Composers after WW1 composing works inspired by American imagery

[Thatfabulousalien]

After listening to Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin just now, I was reminded of an interesting question.


Varèse has his amazing Ameriques, Gershwin has Rhapsody in Blue, both of which are largely inspired by America in a very romantic way. These two pieces where both composed after WW1 in the early 20s.
I'm wondering what other works that share the same kind of imagery around the same decade?



(Of course there's Copland but he's kind of obvious though)

[Jo498]

Lots of Ives, like Holidays and New England tone poems? Or are they pre WW I?
Copland: Rodeo, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring

[Monsieur Croche]

Heitor Villa-Lobos ~ New York Skyline (1939)
From the below article:  "Villa-Lobos composed this piano piece by superimposing the New York skyline on a piece of graph paper."
http://villalobos.iu.edu/ny-skyline

Olivier Messiaen ~ Des canyons aux étoiles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_canyons_aux_%C3%A9toiles...

Virgil Thomson's film scores gone concert suites, The plow that broke the plains and The Louisiana Story if not directly about landscape are 'about' landscape, place, the people and culture.  Next to forgotten or overlooked, it is Thomson's music, especially these named film scores, that established the 'American-style / sound' of quartal harmony combined with folk tunes or folk-like tunes which altogether now evoke 'vast and wide open spaces a la North American U.S.A.' -- later becoming the generic go-to sound for a host of cinematic oaters -- which Copland later picked up on (and ran with, often enough and in spades :-)

Elliot Carter took a deliberate retreat to Arizona (from the densely populated east coast where he had been born, trained and worked) in 1950-51, and it was there that he came up with his 1st String Quartet; the piece marks a major shift to his mature style.  Though not directly representing this wide-open ocean of desert landscape, anyone who has experienced being in that landscape would quickly affirm that his being there would have affected his thinking and viewpoint -- as it has done for so many others who experience being there.

The premise of John Adams' Shaker Loops was triggered by the sound of the Pacific ocean and waves lapping on the California (San Francisco) shore;  he lived in a small cottage by the beach at the time.  Likewise, his Dharma at Big Sur is very much about the land, the west coast and its effect upon 'migrants' coming from the east and seeing it for the first time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dharma_at_Big_Sur

...and (since you asked, and since America does also grow lots of corn ;-)
Ferde Grofe ~
Mississippi Suite
Niagara Falls Suite
Hudson River Suite
Grand Canyon Suite
Death Valley Suite

I'm sure there is next to a ton more music --  maybe 'lesser,' obscure, or forgotten -- which has been written that is tied in with American landscape(s) or cityscape(s).


Best regards

[Mirror Image]

One of my favorites of this kind of American theme is Schuman's New England Triptych.

[pjme]

Jennifer Higdon: City skape : https://youtu.be/Kygq6UPj0Ak

Copland: Music for a great city: https://youtu.be/CfJx-gScGPs

Milhaud: Un Français à New YorK?



P.

[Rons_talking]

Yes, Schuman's New England Triptych is great...one of the best at painting the landscape. Rautavaara composed the Manhattan Trilogy which is an excellent recent work. Milhaud wrote the Aspen Serenade as well as a few other American works.

[Brian]

I believe Alan Hovhaness qualifies here, too.

[pjme]

Roberto Gerhard: Symphony no 4 "New York" (1967)

The Fourth Symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for its 125th Anniversary. It received its world première on 14th December 1967 in New York given by the NYPO conducted by William Steinberg. The European première took place on 27th October 1968 by the Stockholm PO under Antal Dorati and the English première was on 4th December 1968 at the Royal Festival Hall with Colin Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra at a concert of the Royal Philharmonic Society.

The symphony is one its composer's most massive statements and calls for a huge orchestra: 4 flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolos), 4 oboes, 4 clarinets in A, 3 bassoons, 1 double bassoon, 6 horns in F, 4 trumpets in C, 3 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba, 2 harps, celeste, piano, 4 pedal-timpani, percussion and strings. The percussion section is huge even by Gerhard's standards. Read more : http://www.musicweb-international.com/gerhard/

And Ernest Bloch: https://youtu.be/bJXsR4TwU1o ( short film with the voice of the composer and some of his own photographs).

Complete "America": https://youtu.be/9zmb52fe9AI

Ernst (Ernő) von Dohnányi (1877-1960) : American Rhapsody, for orchestra (1953): https://youtu.be/PwkGD4VtjZM

Frederick Delius (1862-1934) : "American Rhapsody/Appalachia" for orchestra (1896)... so, pre 1918 :https://youtu.be/PA4jEjGAM9E

Paul Hindemith: Pittsburgh symphony. https://youtu.be/DoWvktv9h2g


Belgian composer/entertainer/pianist François Glorieux wrote a "fun" "Manhattan" rhapsody for piano and orch.

Yankee doodle inspired Vieuxtemps and Ysaye, if I'm not mistaken.


P.

[listener]

Yankee doodle inspired Vieuxtemps and Ysaye, if I'm not mistaken.
P.

and Rubinstein (op. 93)

also Virgil Thomson: Wheatfields at Noon and Sea Piece with Birds
Coolidge, Peggy Stuart: New England Autumn
Converse, Frederick: Flivver Ten Million  (might not be post-WWI)
Dello Joio, Norman: New York Profiles

[Jo498]

Carter:
Concerto for orchestra
supposedly inspired by the wind passing over the American continent

Symphony for three orchestras
inspired by Hart Crane's poem "The bridge"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_(long_poem)

I forgot that he OP mentioned mainly the period between the wars. In any case the Crane poem is from that period although Carter's piece 40 years later

[Ghost Sonata]

We seem to have wandered off from the OP's orig. timeframe, so I'll mention Howard Hanson's Bold Island (Maine) Suite (1961).

[listener]

Just purchased a used copy of Robert Russell BENNETT Abraham Lincoln (A Likeness in Symphony Form)
and Sights and Sounds (An Orchestral Entertainment)     both from 1929
-  Sights and Sounds for the Union Station track

[The new erato]

Lukas Foss: The Prairie

Available on Boston Modern Orchestra Project.