The Federal Music Project: an American Voice in Depression-Era Music
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Significant Dates in American Legion History 1919 1920S 1930S 1940S
Significant dates in American Legion history 1919 March 15-17 Members of the American Expeditionary Force convene in Paris for the first American Legion caucus. May 8-10 St. Louis Caucus. "The American Legion" is adopted as the organization's official name. The Legion's draft preamble and constitution are approved. June 9 The National Executive Committee adopts the Legion emblem. Sept. 16 U.S. Congress charters The American Legion. Nov. 10-12 First American Legion convention convenes in Minneapolis. Constitution and preamble are adopted. Delegates vote 361-323 to locate the Legion's national headquarters in Indianapolis instead of Washington. A resolution is passed in support of Boy Scouts of America. Today, the Legion is the chartering agency for more than 1,700 Scouting units comprised of approximately 64,000 youths. 1920s Aug. 9, 1921 The American Legion's efforts result in the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of the Veterans Administration. Today, the Legion continues to lobby for adequate funding to cover medical, disability, education and other veterans benefits. June 15, 1923 The first "Flag Code" is drafted during a Legion conference in Washington. Congress adopts the code in 1942. Today, the Legion is at the forefront of efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the U.S. flag from physical desecration. July 17, 1925 The Legion creates the American Legion Baseball program. Currently, more than 50 percent of Major League Baseball players are graduates of the program. About 100,000 youths play on Legion-sponsored teams each year. 1930s June 23, 1935 The first American Legion Boys State convenes in Springfield, Ill., to help youths gain an understanding of the structure and operation of the federal government. -
ALAN HOVHANESS: Meditation on Orpheus the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra William Strickland, Conducting
ALAN HOVHANESS: Meditation on Orpheus The Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra William Strickland, conducting ALAN HOVHANESS is one of those composers whose music seems to prove the inexhaustability of the ancient modes and of the seven tones of the diatonic scale. He has made for himself one of the most individual styles to be found in the work of any American composer, recognizable immediately for its exotic flavor, its masterly simplicity, and its constant air of discovering unexpected treasures at each turn of the road. Meditation on Orpheus, scored for full symphony orchestra, is typical of Hovhaness’ work in the delicate construction of its sonorities. A single, pianissimo tam-tam note, a tone from a solo horn, an evanescent pizzicato murmur from the violins (senza misura)—these ethereal elements tinge the sound of the middle and lower strings at the work’s beginning and evoke an ambience of mysterious dignity and sensuousness which continues and grows throughout the Meditation. At intervals, a strange rushing sound grows to a crescendo and subsides, interrupting the flow of smooth melody for a moment, and then allowing it to resume, generally with a subtle change of scene. The senza misura pizzicato which is heard at the opening would seem to be the germ from which this unusual passage has grown, for the “rushing” sound—dynamically intensified at each appearance—is produced by the combination of fast, metrically unmeasured figurations, usually played by the strings. The composer indicates not that these passages are to be played in 2/4, 3/4, etc. but that they are to last “about 20 seconds, ad lib.” The notes are to be “rapid but not together.” They produce a fascinating effect, and somehow give the impression that other worldly significances are hidden in the juxtaposition of flow and mystical interruption. -
Chapter 2 Music in the United States Before the Great Depression
American Music in the 20th Century 6 Chapter 2 Music in the United States Before the Great Depression Background: The United States in 1900-1929 In 1920 in the US - Average annual income = $1,100 - Average purchase price of a house = $4,000 - A year's tuition at Harvard University = $200 - Average price of a car = $600 - A gallon of gas = 20 cents - A loaf of Bread = 20 cents Between 1900 and the October 1929 stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression, the United States population grew By 47 million citizens (from 76 million to 123 million). Guided by the vision of presidents Theodore Roosevelt1 and William Taft,2 the US 1) began exerting greater political influence in North America and the Caribbean.3 2) completed the Panama Canal4—making it much faster and cheaper to ship its goods around the world. 3) entered its "Progressive Era" by a) passing anti-trust laws to Break up corporate monopolies, b) abolishing child labor in favor of federally-funded puBlic education, and c) initiating the first federal oversight of food and drug quality. 4) grew to 48 states coast-to-coast (1912). 5) ratified the 16th Amendment—estaBlishing a federal income tax (1913). In addition, by 1901, the Lucas brothers had developed a reliaBle process to extract crude oil from underground, which soon massively increased the worldwide supply of oil while significantly lowering its price. This turned the US into the leader of the new energy technology for the next 60 years, and opened the possibility for numerous new oil-reliant inventions. -
