# Help me explore American music



## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Right it is time I became more acquainted with the best that American classical music has to offer, so this is my resolution for 2017.
I know a few of your old reliables like Appalachian Spring and Adagio for Strings and I have listened to Persichetti Sonatas but feel I have not even scratched the surface.
So come on you guys give me some recommendations, I want your best stuff don't hold back.
Who's symphonies, which concertos, old or contemporary I shall give em all a go time permitting.
Over to you, help this Brit out


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

What have you heard by John Adams? Careful, there are two of them! I'm speaking of the one who doesn't live in Alaska and whose middle name is Coolidge.

I can recommend some listening on YouTube if you like.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2017)

Haydn man said:


> Right it is time I became more acquainted with the best that American classical music has to offer, so this is my resolution for 2017.
> I know a few of your old reliables like Appalachian Spring and Adagio for Strings and I have listened to Persichetti Sonatas but feel I have not even scratched the surface.
> So come on you guys give me some recommendations, I want your best stuff don't hold back.
> Who's symphonies, which concertos, old or contemporary I shall give em all a go time permitting.
> Over to you, help this Brit out


What do you think of this,I will purchase it in a few days.


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## Magnum Miserium (Aug 15, 2016)

Ives: 



Cowell: 



Nancarrow: 



Feldman: 



Ashley: 



Young: http://www.wnyc.org/story/64957-from-the-vaults-la-monte-young/
Riley: 



Duckworth: http://www.kylegann.com/SimpleSongsaboutSexandWar.mp3
Monk: 



(Luther) Adams:


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

KenOC said:


> What have you heard by John Adams? Careful, there are two of them! I'm speaking of the one who doesn't live in Alaska and whose middle name is Coolidge.
> 
> I can recommend some listening on YouTube if you like.


Great, fire away I have Spotify also so that should help:tiphat:


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Traverso said:


> What do you think of this,I will purchase it in a few days.


That looks like just the ticket, so any opinions welcome here


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

I highly recommend this book. Though the title says the 20th century, it covers American music in the 18th & 19th centuries, too.

Kyle Gann: American Music in the Twentieth Century









Table of Contents
http://www.kylegann.com/index7.html


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Haydn man said:


> Great, fire away I have Spotify also so that should help:tiphat:


Here's an early Adams work, quite minimalist, from 1978 called _Shaker Loops_. His style has changed over the years, so I'll walk forward from there.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Don't forget David Diamond. 
Antheil's Ballet Mechanique is a hoot, especially the original version, even if you only hear it once.
Gloria Coates is unique - you will either love her or hate her. An introduction could be her 15th symphony; the second movement features Mozart's Ave Verum played backwards. Or else her 5th string quartet; the second movement is based on I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
John Corigliano did a nice job with his Dylan Thomas Trilogy.
Samuel Barber's Knoxville 1915 is well done in a manner which evokes a simpler time. 
Arthur Foote, from around the turn of the 19th-20th Century, wrote a nice Piano Quintet in A minor, if you like Brahms.
Naxos has a recording of Symphonies Nos. 1 through 3 of Paul Creston. The second symphony has been described as a sunny La Valse.
William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony out-Gershwins Gershwin in appropriating jazz into the orchestra. The opening motto from I Got Rhythm is in here, and nobody knows who came up with it first, Still or Gershwin.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Haydn man said:


> Right it is time I became more acquainted with the best that American classical music has to offer, so this is my resolution for 2017.
> I know a few of your old reliables like Appalachian Spring and Adagio for Strings and I have listened to Persichetti Sonatas but feel I have not even scratched the surface.
> So come on you guys give me some recommendations, I want your best stuff don't hold back.
> Who's symphonies, which concertos, old or contemporary I shall give em all a go time permitting.
> Over to you, help this Brit out


Schuman Symphonies 4, 6 and 10.

Bernstein Facsimile ballet.

Copland 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson.

Barber Knoxville, Summer of 1915.

Ives Concord Piano Sonata.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Haydn man said:


> That looks like just the ticket, so any opinions welcome here


You can do a lot better. For Bernstein I'd go with his symphonies (the piano symphony no.2 Age Of Anxiety being a favorite) the serenade, On The Waterfront, Candide. And for Ives you want to hear his 4 symphonies, and the holiday symphonies conducted by MT Thomas. And these should include his other great orchestral pieces, The Unanswered Question, and Central Park In The Dark. Copland is well represented on that box, but there's a cheap set on Sony you can pick up.

