10 favourite American composers

[vandermolen]

New list:

Diamond
Copland
Bernstein
Harris
Schuman
Creston
Hanson
Korngold
Barber
Hovhaness

[Roasted Swan]

New list:

Diamond
Copland
Bernstein
Harris
Schuman
Creston
Hanson
Korngold
Barber
Hovhaness

I would never think of Korngold as an American composer!  No more than other ex-pats like Schoenberg or Stravinsky......  Kurt Weill would be a trickier one to place (if you wanted to) because his muisical vocabulary did change with his Musical Theatre work.  Korngold was Viennese wherever he went

[vandermolen]

I would never think of Korngold as an American composer!  No more than other ex-pats like Schoenberg or Stravinsky......  Kurt Weill would be a trickier one to place (if you wanted to) because his muisical vocabulary did change with his Musical Theatre work.  Korngold was Viennese wherever he went

Well, he was naturalised in the 1940s - could we say the same thing about Bloch?

OK - I'll include Kevin Puts instead.

[Symphonic Addict]

No love for David Diamond?!?!?

I enjoy the first 4 symphonies and some string quartets, but it's been too long since my last listen to any of his works. I could change my mind over the time, though.

[relm1]

American composers are so underrepresented.  I couldn't find a single post about Samuel Jones who I think is a very fine composer in the mold of Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson, and David Diamond.  This is a wonderful release. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Here are a few from me:

Gershwin
Copeland
Herrmann
Ives
Bernstein
Barber

There are a bunch that I need to explore further.

Thanks for bringing up Seeger.  I hadn't heard of her before now.  Quite interesting to read about her and her background.  Also, it was cool to read about her being the mother to Peggy and Mike Seeger (and also found out that they had a half-brother named Pete!).  As soon as I read about her explorations in folk music, I thought:  "I wonder if.....?"  I listened to a string quartet by her late last night, so will need to revisit it again.  Any suggestions here for works that I might find online that you particularly like of hers?

Also appreciated:  the link by Mirror Image to an interview uploaded to youtube of William Schuman (which I need to finish).  Any idea who did those Overtones interviews?  There are other ones there of other (then contemporary) American composers.

Pauline Oliveros' name rang a bell.  Upon googling, I realized that she was a composer who used recordings of different sounds and manipulated them to create her unique sound worlds.  A year or so ago, I watched a yt video of an interview of her and her demonstrating how she created her compositions--fascinating!

PD

[T. D.]

...

Thanks for bringing up Seeger.  I hadn't heard of her before now.  Quite interesting to read about her and her background.  Also, it was cool to read about her being the mother to Peggy and Mike Seeger (and also found out that they had a half-brother named Pete!).  As soon as I read about her explorations in folk music, I thought:  "I wonder if.....?"  I listened to a string quartet by her late last night, so will need to revisit it again.  Any suggestions here for works that I might find online that you particularly like of hers?

Also appreciated:  the link by Mirror Image to an interview uploaded to youtube of William Schuman (which I need to finish).  Any idea who did those Overtones interviews?  There are other ones there of other (then contemporary) American composers.

Pauline Oliveros' name rang a bell.  Upon googling, I realized that she was a composer who used recordings of different sounds and manipulated them to create her unique sound worlds.  A year or so ago, I watched a yt video of an interview of her and her demonstrating how she created her compositions--fascinating!

PD

I saw an interesting film about Pauline Oliveros last year, which I highly recommend though the music is not exactly in the GMG mainstream. I attended the second screening (day after the premiere  ).

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I saw an interesting film about Pauline Oliveros last year, which I highly recommend though the music is not exactly in the GMG mainstream. I attended the second screening (day after the premiere  ).

Thank you for telling me about this movie.  I'll see if I can get a copy of it (maybe through my library system?).

PD

[San Antone]

Ives
Gershwin
Bernstein
Sondheim
Carter
Cage
Feldman

And if we can stretch the field a bit:

Ellington
Mingus
Monk

[Symphonic Addict]

Today's list:

Schuman
Hanson
Copland
Barber
Ives
Antheil
Creston
Bernstein
Rouse
Hovhaness

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I saw an interesting film about Pauline Oliveros last year, which I highly recommend though the music is not exactly in the GMG mainstream. I attended the second screening (day after the premiere  ).

Alas, it's not available on DVD--at least for the moment. 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Any fans of Kenneth Fuchs?

PD

[Daverz]

Any fans of Kenneth Fuchs?

PD

Really like An American Place.

[foxandpeng]

Surprised I haven't posted on this yet. No order, and probably no surprises.

George Antheil
Christopher Rouse
Howard Hanson
Elena Ruehr
Roy Harris
David Diamond
Samuel Barber
Walter Piston
Alan Hovhaness
William Schuman

Reserves:

John Paine
Joseph Schwantner
Philip Glass
Howard Shore
John Williams

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Really like An American Place.

Thanks for that link!  I'm enjoying it. 

He's played on the radio sometimes in my neck of the woods.  With radio, the hardest part is coming in at the right moment and being able to drop everything and focus on the work (particularly since one doesn't often know what they will be playing next--or "in a little bit, we will....").

This work makes me think a bit of Copland.

Surprised I haven't posted on this yet. No order, and probably no surprises.

George Antheil
Christopher Rouse
Howard Hanson
Elena Ruhr
Roy Harris
David Diamond
Samuel Barber
Walter Piston
Alan Hovhaness
William Schuman

Reserves:

John Paine
Joseph Schwantner
Philip Glass
Howard Shore
John Williams

John Williams!  Excellent choice! 

PD

[vandermolen]

American composers are so underrepresented.  I couldn't find a single post about Samuel Jones who I think is a very fine composer in the mold of Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson, and David Diamond.  This is a wonderful release. 

Totally agree!
I have the BIS recording as well.

[vandermolen]

Surprised I haven't posted on this yet. No order, and probably no surprises.

George Antheil
Christopher Rouse
Howard Hanson
Elena Ruhr
Roy Harris
David Diamond
Samuel Barber
Walter Piston
Alan Hovhaness
William Schuman

Reserves:

John Paine
Joseph Schwantner
Philip Glass
Howard Shore
John Williams

Interesting list Danny. I hardly know Rouse and have never heard of Ruhr.

[DavidW]

I guess for me

Ives
Carter
Copland
Gershwin
Adams
Crumb
Barber
Beach
Feldman
Higdon

in that order.  I don't listen to American music that often...

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Peter Mennin
Ned Rorem
Henry Cowell
Bernstein
Paul Creston
Ernest Bloch
Kamran Ince
Danielpour
W.C. Handy
Gershwin

[vers la flamme]

Despite being an American I must admit I know very little about American "classical" music. So let's see if I can come up with 10:

Morton Feldman
Elliott Carter
Leonard Bernstein
John Cage
Sam Barber
Charles Ives
Aaron Copland
Carl Ruggles
Steve Reich
William Dawson Schuman (Schuman has edged out Dawson on account of having written two symphonies that I like instead of just one )

I ought to hear more. I have a bunch of the Naxos "American Classics" discs, I don't know why I don't listen to them more.