John Alden Carpenter 1876 - 1951
Charles Tomlinson Griffes 1884 - 1920
A recluse composer in Massachusetts
So taken with modern French musical style, he has been called a French-American
Born in France of German stock
Spent his early years in Russia, Berlin, and Paris
A violinist
Came to NYC in 1881and was pressed into service by Major Henry Lee Higginson at the 1st stand of the violins in the BSO (remained until 1903)
An exquisite craftsman, he constantly revised his scores and published little
Interested in unusual instruments and instrumentation
Character of Tintagiles became identified with Loeffler's brother
Always thought of this work in terms of the viola d'amore
Loeffler purchased the viola d'amore in 1897 and the work was presented on January 7, 1989 by the BSO
Loeffler and Franz Kneisel played the solo parts
Orchestration was very interesting
Revised in 1901 with one solo part eliminated
Remains one of his most popular orchestral works
Performance by the Indianapolis Symphony, John Nelson, conductor
The viola d'amore used in this recording is by Tomaso Eberle of Naples c. 1775 and was Purchased by Loeffler and used in the premiere performance. It was then given to Isabelle Stewart Gardner in 1903 and is now in the Gardner Museum, in the yellow room
Henry Gilbert had great interest in black music as is evidenced by his compositions Comedy Overture on Negro Themes (ca. 1906) and The Dance in Place Congo (ca. 1908). He may be the first American to draw on Negro spirituals in a work for orchestra. Additionally Gilbert also composed works based on Indian sources including Six Indian Sketches (1911) and Indian Scenes (1912). Very nationalistic, Gilbert called for an American School of Composition.
Gilbert was a descendent of the Bay State colonists (1631 and 1640) whose works not received as well as Ives probably because he was a rowdy character and not as daring. He wasMacDowell's first American pupil but largely self-taught and took Dvorak's dictum to heart and based his work on Negro melodies.
The first performance by the BSO was on February 20, 1920, Pierre Monteux, conductor , however, most performances of Gilbert's works were often poor and he said "Give me a third-rate American conductor over the best European any day!"
Gilbert suffered from Fallot "blue baby's" and lived 23 years longer than any other sufferer , yet he still made his life a success as a pioneer in American Music.
born in Danbury, Connecticut. -attended schools in Danbury and then Yale-first professional position at age 14 -organist at Second Congregational Church in Danbury. --while at Yale, was organist at Center Church. -studied with Horatio Parker. -after graduation moved to NYC. -worked as an insurance clerk for $5 per week. -met Julian S. Myrick. -for 20 years worked in the insurance business. -continued as church organist and choir director- 1902 met Harmony Twichell-1908 - married and settled in NYC-1912 - built home in West Redding, Conn-summers in West Redding, winters in NYC-1914 - adopted a daughter, Edith-friends knew he wrote music, but never thought much about it -1902 "The Celestial Country" to 1920 - no performances produced by anyone other than Ives-1920 - Ives & Myrick Co. leader in estate insurance-stopped composing in 1920 following a heart attack-from 1920 a slow growth of interest-early supporters: pianist E. Robert Schmidt and composers Herrmann, Moross, Carter, Slonimsky and Cowell-from 1927 Cowell became a champion
Ives met his "group" - Ruggles, Becker, Weiss and Riegger-bound by a common cause for modern music-determined to extend beyond the rigidity of tradition-free American music from European domination-recognition began with a performance in 1939 of the "Concord Sonata" by John Kirkpatrick in Town Hall-received the Pulitzer Prize (1947) following a performance in 1946 of his "Third Symphony", conducted by Lou Harrison-performances are now given by the great orchestras of the world-Ives believed that man and nature together could transcend the pettiness of the materialists and the politicians of the world
From Ives' memos
father appeared in public with some of his contraptions-I remember the great waves of sound used to come through the trees-"Don't pay too much attention to the sounds - for if you do, you may miss the music" - George Ives-I played in my father's brass band-. . .in testing the divisions of the tone, father tried: the slide cornet, glasses for very small intervals. . .