The William Schuman symphonies on Naxos are recommended. Performed by the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz. There are also some recordings by Bernstein. Elliott Carter has a huge body of work. You might want to try Variations For Orchestra, Three Occasions For Orchestra, clarinet and oboe concertos, symphonia, and Dialogues for starters. And there's the thorny string quartets if you prefer that genre. And his piano piece, Night Fantasies.

You definitely want to listen to more Barber. Knoxville Summer 1915, Overture To The School For Scandal, Piano concerto, Medea's Dance Of Vengeance. There's a good disc on Telarc with Sylvia McNair singing Knoxville, which includes the pieces I just mentioned sans the concerto. And there's a box set on Naxos with all his orchestral music.

In addition to Barber, other romantic music can be found by Howard Hanson. I believe there are some symphonies conducted by the composer on Mercury Living Presence. And there's Alan Hovhaness. He was very prolific, but I only know Mysterious Mountain by Fritz Reiner.

I can't help you with the popular contemporaries like Adams, Glass, and Reich. There's Charles Wourinen, and Milton Babbitt if you like serial music, and Joseph Schwantner for high energy, colorful, and easy on the ears tonal orchestral works.

Other composers I haven't really explored include Henry Cowell, Harry Patch, Roy Harris, Walter Piston, Roger Sessions. Check Naxos for their American composer series for more music.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Edward MacDowell. His style strikes me as a cross between Brahms and Liszt--a combination that, in my opinion, is musically effective. 

I highly recommend MacDowell's sets of piano miniatures, including Woodland Sketches, Sea Pieces, and New England Idylls. You might also enjoy his piano concertos.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Copland, Bernstein, Schuman, Mennin, Diamond, Gershwin, Harris....

so much music....


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Nancarrow wrote some good string quartets in addition to his numerous piano roll pieces. There's a good CD on the Wergo label.

Although many folks here don't take him seriously, I happen to be a big Zappa fan. The best place to start is with the Yellow Shark concert. I don't know if it's available for streaming, but it's on film featuring the fabulous Ensemble Modern. Check YouTube. Other good pieces include The Perfect Stranger, and Dupree's Paradise conducted by Boulez, and the orchestral works set by the London Symphony conducted by Kent Nagano.

And there's the Carl Ruggles orchestral set conducted by MT Thomas. A 1980 recording that surfaced on CD a couple years ago.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Sessions: When Lilacs Last in trhe Dooryard Bloom'd
Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and Experience
Harbison: "November 19, 1828" (piano quartet)
Corigliano: (various)
Copland: Symphony No. 3


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

A seldom-heard work by John Adams, _El Dorado_. To be played with the neighbors away and the volume turned up. Here's the first movement of two.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

It is good to remember that American classical music did not start with Copeland in the 20th century. Americas first internationally known classical musician was Louis Moreau Gottschalk. He was born in New Orleans and went to Paris to study piano. He toured in France and Spain then returned to the U.S. He toured in the Eastern U.S. but centered on New York. He spent several years in the Caribbean especially Cuba. He died in Rio De Janeiro after a tour that took in the west coast of South America. He wrote a large number of piano works that have the influence of Creole and Latin American influences as well as the Caribbean influences. Of his works I would recommend the piano pieces Pasquinade, Bamboula, Le Bananier, La Gallina, Souvenir de Porto Rico, The Banjo, La Savane, The Last Hope, The Dying Poet. These would be the most famous of his piano works and you may be able to find them on youtube or a streaming service. He also wrote orchestral works. The best of the is Symphony #2 "A Night in the Tropics" There is a mini opera called Escenas Campestres that is rather charming. I do not know what the story is as I do not speak Spanish and there does not seem to be a libretto for it. 
You tube has this submission


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

The works of Scott Joplin should not be ignored because they are Ragtime and not Classical. It was Joplins intent that these be seen as just as classical as Chopins Polish works like the Polonaises and the Mazurkas. His most famous work is the rag "The Entertainer" 



 which was used in the movie "The Sting. His first published rag was The Maple Leaf" 



 I am also fond of "The Pineapple Rag"


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Charles Tomlinson Griffes would be another composer that you should check out. His most famous work is The Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan 