Political Extremism in the 1920S and 1930S: Do German Lessons Generalize?G
Political Extremism in the 1920s and 1930s: Do German Lessons Generalize?G ALAN DE BROMHEAD, BARRY EICHENGREEN, AND KEVIN H. O’ROURKE We examine the impact of the Great Depression on the share of votes for right- wing extremists in elections in the 1920s and 1930s. We confirm the existence of a link between political extremism and economic hard times as captured by growth or contraction of the economy. What mattered was not simply growth at the time of the election, but cumulative growth performance. The impact was greatest in countries with relatively short histories of democracy, with electoral systems that created low hurdles to parliamentary representation, and which had been on the losing side in World War I. he impact of the global credit crisis and Great Recession has been Tmore than just economic. In both parliamentary and presidential democracies, governments have been ousted. Hard economic times have increased political polarization and bred support for nationalist and right-wing political parties. All this gives rise to fears that economic hard times will feed political extremism, as it did in the 1930s. Memories of the 1930s inform much contemporary political commentary, just as they inform recent economic commentary. But exactly what impact the interwar depression and economic crisis had on the electoral fortunes of extremist parties has not been systematically studied.1 Many of our intuitions about the links between The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 73, No. 2 (June 2013). © The Economic History Association. doi: 10.1017/S0022050713000302. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. -
559862 Itunes Copland
AmericAn clAssics cOPlAnD Billy the Kid (complete Ballet) Grohg (One-Act Ballet) Detroit symphony Orchestra leonard slatkin Aaron Copland (1900 –1990) not touch them.” They described Grohg as having large, 5. Grohg Imagines the Dead Are Mocking Him Grohg • Billy the Kid piercing eyes and a hooked nose, who was “… tragic and Grohg begins to hallucinate and imagines that corpses pitiable in his ugliness.” For what is essentially a student are making fun of him and violently striking him. Grohg (1925) for the big time: a one-act, 35-minute ballet for full work, Copland’s score is quite amazing, and on hearing Nevertheless, he joins in their dances. Chaos ensues, pit orchestra plus piano. There was a taste for the parts of it which were rearranged into the Dance then Grohg raises the street-walker over his head and As much as anyone, Copland, who was born in 1900 in bizarre at the time, and if Grohg sounds morbid Symphony of 1929, Stravinsky called it “a very precocious throws her into the crowd. Brooklyn, and died in 1990 in Tarrytown (now Sleepy and excessive, the music was meant to be opus” for a young man then in his early 20s. There are 6. Illumination and Disappearance of Grohg Hollow), New York, established American concert music fantastic rather than ghastly. Also, the need for many influences on the ballet, among them Mussorgsky, The stage turns dark except for a light focused on Grohg’s through his works and his tireless efforts on its behalf. He gruesome effects gave me an excuse for ‘modern’ Satie, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Schmitt, along with jazz and head, and he slowly disappears to music which echoes and his contemporaries not only raised this music to a very rhythms and dissonances. -
Eastman Notes July 2006
Attention has been paid! Playing inside Eastman Opera Theatre & outside takes aim at Assassins New books by two faculty members Eastman 90 Nine decades of Eastman milestones Winter 2012 FOr ALUMni, PArentS, AnD FrienDS OF tHe eAStMAn SCHOOL OF MUSiC FROM THE DEAN A splendid urgency Every now and then I have the good fortune of hearing a concert that is so riveting, I am reminded why I got into music in the first place. The Eastman Philharmonia’s recent performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, under the guest baton of Brad Lubman, was just such an occasion. Prepared and conducted su- perbly by Brad, and exuberantly performed by students clearly amped up by the music and the occasion, the raw beauty of one of Stravinsky’s greatest works came to stunning life. The power of this experience had nothing to do with outcomes, technologi- cal expertise, assessment, metrics of excellence, or gainful employment upon graduation. This was pure energy funneled into an art form. It was exotically NOTES irrational. It was about the rigorous pursuit of beauty, Volume 30, number 1 pure and simple. Winter 2012 As the national “music movement” grapples with the perception that it has lost precious ground in the fight Editor to keep music in our schools, I was reminded of our na- David raymond tional obsession with practical outcomes, and the chal- Contributing writers lenge of making a case for subjective artistic value in the John Beck Steven Daigle face of such an objectivity-based national agenda. Matthew evans Although we tend to focus on the virtues of music it- Douglas Lowry self, what we are really talking about is the act of learning robert Morris music. -
FREDERICK FENNELL and the EASTMAN WIND ENSEMBLE: the Transformation of American Wind Music Through Instrumentation and Repertoire
