Answering the “What Is American?”
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American Masterpieces Chamber Music Answering the “What Is American?” That American composers should draw on their Question own country’s wealth of homegrown sources instead of emulating European music was a position most famously expressed by Antonin Dvorˇák back in the 1890s. Today, the very terms of the debate—Europe versus America— seem almost quaint. Instead of taking the obligatory trip PRESENTER: Bargemusic, Brooklyn NY to Leipzig or Paris, young 20th-century American PERFORMER: American String Quartet, ensemble-in-residence, composers—like Colin McPhee in the 1920s and Steve Manhattan School of Music Reich in the 1970s—traveled as far afield as Indonesia PROGRAM: Louis Gruenberg, Four Diversions for String Quartet and Africa to explore music that was not only (op. 32, 1930); Tobias Picker, String Quartet No.2; Roger Sessions, non-European but non-Western. All the while, America’s Canons (to the memory of Igor Stravinsky), 1972; George Whitefield jazz and experimental composers were expanding their Chadwick, String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor influence on the nation’s collective ear. And in the past few AMCM PERFORMANCE: January 24, 2009 decades, composers and performers from China, Latin America, Eastern Europe and South Asia have come to hough its name might suggest a specialization in works by live in the U.S.—and have been melding their musics United States composers, the American String Quartet has never with our own. Music has become global, and American Trestricted itself to any particular segment of the rich string music is simply the music that American composers write. quartet repertoire. That said, the foursome nonetheless has an abiding interest in music written on this side of the Atlantic and likes to search All of this complex history is reflected in abundant out and perform under-explored compositions. In 2007 the quartet was performances of American chamber music now taking approached by Bargemusic, the remarkable floating venue moored off place as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ the north coast of Brooklyn, to collaborate in programming a uniquely American Masterpieces: Chamber Music American concert for the American Masterpieces initiative. The ASQ initiative. These presentations—as well as related welcomed the opportunity and fashioned a broad program spanning masterclasses, lectures, and residencies—started during music from the mid-nineteenth century through the jazz age and into the 2008 summer festival season and will continue in the present. 2009. (A second round of NEA-supported American Louis Gruenberg’s jazz-infused Four Masterpieces projects will be announced this spring.) Diversions for String Quartet represents the kind of music “Gershwin should have written The current January–February calendar of for string quartet,” says ASQ violist Daniel American Masterpieces activities can be seen on Avshalomov. Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard the opposite page. Some of the works being performed Quartet recommended the Gruenberg piece are acknowledged American classics, others are worthy to the ASQ about five years ago, and it but little known and rarely performed, and still others “turned out,” says Avshalomov, to be “one of are very recent commissions. our happiest finds.” About ten minutes in duration, the four-movement work is one of On the following pages, we spotlight two of the many three similar sets that Gruenberg produced. interesting programs and single works to be performed in the next two months as part of American Louis Gruenberg, in a 1920 painting Masterpieces: Chamber Music. by Heinrich Vogeler 12 january/february 2009 “We chose to perform Diversions,” says American Masterpieces Avshalomov, “because, of the three, the Performances in ending of its last movement is particularly Chamber Music January and February strong. The work has a lot of his freedom and rhythmic curiosity, and there are licks 9 JANUARY 17 St. Cloud, MN FEBRUARY Charleston, WV in it that you’d imagine Charlie Parker (St. Cloud State University) University of Chicago Presents On four days in February, playing.” (NOTE: A brand-new recording Chamber Music Society of Saint Cloud presents “The the project will present workshops by composer Darol of Diversions, played by the Escher Only Moving Thing,” with eighth blackbird performing a Anger. The Montclaire String Quartet will perform Anger’s work by Steve Reich and a co-composition by Bang on a Street Stuff for String Quartet; Aaron Jay Kernis’s Musica Quartet, can be heard on the newly Can’s David Lang, Michael Gordon & Julia Wolfe. Preceded Celestis; Lev Zhurbin’s Bagel on the Malecon, and released six-disc box, Music@Menlo.) by three days of eighth-blackbird residency activities at George Crumb’s Black Angels. www.wvsymphony.org Gruenberg (1884–1964) was born in the local boys & girls club, an elementary school, a senior center, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud Public Library, FEBRUARY 5 New York, NY Brest-Litovsk (then in Poland, now and an open rehearsal for the city’s high school students. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents Belarus) and was only two years old when www.freewebs.com/stcloudchambermusicsociety “New Music in the Rose”— Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Piano 00 he arrived in the U.S. with his family. He Trio; George Crumb’s Four Nocturnes (Night Music II), JANUARY 17 Kansas City, MO Pierre Jalbert’s Piano Trio, John Harbison’s Piano Quintet, began his musical career as a pianist and Friends of Chamber Music Chanticleer and the and Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Slide Stride, for Piano Quintet. spent most of his young adulthood in Shanghai String Quartet perform Chen Yi’s From the PERFORMERS: Musicians of the Society—Gilbert Kalish, Europe, not returning to the U.S. until Path of Beauty (2008), a song cycle for mixed choir Gilles Vonsattel, pianos; Yoon Kwon, Susie Park, violins; and string quartet www.chambermusic.org Julie Albers, cello; Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips, 2 his mid-thirties, when he began to con- Todd Phillips, violins; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Timothy centrate on composition. A follower of JANUARY 19–22 Lake Worth, Eddy, cello) www.chambermusicsociety.org Belle Glade, & Boca Raton, FL the avant-garde, he was probably best Lynn University presents the Core Ensemble at three FEBRUARY 13 Brattleboro, VT known for his 1933 opera, The Emperor sites in “Ain’t I a Woman,” a program celebrating the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble from Vessels, Philip Jones (based on the Eugene O’Neill play life and times of Zora Neale Hurston, Sojourner Truth, Glass; Batéy, de León & M. Camilo; Basket Rondo, Monk; Clementine Hunter, and Fannie Lou Hamer. Music Maternity Ward, Late Show, Bolcom; America the of the same name). Gruenberg also wrote includes Charles Mingus, “Roland Kirk’s Message,” Beautiful, S.A. Ward; “America,” Bernstein; Ellington, three full-length string quartets and a “Canon,” and “Devil Woman”; Max Roach, “The Profit”; Gershwin and more www.westernwind.org range of symphonic works. A founder of Thelonious Monk, “Crepuscule with Nellie,” “Sweet and Lovely”; Bessie Smith, “Careless Love”; Diane Monroe, FEBRUARY 15 Brooklyn NY the League of Composers, he advocated “Blues for Miles,” “Groovin’ Roots,” “Spiritual,” “Fleetin’ Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra “Music Off the incorporation of such indigenous Blues,” and “I Smell Trouble”; “Memphis Slim, “Blue the Shelves” (free public program at main branch of American elements as jazz and spirituals and Disgusted”; John Coltrane, “Naima”; Duke Pearson, Brooklyn Public Library) Five Folk Songs in Counterpoint, Christo Redentor; Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, “Perpetual by Florence Price, with readings from works by African into new music. Gruenberg eventually Motion,” “Calvary Ostinato,” “Lamentation,” “Fugue”; American women writers. www.brooklynphilharmonic.org settled in California, reconnecting with Frederick Tillis, “Motherless Child” PERFORMERS: Tahirah Schoenberg, whom he had first met in Whittington, cello; Hugh Hinton, piano; Michael Parola, FEBRUARY 19 Chicago, IL percussion; Taylore Mahogany Scott, singer/actor The University of Chicago Presents “The Music of Vienna before World War I. He composed [email protected] Stephen Hartke” (The Horse with the Lavender Eye, copiously (including Oscar-winning film Meanwhile..., Tituli ) performed by eighth blackbird and scores) and produced an American- JANUARY 24 & 25 Brooklyn, NY the Hilliard Ensemble. http://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu Bargemusic Louis Gruenberg (Four Diversions for String themed violin concerto commissioned by Quartet), Tobias Picker (String Quartet No.2), Roger FEBRUARY 21 Brooklyn NY Jascha Heifetz. Sessions (Canons [to the memory of Igor Stravinsky]); (Long Island University’s Kumble Theater of the Performing Arts) “Why aren’t more groups doing these George Whitefield Chadwick (String Quartet No.4) performed by the American String Quartet Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music “An Evening pieces?” asks Frank J. Oteri, the American www.bargemusic.org with Cedar Walton & His Music”: Bolivia, Firm Roots, Music Center’s composer advocate. “The Midnight Waltz, et al., by Cedar Walton, performances JANUARY 31 Seattle, WA by the Cedar Walton Trio and Cedar Walton 10-piece Diversions are totally delightful miniatures (Good Shepherd Center) ensemble http://bqcm.org/concerts.htm that have the wonderful brashness of Music of Remembrance “The Seed of a Dream,” for Prokofiev, combined with a credible Jazz cello, piano and baritone, MOR commission from Lori FEBRUARY 23 Sartell, MN Laitman; “A Vanished World,”