"Song for Harvest Season" (1893) - shows polytonal basis for later dissonance
"fugues in four keys"(1897) - two in C-D-G-A and one in C-F-B flat-E flat
"Organ Variations on America" (1891)
"Slow March"(1887) - his earliest known piece - uses quotations
re-working of psalms - (150th - parallel triads in close dissonance and pandiatonic fugato), (67th - polytonality), (54th - whole-tone triads and dissonant chordal canon), (24th - free mirrors radiating from a stable center)-
First Symphony (1895 - 8) shows a controlled mastery (due to his study with Parker)
First String Quartet (1896) - continued his use of quotations and polytonal dissonance
graduated from Yale in June 1898 with 40 songs, various marches, overtures, anthems, organ pieces, a string quartet and a symphony and an academic average of D+-went to work in the actuarial department of the Mutual Insurance Co. and lived at 317 West 58th Street, New York.
Symphony No. 1 in D minor 1896-1898-begun in 1896¥began scoring in 1897-completed in 1898, the year he graduated-written to please his teacher, Horatio Parker-never performed during Ives' lifetime-first performance by a major orchestra in Chicago in 1965-March, 1910 - an attempt by Walter Damrosch to read the First Symphony - 2nd mvt. considered too difficult (2 against 3 "make up your mind")
1898-1900 organist at the First Presbyterian Church, Bloomfield, NJ then Central Presb. NYC-1901 moved to 65 Central Park West where he finished: Second Symphony, the "Pre-First Violin Sonata", the lost clarinet trio, "From the Steeples and the Mountains"-Ives said "I've never written anything I couldn't hear"-April 18, 1902 performance of his cantata "The Celestial Country"-June, 1902 - resigned, leaving all his best anthems and organ music-the church moved in 1915 - thrown out-his music becomes more experimental
1904 - Walking, Third Symphony, Thanksgiving, Orchard House Overture-1905 - Three Page Sonata-1906 - Set for Theatre Orchestra; Over the Pavements; Set No. 1; Hallowe'en; Largo risoluto (2); All the Way Around and Back; "I. A Contemplation of a Serious Matter or The Unanswered Perennial Question. II. A Contemplation of Nothing Serious or Central Park in the Dark in the Good Old Summertime" (his most famous piece) -a series of songs
1906 - heart problems-1907 - Emerson Overture-June 9, 1908 - married Harmony Twichell-1909 - Washington's Birthday; First Piano Sonata-no performances since his church years-March, 1910 - an attempt by Walter Damrosch to read the First Symphony - 2nd mvt. considered too difficult (2 against 3 "make up your mind")-April, 1910 - an old friend of the Twichell's, Mark Twain, died; the night after the funeral Mrs. Twitchell died-Mar, 1910 - Halley's comet at its peak and evoked in Ives the hymn "Watchman" which Ives had quoted in the First Violin Sonata. This also became the origin of the Fourth Symphony, which he began in August.-1911 - moved to Hartsdale and started The Fourth of July-August, 1911 - began putting ideas together for the Concord Sonata-1912 - played the Concord Sonata for a friend-1912 - finished Robert Browning Overture; First Orchestral Set; Three Places in New England; Old Black Joe; Decoration Day; Holidays; Two Slants-summer, 1912 - farm in West Redding, Conn.-September 1912 - The Fourth of July, Second String Quartet, Westminster Chimes -1914 - 1915 Third Violin Sonata, Sneak Thief, Majority, On the Antipodes, Second Orchestral Set, began work on The Earth and the Firmament or Universe Symphony - itremains unfinished and half the sketches are lost
1916 - Symphony No. 4-1916 - 4th Violin Sonata-1917 - In Flanders Field, He is There!-1918 - began a Third Orchestral Set (unfinished)-1919 - book of 114 Songs (privately printed in 1922)-Orchestral Set No. 1-New England Symphony-full score completed in 1914-Nicholas Slonimsky asked Ives in 1929-premiered by the Boston Chamber Orchestra 1/10/31 at Town Hall in New York-Slonimsky's orchestra was very small with only 13 strings-Ives was in attendance
The "Saint-Gaudens" in Boston Common
a bas-relief sculpture by Agustus Saint-Gaudens fron the 1890's as a monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry - the first black regiment in the Union Army.-the monument is on the Boston Common across from the State House-Ives expresses his deep feeling for the oppression faced by the men of the regiment