 He is also known for "The White Peacock" 




A contemporary of Griffes is George Chadwick. He wrote many pieces and was the director of the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is probably most known now for his Second Symphony or Symphonic Sketches. The movement called Jubilee is one of my favorite works.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

drpraetorus said:


> It is good to remember that American classical music did not start with Copeland in the 20th century. Americas first internationally known classical musician was Louis Moreau Gottschalk. He was born in New Orleans and went to Paris to study piano. He toured in France and Spain then returned to the U.S. He toured in the Eastern U.S. but centered on New York. He spent several years in the Caribbean especially Cuba. He died in Rio De Janeiro after a tour that took in the west coast of South America. He wrote a large number of piano works that have the influence of Creole and Latin American influences as well as the Caribbean influences. Of his works I would recommend the piano pieces Pasquinade, Bamboula, Le Bananier, La Gallina, Souvenir de Porto Rico, The Banjo, La Savane, The Last Hope, The Dying Poet. These would be the most famous of his piano works and you may be able to find them on youtube or a streaming service. He also wrote orchestral works. The best of the is Symphony #2 "A Night in the Tropics" There is a mini opera called Escenas Campestres that is rather charming. I do not know what the story is as I do not speak Spanish and there does not seem to be a libretto for it.
> You tube has this submission


I'll second that. Gottschalk may not grab you at first listening, but remember that he was writing around the 1860s and it becomes clear just how innovative he was.
And another American to explore is Amy Beach.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I will tentatively recommend Charles Ives' 2 string quartets, 4 violin and piano sonatas, piano trio, the 2 piano sonatas I've heard, the 4 numbered symphonies and other orchestral works besides ('Central Park in the Dark', for instance) and an output of tremendous art songs, that are featured on 4 Naxos discs which are available on Spotify.

Tentatively because, of course, I'm a Brit too and there will be people on TC who know Ives much better than I do. But I certainly enjoy all of these, and I rate the violin sonatas and some of the songs particularly highly.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

tortkis said:


> I highly recommend this book. Though the title says the 20th century, it covers American music in the 18th & 19th centuries, too.
> 
> Kyle Gann: American Music in the Twentieth Century
> 
> ...


That looks interesting and I shall look for it on Amazon
Never thought of buying a book, but obvious when you think about it


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Here's an early Adams work, quite minimalist, from 1978 called _Shaker Loops_. His style has changed over the years, so I'll walk forward from there.


Went for it via Spotify because the YouTube link would not work for me
Found this version and listened to both works









I quite like minimalist style music and have a couple of Glass CD's
Light Over Water seemed to have dance music type themes especially in part 2
This has been a fun start
Thanks Ken


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

starthrower said:


> You can do a lot better. For Bernstein I'd go with his symphonies (the piano symphony no.2 Age Of Anxiety being a favorite) the serenade, On The Waterfront, Candide. And for Ives you want to hear his 4 symphonies, and the holiday symphonies conducted by MT Thomas. And these should include his other great orchestral pieces, The Unanswered Question, and Central Park In The Dark. Copland is well represented on that box, but there's a cheap set on Sony you can pick up.
> 
> The William Schuman symphonies on Naxos are recommended. Performed by the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz. There are also some recordings by Bernstein. Elliott Carter has a huge body of work. You might want to try Variations For Orchestra, Three Occasions For Orchestra, clarinet and oboe concertos, symphonia, and Dialogues for starters. And there's the thorny string quartets if you prefer that genre. And his piano piece, Night Fantasies.
> 
> ...


I have in the past dipped into the Naxos American Classics series and a quick look this am shows some bargains available secondhand via you know which online seller
Looks like I have a plan coming together here


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Bettina said:


> Edward MacDowell. His style strikes me as a cross between Brahms and Liszt--a combination that, in my opinion, is musically effective.
> 
> I highly recommend MacDowell's sets of piano miniatures, including Woodland Sketches, Sea Pieces, and New England Idylls. You might also enjoy his piano concertos.


I have Van Cliburn doing the MacDowell Second Piano Concerto. An appealing, unashamedly Romantic work.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Haydn man said:


> I have in the past dipped into the Naxos American Classics series and a quick look this am shows some bargains available secondhand via you know which online seller
> Looks like I have a plan coming together here


I have a ton of the Naxos American Classics series. They are a great tribute to long-neglected American composers at an affordable price, and I have rarely regretted my purchases. (It's also nice that our own Nashville Symphony is a major contributer.)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

A maverick work if there ever was one!


