Dedicated to performing the works of 20th century American composers.
Charles Wakefield Cadman
Nov 8th
Please let me assume that for most readers of this blog, the name Charles Wakefield Cadman does not immediately register- and certainly not his music.
Cadman grew up in Pittsburgh and was largely a self-taught composer. During his career he wrote about 300 songs, was involved in the Indianist Movement in American music, including making cylinder recordings of tribal melodies (the American Bartok in this regard) for the Smithsonian Institute.
He also wrote operas, and his work Shanewis or The Robin Woman was premiered by the Metropolitan Opera on March 23, 1918. It was the first American opera to have been presented at the Metropolitan Opera for more than a single season.
Cadman eventually moved to Los Angeles where he helped to found the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and, as he became quite involved with the music scene in Southern California, the LA Philharmonic premiered his first (and only) symphony in 1940.
Check out this audio recording of Mr. Cadman himself introducing his new work, which is subtitled “Pennsylvania Symphony.” It turns out that the performance by the LA Philharmonic was broadcast live on NBC radio. Cadman spends about 5 minutes explaining the work and thanking his supporters for presenting a new symphony by an American composer. Living history, indeed….
Cadman Introduces his Pennsylvania Symphony
Art of the Sonata
Oct 7th
For fans of great trumpet playing, the curious about contributions of 20th-century American composers, and enthusiasts of superb music-making, last night’s concert at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center offered a real treat. The concert was performed by BU Trumpet professor Terry Everson and Sheila Kibbe, Chair of the Collaborative Piano Department at BU. For me, the concert underscored the richness of 20th-century American music and the need to hear it live.
The program included four works from the trumpet sonata repertoire. The composers were Harold Shapero, George Antheil, Halsey Stevens, and Kent Kennan.
George Antheil’s (1900-1959) story is probably the most known, with his splashy European debuts and scandals and then return to America and Hollywood.
Harold Shapero (b. 1920) was a student of Krenek, Piston, Hindemith, and Boulanger, and was one of the first students at Tanglewood. He joined the music faculty of Brandeis in 1951 and was the founder of that institution’s electronic music studio. Born in Lynn, MA and raised in Newton, he was in the Boston circle that included Arthur Berger, Irving Fine, Leonard Bernstein, and Lukas Foss.
Halsey Stevens’ (1908-1989) Trumpet Sonata is a standard in the trumpet world, but outside of that his name is rarely heard. He was on the faculty of several different schools, the longest being at USC in Los Angeles. In addition to being a revered Bartok scholar and musicologist, he wrote substantial music for orchestra and choir.
Kent Kennan (1913-2003), won the Prix de Rome at the age of 23. He was one of the original faculty members of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas, Austin, and remained on the faculty there until his retirement in 1983. His trumpet sonata – another standard for that instrument – dates from 1956. Confounding everyone, he abandoned composition after this to focus on teaching and educational writing. His two books, “Counterpoint” and “The Technique of Orchestration,” are required reading for students of music. A modest and unassuming man, he died in 2003 in Austin.
I was engaged by the strength and quality of these four works (and, as I mentioned above, the superb performances of them). There’s drama in these pieces, with evocative colors and sheer technical fireworks. There’s also sincere quiet and space for contemplation, too. My curiosity in these composers and their catalogues was certainly piqued.
An enormous thank you to Terry and Sheila for giving such dedicated performances to these deserving works.
– Scott Parkman
ACM and 2011/12
Sep 27th
Ok folks, a confession: I am not, at present, a passionate blogger. Truth be told, there is such a din of noise on the internet, i-phone, e-book, cnn, fb, et. al, that hardly do we need yet another blogosphere clogger-upper.
However…. ACM has got legs (YEA!) and it’s time to include the blog as both a tool for getting our activities out there, but also to develop the part of ACM’s mission that is to further cultural dialogue about the place of 20th-century American composers and their work within the American Century and beyond.
If you are reading this from the RSS feeds, please have a look at our website: www.americancenturymusic.org. The 2011/12 season in Boston has quite a line-up with many different voices from the last century. I’m amused when I introduce myself and ACM to someone new and say that the organization is dedicated to performing 20th-century American composers. The response is often along the lines of, “I don’t really like contemporary or atonal music.” I am then quick to point out that the years of the 1900s, 10s, 20s, and 30s (….) were also in the 20th Century, and that thus far, ACM has actually focused more on the early and middle years of the century with such composers as Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, Walter Piston and Virgil Thomson than on those contemporary/atonal ones.