the 1920 elections angered Ives (An Election )-1926 - moved in a house at 164 East 74th Street-couldn't compose anymore - exhausted from his double life and never recovered-Ives's music began to awaken-1925 - performances of the quarter - tone pieces-1927 - parts of the Fourth Symphony-retired from business on January 1, 1930
Slonimsky performed Three Places in New England in USA, Paris and Havana in 1931-1932 - performances of The Fourth of July in Paris, Berlin and Budapest-1932 - 1933 spent a year in Europe-1932 - performances of seven songs by Linscott and Copland sparked many other performances-Ives became patron saint of many young composers-1939 - Kirkpatrick's performance of the Concord Sonatatermed "the greatest music by an American composer"-1947 - received the Pulitzer Prize for the Third Symphony (performed in 1946)
Ives never attended performances of his own works-continually altered sketches, adding dissonances-had a genius for melodic variation-quoted over 150 tunes-regarded the cultivation of personal idioms as a limitation-the lasting worth of his music may still lie in the future-sonatas and symphonies are part of the European - American mainstream-
May 1954 - recovering from a minor operation but suddenly suffered a stroke and died in New York on May 19, 1954-manuscripts given to the Library of the Yale School of Music in 1956 by Mrs. Ives
continually altered sketches, adding dissonances - had a genius for melodic variation - quoted over 150 tunes - regarded the cultivation of personal idioms as a limitation
the lasting worth of his music may still lie in the future
sonatas and symphonies are part of the European - American mainstream
"INDIANIST" MOVEMENT
flourished from 1880s to 1920s
nourished by 19th c. Romanticism and such writers as: Cooper and Longfellow
1888 - American Folklore Society founded to collect the remains of the vanishing American Folklore
1880 - Theodore Baker transcribed some songs of the Iroquois, Cheyenne, Comanche, Dakota, Iowa, Kiowa and Ponca
1882 - Baker publishes his dissertation at the University of Leipzig (in German and never translated into English)
1894 - Edward MacDowell takes themes for his Second (Indian) Suite, Op. 48 from Baker's dissertation
1892-1895 - Dvorak tells American composers how to create a "National" music
1889-1890 - J. Walter Fewkes becomes the first to use the phonograph for recording Indian music and speech (Passamaquoddy of Maine in the winter of89-90)
Arthur Farwell (1872-1952)
proposed music that would include:" ragtime, Negro songs, Indian songs, Cowboy songs, and. . .new and daring expressions of our own composers. . ."
studied electrical engineering at MIT
became a composer after completing his degree at MIT
studied in Boston, Germany and Paris
returned to the United States in 1899
founded the Wa-Wan Press in 1901 (named after a tribal ceremony of the Omahas)
published works of young American composers
published until 1911
Three Indian Songs, Op. 32: Song of the Deathless Voice; Inketunga's Thunder Song; The Old Man's Love Song
The Old Man's Love Song, Op. 102, No. 2
Navajo War Dance, Op. 102, No. 1
Navajo War Dance, for piano
Pawnee Horses, for piano
WILLIAM GRANT STILL 1895-1978
the "Father" figure in American Black music
first Black composer to be extensively published
represents the "Harlem Renaissance" by elevating folk material
born in Woodville, Miss.
lived in Little Rock, attended Wilberforce College
heard an orchestra for the first time at Oberlin
worked for W.C. Handy
played oboe for Eubie Blake's "Shuffle Along"
studied composition with George Whitefield Chadwick and Edgard Varese
wrote jazz arrangements for Artie Shaw and Paul Whiteman
a close friend of Howard Hanson, Leopold Stokowski and George Gershwin (who consulted him on matters of orchestration)
1930 completes his (now) best known work: Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American)
this became the first symphony by a Black American composer to be performed by a major American orchestra in the United States
the premiere in 1931 was by the Rochester Philharmonic under the direction of Howard Hanson
the New York premiere was by the NY Philharmonic in 1935 in Carnegie Hall
Still said: "I knew I wanted to write a symphony; I knew it had to be an American work; and I wanted to demonstrate how the blues, so often considered a lowly expression, could be elevated to the highest musical level."