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Naxos also has a couple of CDs of Jack Gallagher's (b. 1947) work which a worth a listen.


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## PeterKC (Dec 30, 2016)

The Symphonies of Ives, Antheil, R.Thompson, V. Thompson, Mennin, Bernstein, Corigliano, Hanson, Diamond, Harris, Cowell, Ward, Hovaness, and Copland.
The concertos Of MacDowell, Menotti, Barber, Copland, Hoiby, and Gershwin.
The Operas of Barber, Moore, Gianinni, Hoiby, Ward, Flagello, Menotti, and Floyd
The Ballets of Copland, Bernstein, Gould, Menotti, and Chiara.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

MarkW said:


> Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and Experience


I hope someday that one will be rerecorded, though I doubt it will be, because it's so huge. The Naxos recording has some shortcomings, being a live performance.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Haydn man, in addition to the excellent recommendations you've received so far, I'd recommend that you explore the work of Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962). Her compositions range from chamber music to orchestral works. Most are in what some have termed a "neoromantic" style. I'd recommend her two-movement piano trio as a great place to start.

For piano works, try Frederic Rzewski.

Since David Diamond was suggested above, try a few of his contemporaries for chamber music: Quincy Porter, Easley Blackwood, and Roger Sessions.

For a more modern, atonal approach to string quartets, try Fred Lerdahl.

Finally, I'd strongly endorse the previous recommendation of Elliot Carter.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Bluecrab said:


> For a more modern, atonal approach to string quartets, try Fred Lerdahl.


Thanks for this suggestion. I am not familiar with Lerdahl's compositions--in fact, I didn't even know that he had composed anything! 

I've read some of Lerdahl's writings on music theory and I've thoroughly enjoyed them (it sounds weird to say "enjoyed" when talking about music theory, but whatever... ) I look forward to checking out his compositions.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Bettina said:


> Thanks for this suggestion.


You're welcome.



Bettina said:


> I've read some of Lerdahl's writings on music theory and I've thoroughly enjoyed them (it sounds weird to say "enjoyed" when talking about music theory, but whatever... )


It doesn't sound weird at all to me. I understand that he has some pretty innovative ideas about music theory.

If you like Elliot Carter's string quartets, I think it's highly likely that you'll like Lerdahl's. I think you can find all of them on youtube.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Bluecrab said:


> Haydn man, in addition to the excellent recommendations you've received so far, I'd recommend that you explore the work of Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962). Her compositions range from chamber music to orchestral works. Most are in what some have termed a "neoromantic" style. I'd recommend her two-movement piano trio as a great place to start.
> 
> For piano works, try Frederic Rzewski.
> 
> ...


Currently trying this 







The piano trio as suggested and liking it


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

Roy Harris' third symphony is a favorite of many people and I have heard it called one of the candidates for greatest American symphony. 



This is the recording I like. Not my favorite work, but one that you should listen to if you are interested in American music.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Last Adams recommendations, two pieces in a lighter vein: Hoodoo Zephr:






And Lollapalooza.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Peter Mennin has been suggested. If you want to try him out, Jean Martinnon has a wonderful interpretation of his 7th symphony with the Chicago Symphony.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Again thanks for the recommendations in the posts above
I enjoyed listening to Jennifer Higdon and I think the description neoromantic nicely sums up my thoughts
Approachable on a first listen and interesting throughout
Spotify is certainly proving its worth at present


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

I would start with Leonard Bernstein's Columbia/Sony recordings of music by Copland, Gershwin and Ives. Nobody has ever conducted these composers better than Bernstein, IMO. His later, DGG recordings are worth seeking out but the earlier recordings are invariably fresher and less mannered.


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## calvinpv (Apr 20, 2015)

I don't think anyone mentioned George Crumb, who wrote the very intense string quartet 'Black Angels'. 

Also, if you dig early 12-tone music, there's a 1-disc survey of Ruth Crawford Seeger's music on DG, the highlights being a string quartet and a wind quintet.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

I just discovered Charles T. Griffes today.


