# Americana



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Listened to the Grand Canyon Suite a while ago. This grand old piece was tremendously popular a half-century or so ago, but it seems to have faded somewhat. Still, a wonderful work, and the program is hardly needed to enjoy it.

There's a whole range of works celebrating the United States, its history, its wars, its people, and its places. These are mostly from more innocent times. Any favorites out there? If it's at all obscure, a YT link would be welcome.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Ferdi Grofe wrote more American suites (Mississippi, Niagara Falls, Hudson River, Dead valley, Hollywood), that are less famous and indeed a notch less interesting than the Grand Canyon, but worth the occasional spin (available on Naxos).


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Morton Gould seemed to have been adept at this kind of thing as well - there's a Naxos disc which features 'Foster Gallery' - a suite based on the melodies of the great 19th century songwriter. It's cleverly done as he intersperses variations of Campdown Races with the other snippets which slyly pays homage to Moussorgsky with the way he used 'Promenade' in Pictures of an Exhibition. The disc also contains the 'American Ballads' suite and concludes with 'American Salute' - a lively take on 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'. Some might dismiss the collection as being little more than jingoistic 'Copland-lite' but this particular Limey loves it!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Besides Grofé and Gould, for me John Philip Sousa and Leroy Anderson are two very "Americana" Composers!, Think Gershwin fits that hat as well!

/ptr


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## campy (Aug 16, 2012)

Ives: _Three Places in New England_
William Schuman: _New England Triptych_
Copland: _Rodeo_ and _Billy the Kid_
Meredith Willson: Symphony #1 _A Symphony of San Francisco_


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I like William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony. 




Convers' Fliver Ten Million celebrates Ford's Model T. (No Youtube link.)

John Alden Carpenter's ballet Skyscrapers speaks of the great American city. 




Of course, Charles Ives is all Americana, but some lesser-known Americana is his piece about a lecture by Yale's president and another about Salvation Army founder William Booth entering Heaven. 




Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 is evocative of a time gone by.

Edward MacDowell's Suite No. 2 is about the American Indian. He was a student of Indian music. 




Finally, William Henry Fry's Niagra Symphony is fun for its excess - as someone said, it's about "water, lots of it."


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Manxfeeder said:


> John Alden Carpenter's ballet Skyscrapers speaks of the great American city.


Another popular piece by Carpenter is "Adventures in a Perambulator," describing a baby's impressions as he's pushed around New York.


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