The National Flute Association’s Twentieth Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Music and the Development of American Compositional Style in the Twentieth Century By © 2021 Brenna Wiinanen B.A., Coastal Carolina University, 2019 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Musicology and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. _______________________ Co-Chair: Martin Nedbal _______________________ Co-Chair: Daniel Velasco _______________________ Colin Roust _______________________ Boris Vayner Date Defended: 3 May 2021 The thesis committee for Brenna Wiinanen certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: The National Flute Association’s Twentieth Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Music and the Development of American Compositional Style in the Twentieth Century _______________________ Co-Chair: Martin Nedbal _______________________ Co-Chair: Daniel Velasco Date Approved: 3 May, 2021 ii Abstract In 1993, the National Flute Association published an Anthology of American Flute Music, edited by John Solum, to commemorate the organization’s twentieth anniversary. Of the eighteen pieces included in The Anthology, seventeen had not previously been published, thus presenting the flute community with several new and outstanding works in a diverse array of compositional styles written between 1928 and 1989. While The Anthology initially received a good critical response, its relevance to the flute community quickly faded. There are a variety of reasons that may account for the lack of success of The Anthology. Some explanations include the overwhelming presence of obscure, previously unpublished music that was unfamiliar to performers and audiences alike; the vast stylistic array of the pieces; and the numerous works within that are referred to as “elite” compositions, which are characteristically inaccessible to audiences. Performance records of works included in The Anthology at the National Flute Association’s annual conferences also reveal the prevalence of what are categorized as the “social” pieces of the Anthology over the “elite” compositions. Unfortunately, The Anthology has fallen out of print. In addition, the compositions and composers represented within the collection (as well as The Anthology itself) have become relatively, if not entirely, unknown to the current generation of flutists and teachers. While this thesis serves to suggest why The Anthology was not as successful as its creators may have wanted or expected, it also hopes to plant a seed of interest in the readers to revive these pieces and incorporate them into future performances. iii Acknowledgments I am incredibly thankful and grateful to the many different people who have supported my research through their aid in both securing source materials and providing additional information, to those who have guided me through each step of the process, and to those who have supported and encouraged me from the very beginning of my academic career. To Eric Hoover, the program chair from the National Flute Association’s 1996 Conference, for graciously loaning me your copy of the convention booklet. To John Bailey, program chair from the National Flute Association’s 2002 Conference and to his graduate student Samantha Brown, who both kindly sifted through numerous other convention booklets to help me track down information. To Aydan Hensley, administrative assistant of the National Flute Association, for assisting in the lending process of some twenty convention booklets, which allowed me to access necessary materials to complete a portion of my research. To Regina Cherene, communications manager of the National Flute Association, for granting me permission to the use the National Flute Association Archives at the Library of Congress, and Melissa Wertheimer, Music Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress for helping me access the documents in the archives and providing other research advice. To Nailah Holmes, Associate Manager, Research Access Services, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, for sending various files from the Otto Luening Papers. To Philip Brunelle, editor of the American Guild of Organists 90th Anniversary Anthology of American Organ Music, for taking the time to conduct a telephone interview to share more information regarding the conception and formation process of the collection. To John Solum, editor of the National Flute Association’s 20th Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Music for your gracious iv correspondence and for putting The Anthology together—I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to come across it and create a thesis from all it has to offer. To Dr. Martin Nedbal—my thesis advisor—I express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation for your expertise, invaluable mentorship, words of encouragement, insightful comments and suggestions, and for continually pushing me to dig and think deeper. To the members of my committee, Dr. Daniel Velasco, Dr. Colin Roust, and Dr. Boris Vayner, for offering your time and distinguished skills and talents in the process. To my family and friends for cheering me on throughout my studies—thank you for your unwavering belief in me when I did not have the strength to believe in myself. Most of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my parents, Darren and Michelle Kallod, and to my husband, Isaac Wiinanen, for your support in all of my academic endeavors. I could not be where I am today without the discipline and strong work ethic you taught and modeled for me, your prayers, and your love. Finally, thanks be to God, for whom with his strength, everything is possible. v Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: The Conception, Formation, and Success of The National Flute Association’s Twentieth Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Music .......................................................... 2 Chapter 2: Tracing the Stylistic Developments in the Twentieth Century in Relation to the Compositions in The Anthology .................................................................................................... 17 Quincy Porter’s Blues Lointains and the “American” School of Nadia Boulanger ................. 18 Emma Lou Diemer and American Gebrauchsmusik ................................................................ 21 The Anthology and the Diversity of the American Experimentalism ....................................... 23 Experimenting with Instrumental Techniques .......................................................................... 26 Twelve-Tone Compositions ...................................................................................................... 28 Historicism ................................................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 3: “Social” and “Elite” Music ......................................................................................... 34 The “Social” Compositions of The Anthology .......................................................................... 40 The ”Elite” Compositions in The Anthology ............................................................................ 43 The Mixed Compositions in The Anthology ............................................................................. 50 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 53 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 60 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 63 vi Introduction I was first introduced to The National Flute Association’s 20th Anniversary Anthology of American Flute Music while watching the Special Publication Committee present an overview of their work at the National Flute Association’s 2020 virtual summer series. When Michael Stoune, current committee chair, mentioned The Anthology, I was in awe—I had no idea it existed. I began to ask fellow flutists if they had heard of the collection, and to my surprise, they were not aware of it either. After a bit of digging, I could not find any research on The Anthology. My curiosity was sparked! I discovered that although The Anthology was met with initial success, it very quickly, for the lack of a better word, failed. I was determined to uncover the reason why the flute community did not embrace this fascinating collection! The following pages are the result of this determination. The first chapter discusses the conception and formation of The Anthology, provides background information for the reader and suggests a few reasons as to why it may have not met the creator’s expectations. The second and third chapters show that The Anthology reflects the stylistic developments, evolution, aesthetics, and philosophies of music in the twentieth century in a variety of ways. I argue, furthermore, that the collection’s reliance on twentieth century compositional styles to a large extent influenced its overall popularity (or, rather, lack thereof).