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## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

Hanson's Romantic Symphony is just awesome. 
Glass' Symphonies 2 & 3. A bit controversial, but I like his minimalism. 
Carter's string quartets. Very challenging. I don't really 'get' them yet, but I admire them.
Bernstein's Candide. Lots of fun. 
Gershwin's Piano Conerto. I like it much more than the ubiquitous AinP & RinB.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Bernstein: Facsimile

Schuman Symphonies 3, 4,6,7,8,9 and 10.

Persichetti 12 Piano Sonatas

Mennin Symphony No. 7

Ives Concord Piano Sonata


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Corigliano - especially his concertos.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 1 (1951)






Charles Ives: Symphony No. 4 (1916)


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Corigliano - especially his concertos.


Don't forget Corigliano's wonderful score for "The Red Violin".


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Here's a list I assembled of the most popular American composers.

Francis Hopkinson

James Hewitt

Alexander reinagle

Benjamin Carr

Francis Scott Key

Lowell Mason

Stephen Collins Foster 

Daniel Decatur Emmett

Julia Ward Howe

George F. Root

Henry Clay Work

Theodore Thomas

George W. Chadwick

Arthur Foote

Horatio Parker

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach

Edward MacDowell

Edgar Stillman Kelley

Walter Damrosch

John Alden Carpenter

Henry K. Hadley

Daems Taylor

Charles Wakefield Cadman

Ernest Bloch

Louis Gruenberg

Howard Hanson

George Gershwin

Aaron Copland

Virgil Thomsan

William Schuman

Paul Creston

Morton Gould

Leonard Bernstein

Ethelbert Nevin

Oley Speaks

Albert Hay Malotte

Victor Herbert 

Jerome Kern

Richard Rodgers

Irving Berlin


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Apologies for the duplicate post on American music. Have erased one copy here.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

To give a few specific recommendations:

*Milton Babbitt*
- Philomel
- Three Compositions for Piano

*William Bolcom*
- Carabet Songs
- Complete rags

*Amy Beach*
- Piano Quintet, op. 67

*Morton Feldman*
- For Philip Guston
- Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello
- Piano and String Quartet
- Rothko Chapel

*Charles Tomlinson Griffes*
- Piano Sonata, A. 85

*Lou Harrison*
- Concerto for Piano and Javanese Gamelan
- Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra
- Organ Concerto with Percussion 
- Symphony #4 "Last Symphony"

*Alan Hovhaness*
- Piano Concerto, op. 48 "Lousadzak (Coming of Light)"
- Violin Concerto #2, op. 89a
- Symphony #2, op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain"
- Symphony #4, op. 165
- Symphony #6, op. 173 "Celestial Gate"
- Symphony #19, op. 217 "Vishnu"
- Piano Sonata, op. 335 "Mount Chocorua" 
- Symphony #50, op. 360 "Mt. Saint Helens"
- Sonata for Harp and Guitar, op. 374 "Spirit of Trees"

*Fred Lerdahl*
- Arches
- String Quartet #3
- Time after Time

*Edward MacDowell*
- Piano Concerto #2 in D minor, op. 23
- Piano Sonata #4 in E minor, op. 59 "Keltic"

*Walter Piston*
- String Quartet #5
- Symphony #2
- Sympony #3
- Symphony #7
- Viola Concerto

*Carl Ruggles*
- Angels
- Sun-treader

*Roger Sessions*
- Concerto for Orchestra
- From my Diary
- String Quartet #2
- Symphony #1
- Symphony #2
- Symphony #5

*Julia Wolfe*
- Anthracite Fields
- Steel Hammer

*Charles Wuorinen*
- Janissary Music
- Time's Encomium


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

For anyone interested in American music, I would start with the music of the African-American slaves and their cultural development in America, mostly considered as inferiors and outsiders by the rest of the country at the time, and someone such as Stephen Foster for his quintessentially American melodies and his excursions into sentimentality in music, considered by many as "the Father of American music". Just about everything else is a European import developed on the soil of Europe, pertaining to the European culture and lifestyle, pertaining to European harmony and form, pertaining to the European countries. But Europe was not the source of the development of genuine American music that includes such composers and influences as James Reese Europe, Duke Ellington, and others. Or is one to suppose that Gustav Mahler is an American composer just because his music happened to be performed in America? Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Virgil Thomson, Edward McDowell, and many others, yes, were born in America, but were as much a product of Europe and European training as American, some having studied for a number of years under Nadia Boulanger in France. Consequently, it may be highly important that American music should be considered from the point of view of what was originally generated in this country and then later shaped by European influences. There's of course a place for that too.

