William Schuman - Rawboned Music: Part 2
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“as long as writers write long and complicated novels, composers are going to write in the symphonic forms, because they give an opportu
Grant Gilman
Aug 31, 20205 min read
William Schuman - Rawboned Music: Part 1
“The bustle of city streets in daytime and the mystery of empty streets in nighttime emerge from Schuman’s scores.” — Nicholas Tawa Due...
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Grant Gilman
Aug 21, 20204 min read
Horatio Parker - Far From Docile
Youngest of the “Boston 6”, Horatio Parker was born 1863 in Auburndale, MA, a rural area at the time, now subsumed by the Boston city limits
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Grant Gilman
Jul 30, 20203 min read
Alan Hovhaness - Always Original, Never Unnatural
Let’s begin with a ridiculous understatement: Alan Hovhaness was a prolific composer. Yeah, no kidding.
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Grant Gilman
Jul 23, 20204 min read
George Antheil — Tears in the Basic Fabric and Sound
When someone titles their autobiography “Bad Boy of Music” that’s got to be a character worth investigating, right!?
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Grant Gilman
Jul 10, 20204 min read
Florence Price — Impenetrable
The night is not all dark, Nor is the day all it seems, But each may bring me this relief— My dreams and dreams. — Paul Laurence...
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Grant Gilman
Jun 29, 20204 min read
A Universal Composer — William Grant Still
“The contradictions with which Still struggled shaped his remarkable creative output in ways we need to understand, as much today as...
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Grant Gilman
Jun 20, 20203 min read
The Hand of a Very Fine Craftsman - George Whitefield Chadwick
Another of the Boston 6, George Whitefield Chadwick spent most of his life in Boston, and kept a strong European tradition with him.
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Grant Gilman
Jun 12, 20202 min read
The Youthfulness of American Music - Arthur Foote
Possibly in an effort to puff up his legacy, Arthur Foote is described as the first American composer with a purely American education. I...
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Grant Gilman
May 25, 20203 min read
Youthful Optimistic Vitality - Edward MacDowell
Having already covered two of the Boston Six—John Knowles Paine and Amy Beach—this week I will continue with three more: Edward...
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Grant Gilman
May 15, 20202 min read
Exception To The Rule - Ruth Crawford Seeger
"At thirteen, she wanted it all." Some people grow up fast. They have an awareness of themselves that is more keen than normal at an...
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Grant Gilman
May 13, 20203 min read
Melodic Curve - Walter Piston
“Writing long-haired music is not a way to make a living...” - Walter Piston If you have ever had life kick you in the teeth, you...
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Grant Gilman
May 11, 20202 min read
Music of Energy and Imagination - John Knowles Paine
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” - Dolly Parton It is difficult to be first in something. We tend...
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Grant Gilman
May 8, 20202 min read
Gone Too Soon - Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Much like Franz Schubert and Lili Boulanger, another composer gone too soon, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, died at the age of...
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Grant Gilman
May 7, 20202 min read
Long Days and Short Years - Roy Harris
Paraphrasing a famous quote of Schumann praising the talents of an up and coming Chopin, one Arthur Farwell said of Roy Harris...
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Grant Gilman
May 4, 20202 min read
Not Just "One of the Boys" - Amy Beach
Dvorak (in 1892): “I am afraid the ladies cannot help us much. They have not the creative power.” Amy Beach: Hold my cocktail. Though her...
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Grant Gilman
Apr 30, 20201 min read
Free Only In His Mind - Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell is a unique study on the effect of incarceration on artistic production.
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Grant Gilman
Apr 28, 20201 min read
A Man of Firsts - William Henry Fry
William Henry Fry (1813-1864) has a lot of “firsts” associated with his music, especially his Santa Claus Symphony, composed in 1853.
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