FREDERICK FENNELL AND THE EASTMAN WIND ENSEMBLE: The Transformation of American Wind Music Through Instrumentation and Repertoire Jacob Edward Caines Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Master of Arts degree in Musicology School Of Music Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Jacob Edward Caines, Ottawa, Canada, 2012 i Abstract The Eastman Wind Ensemble is known as the pioneer ensemble of modern wind music in North America and abroad. Its founder and conductor, Frederick Fennell, was instrumental in facilitating the creation and performance of a large number of new works written for the specific instrumentation of the wind ensemble. Created in 1952, the EWE developed a new one-to-a-part instrumentation that could be varied based on the wishes of the composer. This change in instrumentation allowed for many more compositional choices when composing. The instrumentation was a dramatic shift from the densely populated ensembles that were standard in North America by 1952. The information on the EWE and Fennell is available at the Eastman School of Music’s Ruth Watanabe Archive. By comparing the repertory and instrumentation of the Eastman ensembles with other contemporary ensembles, Fennell’s revolutionary ideas are shown to be unique in the wind music community. Key Words - EWE (Eastman Wind Ensemble) - ESB (Eastman Symphony Band) - Vernacular - Cultivated - Wind Band - Wind Ensemble - Frederick Fennell - Repertoire i Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been completed without the support of many people. Firstly, my advisor, Prof. Christopher Moore. Without his constant guidance, and patience, this document would have been impossible to complete. -
The American Stravinsky
0/-*/&4637&: *ODPMMBCPSBUJPOXJUI6OHMVFJU XFIBWFTFUVQBTVSWFZ POMZUFORVFTUJPOT UP MFBSONPSFBCPVUIPXPQFOBDDFTTFCPPLTBSFEJTDPWFSFEBOEVTFE 8FSFBMMZWBMVFZPVSQBSUJDJQBUJPOQMFBTFUBLFQBSU $-*$,)&3& "OFMFDUSPOJDWFSTJPOPGUIJTCPPLJTGSFFMZBWBJMBCMF UIBOLTUP UIFTVQQPSUPGMJCSBSJFTXPSLJOHXJUI,OPXMFEHF6OMBUDIFE ,6JTBDPMMBCPSBUJWFJOJUJBUJWFEFTJHOFEUPNBLFIJHIRVBMJUZ CPPLT0QFO"DDFTTGPSUIFQVCMJDHPPE THE AMERICAN STRAVINSKY THE AMERICAN STRAVINSKY The Style and Aesthetics of Copland’s New American Music, the Early Works, 1921–1938 Gayle Murchison THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS :: ANN ARBOR TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHERS :: Beulah McQueen Murchison and Earnestine Arnette Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America ϱ Printed on acid-free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4321 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-472-09984-9 Publication of this book was supported by a grant from the H. Earle Johnson Fund of the Society for American Music. “Excellence in all endeavors” “Smile in the face of adversity . and never give up!” Acknowledgments Hoc opus, hic labor est. I stand on the shoulders of those who have come before. Over the past forty years family, friends, professors, teachers, colleagues, eminent scholars, students, and just plain folk have taught me much of what you read in these pages. And the Creator has given me the wherewithal to ex- ecute what is now before you. First, I could not have completed research without the assistance of the staff at various libraries. -
Black America's Perceptions of Africa in the 1920S and 1930S Felicitas Ruetten
Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs) 2009 Black America's Perceptions of Africa in the 1920s and 1930s Felicitas Ruetten Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations Part of the African History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Ruetten, Felicitas, "Black America's Perceptions of Africa in the 1920s and 1930s" (2009). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 535. https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/535 Black America's Perceptions of Africa in the1 920s and 1930s by Felicitas Ruetten M.A. Thesis Department of History, Seton Hall University Advisers: Dr. Larry A. Greene Dr. Maxim Matusevich April 29,2009 Abstract As a symbol of hope, pride, and freedom, Africa has long influenced Black American concepts of identity, culture, and politics. During the first half of the twentieth century, cultural movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Inlprovement Association (UNIA) increased Black Americans' awareness of Africa and strengthened concrete historical ties between the "motherland and the Diaspora in the United States. Between 1934 and 1941, the Italian-Ethiopian crisis sparked enormous support of Ethiopia from the African American community. While this event is often treated as a watershed event in African American politics, this study suggests that the outcry over the Italian aggression in Ethiopia reflects the evolutionary process of Black America's growing concern for Africa which originated decades, even centuries prior to the Italian-Ethiopian crisis and which experienced continuing affnmation Events of the 1920s and 1930s triggered an increased awareness of these links between all Africans in their quests for political independence linking colonialism in Africa to racism in the Diaspora. -
Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives
under the auspices of A GIFT FROM MICHAELS NEW HAVEN • HARTFORD • BRIDGEPORT MERIDEN • WATERBURY • BRISTOL MILFORD • NEW BRITAIN • MANCHESTER MIDDLETOWN • TORRINGTON PROVIDENCE • PAWTUCKET THE KNOWN NAME, THE KNOWN QUALITY SINCE 1900 Concert Calendar WOOLSEY HALL CONCERT SERIES Auspices School of Music - Yale University SEASON 1961-1962 Tuesday, October 10, 1961 GEORGE LONDON, Baritone EXHIBITION Tuesday, November 14, 1961 BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF Charles Munch, Conductor PAINTINGS Wednesday, December 6, 1961 By JOHN DAY RUDOLF SERKIN Pianist November 10th through November 30th Tuesday, January 9, 1962 ZINO FRANCESCATTI Violinist MUNSON GALLERY EST. 1860 Tuesday, February 6, 1962 275 Orange Street New Haven CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA Free parking for customers George Szell, Conductor Grant Johannesen, Piano Soloist Tuesday, February 20, 1962 BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Charles Munch, Conductor WHEN Tuesday, March 13, 1962 DIVIDENDS LUBOSHUTZ AND NEMENOFF Duo-pianists are important You may wish TICKET OFFICE IN THE LOOMIS TEMPLE of MUSIC to consult 101 ORANGE STREET INCOME FUNDS, INC. Investments For Income 152 Temple St. UNiversity 5-0865 New Haven Page Three PROGRAM NOTES Historical and descriptive notes by 3584 WHITNEY AVE. JOHN N. BURK Mount Carmel COPYRIGHT BY BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, INC. 771telvitqaClwick4 Opp. Sleeping Giant Tel. CHestnut 8-2767 COHHTRY" ELEGY TO THE MEMORY OF MY CLOTHES FRIEND, SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Op. 44 Our Clothes are Country and Casual Classic and in Good Taste By HOWARD HANSON For ten years we have proved this Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, October 28, 1896 Howard Hanson composed this Elegy for the 75th L anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and it was performed by this Orchestra January 20-21, 1956. -
Patriotism, Nationalism, and Heritage in the Orchestral Music of Howard Hanson Matthew Robert Bishop
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 Patriotism, Nationalism, and Heritage in the Orchestral Music of Howard Hanson Matthew Robert Bishop Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC PATRIOTISM, NATIONALISM, AND HERITAGE IN THE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC OF HOWARD HANSON By MATTHEW ROBERT BISHOP A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2013 Matthew Bishop defended this thesis on March 29, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Michael Broyles Professor Directing Thesis Michael Buchler Committee Member Douglass Seaton Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university accordance. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to the superbly talented, knowledgeable, and supportive members of my committee. I am indebted to my thesis advisor, Dr. Michael Broyles, for his expertise in American music and his patient guidance. I also greatly appreciate the encouragement and wisdom of Dr. Douglass Seaton and Dr. Michael Buchler. The research behind this project was made possible by a Curtis Mayes Research Fellowship through the musicology program at The Florida State University. I am truly honored to work and learn among such impressive colleagues, in musicology and beyond. I am continually challenged by them to meet an impossibly high standard, and I am in awe of their impressive intellect, abundant support, and unending devotion to the cause of researching, performing, teaching, and celebrating the art of music. -
ARSC Journal, Vol
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO ARTS AND PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS By Frederica Kushner Definition and Scope For those who may be more familiar with commercial than with non-commercial radio and television, it may help to know that National Public Radio (NPR) is a non commercial radio network funded in major part through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and through its member stations. NPR is not the direct recipient of government funds. Its staff are not government employees. NPR produces programming of its own and also uses programming supplied by member stations; by other non commercial networks outside the U.S., such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC); by independent producers, and occasionally by commercial networks. The NPR offices and studios are located on M Street in Washington, D.C. Programming is distributed via satellite. The radio programs included in the following listing are "arts and performance." These programs were produced or distributed by the Arts Programming Department of NPR. The majority of the other programming produced by NPR comes from the News and Information Department. The names of the departments may change from time to time, but there always has been a dichotomy between news and arts programs. This introduction is not the proper place for a detailed history of National Public Radio, thus further explanation of the structure of the network can be dispensed with here. What does interest us are the varied types of programming under the arts and performance umbrella. They include jazz festivals recorded live, orchestra concerts from Europe as well as the U.S., drama of all sorts, folk music concerts, bluegrass, chamber music, radio game shows, interviews with authors and composers, choral music, programs illustrating the history of jazz, of popular music, of gospel music, and much, much more.