each of the four movements is titled:
Moderato assai (Longings)
Adagio (Sorrows)
Animato (Humor)
Lento, con risoluzione (Aspirations)
His gift lay in the inspiration he shared with his musicians
He composed and arranged for particular instrumental voices
He thought of musical textures in terms of colors
the 1960s
Probing different musical areas
suites with various themes
"Harlem"
"The River"
The River
composed in 1970
an imaginary journey down the river beginning at the "Spring", passing through "The Lake", and ending at "The Village Virgins"
The Last Days
Played with the greats - Louis Armstrong, Count Basie
Became obsessed with music
lung cancer
sacred concerts (3)
Worked in the hospital
Opera "Queenie Pie"
Died on May 24, 1974
The PIANO in America
Massachusetts Gazette, March 21, 1771
Jonas Chickering
1829 - 2500 pianos
1853 - Steinway and Sons
1879 - Japan
1910 - 360000 pianos
George Ives
Thaddeus Cahill "Telharmonium"
electronically produced sounds
200 tons of dynamos etc.
Henry
Cowell -
b. Menlo Park, CA March 11, 1897 - founded the New Music Society -
published in "New Music Quarterly" the music of Ives, Ruggles,
Nancarrow - teacher of Gershwin and Cage - Aeolian Harp - The Banshee
- Piano Piece (Paris 1924)
Americans in Paris
American Musical Life - Greater musical inventiveness of France and Russia - Les Six
Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Georges Auric, Louis Durey and Germaine Tailleferre
Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Hindemith, Bartok, Prokofiev, Koussevitzky
A music school for Americans est. in the palace at Fontainebleau - Nadia Boulanger (1887 - 1979)
Walter Piston (1894 - 1976)
Virgil Thomson (1896 - 1989)
Roy Harris (1898 - 1979)
Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990)
Marc Blitzstein (1905 - 1964)
William Schuman (1910 -
Vincent Persichetti (1915 -
Philip Glass (1937 -
Jon Polifrone (1937 -
AARON COPLAND 1900 - 1990
parents were from Poland and Lithuania - born in Brooklyn - studied harmony, counterpoint and sonata form under Goldmark - saw Ives's Concord Sonata at Goldmark's studio but was not allowed to become "contaminated" by it - went to the new American Conservatory at Fontainebleau in 1920 - studied with Boulanger until 1924 - heard the premiere of Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition - interested in jazz - 1924 - began as a private teacher - 1935 & 1944 taught at Harvard (Piston) - first American composer to hold the Norton Professor of Poetics at Harvard - lectures published as Music and Imagination - 1940 - teacher and advisor at the Berkshire Music Center (estab. by K) - 1945 - Pulitzer Prize - 1964 - Presidental Medal of Freedom - his social concerns resulted in his opera for children, with a chorus of parents, The Second Hurricane (1936) - 1933-1936 El salon Mexico led to his permanent contract with Boosey & Hawkes as his publisher
1942 - Fanfare for the Common Man; Lincoln Portrait
1947-1948 - Clarinet Concerto for Benny Goodman
1938 - Billy the Kid comm. by Lincoln Kirstein for Eugene Loring
1942 - Rodeo for Agnes de Mille
1943-1944 - Appalachian Spring for Martha Graham
Shaker Tune is unusual in that it is not modifyed and it is the only borrowed tune with variations - Simple Gifts (after Copland) was adopted into the repertory of schools, churches and by folksingers
Russian parents - born in Brookiyn Sept. 26, 1898 - Jacob Gershvin - remembers listening to Rubenstein's Melody in F (1904) - first piano in 1910 for Ira - pupil of Charles Hambitzer - attended concerts - dropped out of high school - worked for Jerome H. Remick & Co. on Tin Pan Alley for $15 per week - Remick hired Gershwin as a song plugger - George sang and played the firm's songs for customers - first piano rolls in 1915 and more than 100 by 1926 - began to compose on his own with no encouragement - moved from Tin Pan Alley to the Broadway stage - Left Remick & Co. in 1917 - rehearsal pianist for Miss 