:angel:


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Buried under the Gershwin is the Grofe Grand Canyon Suite. Well worth a listen.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Grofe also orchestrated Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Supposedly the two had a major falling out when Gershwin heard that Grofe was saying that he, Grofe, had actually composed the work. But shortly after, Grofe was a pallbearer at Gershwin's funeral.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Probably the most often-played living American composer is John Coolidge Adams. Here’s a list, a mix of his most often-heard works and my own favorites.

Shaker Loops
Common Tones in Simple Time
Harmonium
Grand Pianola Music
Harmonielere
El Dorado
The Chairman Dances
Short Ride in a Fast Machine
The Dharma at Big Sur (electric violin concerto)
Violin Concerto
Lollapalooza
Gnarly Buttons (Clarinet chamber concerto)

Plus a lot of other stuff including two well-known operas and some oratorios. Others can probably suggest their own favorites if they like Adams’s music.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Howard Hanson Symphony No. 2 "Romantic" with the composer conducting 

William Schuman Violin Concerto / Walter Piston Symphony 2 / Ruggles Sun-Treader (DG)

William Schumann Symphony 6 / Walter Piston Symphony 4 / Ormandy

Paul Creston Symphonies 1-3 (Naxos)

Virgil Thompson Symphony on Hymn Tunes (Hanson)

Ferde Grofe Grand Canyon Suite / Mississippi Suite

George Gershwin Rhapsody In Blue / An American In Paris / Piano Concerto / Porgy and Bess

Thompson Suite From "The River" / "Plow That Broke The Plains" / Stokowski

Victor Herbert Pan American / American Fantasy / Irish Fantasy / Ormandy

Herbert Cello Concerto No. 2 / Miquelle cello w/ Hanson

Scott Joplin Piano Rags

Washington Post march / American Fanfare / The Red, White and Blue / Bonnie Boy / Dixie / When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again / Marching Through Georgia / You're A Grand Old Flag / Yankee Doodle Dandy -- show tunes, marches and Civil War songs

William Bolcom Black Host (no recording other than vinyl; can be viewed on YouTube)

Wendy (formerly Walter of "Switched On Bach" fame) Carlos' score to the film "The Shining" if you can find it

Bernard Herrmann scores to "Psycho," "Three Worlds of Gulliver," "Mysterious Island," especially the complete soundtrack to the latter by William Stromberg and Moscow Symphony Orchestra

Rozsa scores to "El Cid" and "Ben-Hur"

Lionel Newman and Jerry Goldsmith's 2007 extended score to "Alien"


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

Larkenfield said:


> For anyone interested in American music, I would start with the music of the African-American slaves and their cultural development in America, mostly considered as inferiors and outsiders by the rest of the country at the time, and someone such as Stephen Foster for his quintessentially American melodies and his excursions into sentimentality in music, considered by many as "the Father of American music". Just about everything else is a European import developed on the soil of Europe, pertaining to the European culture and lifestyle, pertaining to European harmony and form, pertaining to the European countries. But Europe was not the source of the development of genuine American music that includes such composers and influences as James Reese Europe, Duke Ellington, and others. Or is one to suppose that Gustav Mahler is an American composer just because his music happened to be performed in America? Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Virgil Thomson, Edward McDowell, and many others, yes, were born in America, but were as much a product of Europe and European training as American, some having studied for a number of years under Nadia Boulanger in France. Consequently, it may be highly important that American music should be considered from the point of view of what was originally generated in this country and then later shaped by European influences. There's of course a place for that too.
> 
> :angel:


In a sense I agree, since classical music (as it's usually talked about) is essentially European. But America does owe a huge cultural debt to Europe, and asking about American classical music might not be that much different from asking about French, or German music. Maybe Russian music is a better analogy because Russia is kinda European and kinda not.

I would say that the most quintessentially American music is blues and jazz, but even those owe a lot to European music. I guess there's also Native American musics, but I honestly know nothing about that. But since this is a classical music forum, none of those are what this thread is about. I think that looking for something that originated completely in America would lead you pretty far afield from classical music (and I'm not even sure what that would be).


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