American Music

[Amphissa]

I am going to open a new folder for American music.

The content of the folder may include not only composers born in the United States, but also composers who immigrated to the United States, and lived for an extended time in the U.S. or became citizens.

Thus, native born U.S. citizens, of course, but also composers like Korngold, who was born in what is now Czech Republic, but immigrated to the U.S. in 1934 and became a citizen in 1943.

What is not included in this folder are composers from Latin and South America, unless they lived and worked in the United States. Although they are "American" in the broadest sense of the term, their music has different roots and deserves its own folder.

I am going to add a couple of recordings to get this folder started, but feel free to add to it.

[Sicmu]

IThus, native born U.S. citizens, of course, but also composers like Korngold, who was born in what is now Czech Republic, but immigrated to the U.S. in 1934 and became a citizen in 1943.

Many thanks for your posts, I understand your point but I'm not sure Korngold would agree !

[Amphissa]

David Diamond is one of my favorite American composers. For those unfamiliar with his music, I've added a rather short work, "Rounds for String Orchestra," which was commissioned by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now Minnesota Orchestra) during WWII.

Erich Korngold is a more familiar name to us all. However, many people have heard only his most popular works. I've included his "Serenade in B minor" here.

Emerson Whithorne was played often during his early years, but was pushed aside by more modern composers. I have quite a few recordings of his music, but the audio quality is not ideal. I've added his 2nd symphony here. If there is interest, I will provide more of his music.

[Amphissa]

Many thanks to Arbuckle for adding three piano concertos to this collection. I have never heard these before!

[jerfilm]

Thanks, Amphissa.  Yes, bring on the Whithorne please.......

Jerry

[Amphissa]

Many thanks for your posts, I understand your point but I'm not sure Korngold would agree !

The Serenade included here was written after he became a U.S. citizen, so I think it is okay to refer to it as American music.

[jerfilm]

Is the Serenade, the opus 39 Symphonic Serenade in Bb for string orchestra?

Jerry

[TerraEpon]

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.

Whatever the folder, I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable listen though

[Amphissa]

Is the Serenade, the opus 39 Symphonic Serenade in Bb for string orchestra?

Jerry

Yes, that's the one.

[A.S]

  Dear Amphissa

  Thank you very much that you uploaded many recordings.
  I think many american composer's wrote good music.
  But many composers are forgotten.

  I have few of symphonies of Philip Greeley Clapp.
  His symphonies are very exciting and fantastic.
  I will upload in future.


  Best

  A.S

[eschiss1]

whoops, pressed refresh and lost what I was typing- well, was therefore not deathless prose .

Hoping that these works are already available on CD but that other works by these composers are "out there" on tape and can be uploaded. There's an LP of a symphony (no.5) by Gene Gutchë and the (now first, not only) piano concerto by John LaMontaine - ah, in fact I see from the New World Records site typing in the exact terms that they have put up a "flat transfer" (not a remastering) of that LP up on iTunes. Hrm. That's good news (not the details, that it exists, I mean, and not just in libraries though I never deprecate libraries!!!)
Anyhow, those are out and so is LaMontaine's 4th concerto which is now on a Naxos CD, but - enjoyed the two works on the LP, especially the LaMontaine concerto- anyone have anything (commercially) unrecorded or unavailable by these two, for instance?

[Amphissa]

I've added another recording to the American Music collection. Edgar Stillman Kelley (1857-1944)
Symphony No. 1, op. 15, which was inspired by "Gulliver's Travels." Very little of Kelley's music was ever recorded. This is from a very old vinyl. So far as I know, it was never transferred to CD and has never been recorded since.

[Arbuckle]

Have added some music by Howard Swanson, if anyone else has any of his other works I would be grateful if you could upload them.
Also a piano quintet by the very unsung American composer Arthur Fickenscher. It was dedicated to and played by Percy Grainger, the liner notes talk about the title "From the Seventh Realm" as being both a visionary title, as well as "from an unparalled use of consecutive sevenths". Very subdued work, and this only recording was panned by critics as not really reflective of the piece. Info about Fickenscher:http://www.kith.org/jimmosk/misc.html#Fickenscher
And William Schuman's Concerto on Old English Rounds for Viola, Women's Chorus and Orchestra, sorry I don't know the artists but it is from an old LP
Thanks, Arbuckle
Modification: Thanks to Latvian I now know that what I thought was Swanson's sym no. 6 is actually Charles Jones, and that Night Music is available on CD, so I have made corrections in the file. Sorry.

[Arbuckle]

Response to Eschiss:

Will post Gene Gutche: Concerto (1956), only info is Weiser/Summer Session Sinfonietta/Oliveros
                                     
and John LaMontaine: Piano Concerto No. 2 "Transformations", Op. 55, Barry Snyder/Eastman Philharmonia/David Effron

[Arbuckle]

Thanks to Latvian, I see I have made some errors, I hope it is OK to quote your corrections, Latvian:
" the Gutche Concerto is his Piano Concerto, Op. 24 (published in 1955), and the performers are Bernhard Weiser, piano, with the University of Minnesota Summer Session Sinfonietta, probably led by James Alferis. Not sure who Oliveros might be.

- the Schuman recording is most likely Donald McInnes, viola, with the Camerata Singers and the NY Philharmonic led by Leonard Bernstein. I know of no other recording of this work (unless what you have is a live performance by someone else?)

- the 6th Symphony in your Swanson upload is actually Charles Jones' 6th Symphony -- I'm familiar with that LP.

- the recording of Night Music with Mitropoulos is currently available on a Deutsche Grammaphon CD reissue."

and I will remove the Night Music from the file. Sorry for the inconvenience, Arbuckle