1917 (Kern and Herbert) - stayed at Century Theater as organizer and accompanist for concerts - 1918 offered $35 per week by Harms Publishing for the right to publish any songs he might compose in the future - by the end of 1918 he had songs in 3 Broadway shows - first full Broadway score, La La Lucille opened in 1919 and was given 104 performances - 1919-20 Lullaby for string quartet first classical piece - 1920 - Swanee recorded by Al Jolson became his first hit song - more than $10,000 in royalties that year - 1920-1924 - composed music for George White's Scandals - 1922 - second classical piece Blue Monday (opera) included in Scandals of 1922 - 1921-1924 wrote A Dangerous Maid, Our Nell, Sweet Little Devil, The Rainbow, Primrose, Lady, be Good - 1924 - was famous because of Rhapsody in Blue
Concert organized by Paul Whiteman
Aeolian Hall, NYC, Febr. 12, 1924 - "An Experiment in Modern Music" - intended to show that jazz, considered to be slapdash, was improved with the "symphonic" arrangements which were the specialty of Whiteman's band - Questions about American music - Rhapsody won audience approval - Gershwin became famous overnight - an historical figure - he brought "jazz" into the concert hall
Aeolian Hall concert divided into several sections:
TRUE FORM OF JAZZ
Livery Stable Blues (Nick La Rocca)
Mama Loves Papa (Abel Baer)
COMEDY SELECTIONS
Yes, We Have No Bananas and
So This is Venice (Frank Silver - Theodore Thomas)
CONTRAST - LEGITIMATE SCORING VS. JAZZING
Whispering (John Schoenberger)
RECENT COMPOSITIONS WITH MODERN SCORE
Limehouse Blues (Philip Braham)
Linger Awhile (Benson Rose)
Raggedy Ann (Jerome Jern)
ZEZ CONFREY (PIANO)
Kitten on the Keys (Zez Confrey)
Three Little Oddities (Zez Confrey)
Romanza, Impromptu, Novelette
Nickle in the Slot (Zez Confrey)
IRVING BERLIN MEDLEY
Orange Blossoms in California
A Pretty Girl is like a Melody
Alexander's Ragtime Band
IN THE FIELD OF CLASSICS
Pomp and Circumstance (Sir Edward Elgar)
FLAVORING A SELECTION WITH BORROWED THEMES
Russian Rose (Ferde Grofe/Peter DeRose)
ADAPTIONS OF STANDARD SELECTIONS TO DANCE RHYTHM
Pale Moon, An Indian Love Song (Frederick Knight Logan)
To a Wild Rose (Edward MacDowell)
Chansonette (Rudolf Frimil)
A SUITE OF SERENADES (all by Victor Herbert)
Spanish Serenade
Chinese Serenade
Cuban Serenade
Oriental Serenade
RHAPSODY IN BLUE (George Gershwin)
GEORGE GERSHWIN (piano): "A Rhapsody in Blue - Accompanied by the Orchestra
sources of original parts
Whiteman Archive at Williams College -Gershwin's pencil 2-piano score for Grofe - LC - Grofe's orig. piano and orch score - 6/10/24 recording of G w/W
Clarinettist Ross Gorman did gliss - Victor Herbert said "I wish I had written that"
Within a year three different American composers created their own piano-jazz concerti:
Copland: Concerto No. 1 -Antheil: Jazz Symphony - James P. Johnson: Yamekraw: A Rhapsody in Black and White (scored by WGS)
1924 - 1934 received more than $250,000 from performances, recordings and rental fees of Rhapsody
Began collecting works of art - Picasso,Modigliani, Utrillo - Became a painter - 1937 - exhibit in NYC
Continued to compose (10 full scores between 1926-1935)
studied with: - Rubin Goldmark - Wallingford Riegger - Henry Cowell
1925 - Composed Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra (comm. Damrosch)
1928 - composed An American in Paris
1929 - contracted to compose a "Jewish opera" by the Met.(not fulfilled)
An established composer:
1927 Strike Up the Band - 1930 Girl Crazy - 1931 Of Thee I Sing - 1934-5 Radio program "Music by Gershwin" - 1937 Shall We Dance - 1932 - Cuban Overture - 1934 - variations on I Got Rhythm
George Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS - Opened in Boston - Sept. 30, 1935 - Ran 16 weeks in NYC - on the road for 3 months - revived in 1938, 1942 in commercial theaters - Copenhagen in 1943 - Europe with an all-black cast in 1952 and the U.S. in 1952-53 - Russia 1955