I absolutely love the line-up of composers that will be featured this October and November (of course I would– I programmed it!). The music of John Harbison, Frederick Converse, Walter Piston, Roy Harris, Arthur Foote, and Charles Wakefield Cadman will all make an appearance on ACM concerts here in Boston. That’s at least a few seminars of an “American Century” music survey course right there.
The dialogue about these composers and their work will unfold over the course of the season. ACM’s blog will not always be my words (mercifully) but will include performers, scholars, fans, and converts to this rich collection of music that reflects (or doesn’t) America’s soul during its century of ascent.
Thanks for following us, and if you’re interested in contributing with comments or questions, please be in touch.
Scott
ACM Artistic and Executive Director
Success!
Dec 2nd
I’m extremely happy to report that ACM’s debut performance in Washington DC was a hit! It was so much of a hit that we have the distinction of having created a fire hazard in McEvoy Auditorium….
The auditorium was at over-capacity and during the first half of the concert about 40 people took in the program while standing in the aisles. This apparently did not go over well with museum security. By the time the second half got started everyone seems to have found somewhere to sit down (but most came back for more!).
It was a beautiful afternoon of music with Amy Beach’s seldom heard and luxurious Piano Trio in A Major receiving a sensitive reading by Christian Tremblay, Violin, Jessica Sammis, Cello, and Molly Morkoski, Piano. Molly returned after intermission to give a thrilling account of Ives’ Hawthorne movement from the Concord Sonata.
The audience gave us a warm and enthusiastic standing ovation after we concluded the program with Copland’s Appalachian Spring.
Kudos to everyone involved (audience too!). It was a concert that I’m very proud to have had as part of ACM’s beginning.
Washington DC: Here We Come
Nov 10th
November 9, 2010
American Century Music’s first concert in Washington DC is fast approaching! ACM’s concert is part of the musical offerings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in tandem with their exhibition, Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
I visited DC this past week and saw the exhibition, which is beautifully presented.
ACM’s concert was designed to make a musical connection between Rockwell’s populism (and popularity) with some of the traits that we associate with his work: humor, nostalgia, sentimentality, and wholesomeness.
Each of the pieces on the program captures some part of these characteristics, be it Piston’s jollity in the Divertimento or Amy Beach’s sincere sentimentality in her Piano Trio, op. 150. The concert culminates with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, the most well-known and symbolic piece of American art music representing the country’s ideals of optimism, hope, and honesty.
It will be a beautiful afternoon of American culture.
First Concert
Jul 2nd
Hello-
The June 25th concert was a success! The musicians played marvelously, and I was thrilled to see so many people in the audience. For the organization’s first outing, I could not be more pleased. In case you missed it, performing this program were:
TJ Wible, Flute
Claire Cutting, Oboe
Kevin Price, Clarinet
Adam Smith, Bassoon
Thomas Rybarczyk, Horn
Now that our concerts are underway, the ACM website will be getting some additional attention in the coming weeks. Soon we will have a page up for Musicians of American Century Music with their bios, and I’ll be asking for a few guest blog entries. We also had photographs taken of our concert, so stay tuned for some imagery!
Thanks to everyone who attended our first concert, and I look forward to welcoming you again to our next concert on July 16!
ACM and Boston Globe
Jun 25th
Things are very exciting around here right now: Friday, June 25 is the first ACM performance.
David Weininger of the Boston Globe has written a piece about ACM in his Classical Notes column. (It follows the headline article about the Boston Lyric Opera….)
Check it out:
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/06/25/angus_named_boston_lyric_opera_director/
ACM Announces 2010 Summer Concerts!
May 11th
Hi Everyone–
This is an exciting period for American Century Music! Summer 2010 will begin performances by ACM. Our debut concerts will take place in the beautiful setting of the inner courtyard at the Boston Public Library on three Fridays at 12:30 PM: June 25, July 16 and August 20.
The programs will be dedicated to chamber ensemble repertoire by American composers, including Walter Piston, Charles Ives, Arthur Foote, Amy Beach, and Arthur Berger.
More details coming soon, but mark your calendars to join us for ACM’s debut events!
Debut Post
Mar 2nd
Welcome to the first entry of ACM’s blog! These are very exciting times for ACM as the idea of an organization devoted to American art music of the 20th century is coming to life.
In the coming weeks I’ll be writing about many of the different aspects to ACM- why we are, where we are, etc., but in the meantime I invite you to have a look at our new website, and share with as many people as you are able that American Century Music now IS.