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John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa promoted the American wind-band tradition here and in Europe: an outgrowth of British military bands. Bandmaster, known for marches:
•The Washington Post (1889)
•Semper Fidelis (1888)
•Stars and Stripes Forever (1897)
•El Capitan (1896) At least 9 operettas TURNED INTO MARCHES! Conducted “The President’s Own” Marine Band -
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Scott Joplin
The Sting (1973) featured his music.
Title: Maple Leaf Rag (1899).
Charlie Chaplin chose to include it in the music to accompany his 1928 film, The Circus.
Joplin himself is playing onto a piano roll. -
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Charles Ives
One of the great American composers of the first half of the 20th century. He is famous for noting that if an American composer wanted to be successful in America, he had to go to Europe first and prove himself there. IVES’ STYLE TRAITS:
•Polytonality
•Polyrhythms and Polymeters
•Quotations of American tunes and hymns (“Americana”)
•Limited atonality -
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R. (Robert) Nathaniel Dett
One of the most famous unknown composers. Helped found the National Association
of Negro Musicians (1919) •Cave of the Winds March and Two Step -
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Luigi Russolo
An Italian Futurist painter, composer, and builder of experimental musical instruments wrote a creed or manifesto titled “The Art of Noises” (1913). RUSSOLO IDENTIFIED SIX FAMILIES OF NOISES FOR FUTURIST ORCHESTRA:
1. Roars, Thunderings, Explosions, Hissing roars, Bangs, Booms
2. Whistling, Hissing, Puffing
3. Whispers, Murmurs, Mumbling, Muttering, Gurgling
4. Screeching, Creaking, Rustling, Humming, Crackling, Rubbing
5. Noises obtained by beating on metals, woods, skins, stones, pottery, etc -
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Florence Price
Price became the first
black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra: Symphony No. 1 in E minor. Moved to Chicago in 1927 with her husband and two daughters because of racial unrest in the South. Her career flourished in Chicago. -
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Sergei Prokofiev
Russian composer: orchestral pieces, piano works and film music Five Musical traits:
•Classicism (neo-classicism)
•Individual harmonic language
•Rhythmic drive
•Lyrical expression
•Comedic elements Composed film scores. (Seven symphonies, suites, incidental music, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, one cello concerto, operas, ballets, choral music, film scores, and other works) -
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William Grant Still
First Black American composer to have a symphony and opera performed by a major ensemble (1931, 1949) First Black American to conduct a major symphony orchestra (1936) In many of his works he created a style that blended African American idioms (such as spirituals and blues) into more traditional European genres (such as symphonies, operas, and ballets). -
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Henry Cowell
•John Cage’s teacher
•He was an American innovator who was drawn to non-Western music
•A huge supporter of Charles Ives
•He invented chance music
•He invented new techniques for playing the piano One of Cowell’s most ground breaking pieces was called “The Tides of Manaunaun” (1912)
You can see the tone clusters in the score -
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George Gershwin
American composer: wrote classical, concert hall music infused with jazz and popular music.
Wrote for Broadway, film, and the concert hall.
Virtuoso pianist. His most famous works include:
An American in Paris
Rhapsody in Blue
Porgy and Bess (opera)
Lady, Be Good!
Concerto in F (for piano and orchestra) -
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Duke Ellington
Major band leader in the swing era (1930s) and then in the big band era (1940s). Take the A train ensemble. -
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Aaron Copland
Taught at Harvard, gave lectures (TED-style talks) and conducted festivals in many American schools. Copland’s style is mostly tonal. He did write atonal music, but it is not the popular part of his output. COPLAND STYLE TRAITS:
•Vigorous
•Mixed meters, Rhythmic
•Comprised of as “few notes as possible” open intervals
•Solos, often exposed
•Clean and transparent
•Filled with folk songs and folk idioms -
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Radio Invented/Patented
In 1900, the invention of the radio was patented allowing news and music to be broadcast to many people simultaneously. American families would gather around the radio in homes for entertainment. -
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The Unanswered Question
Orchestral work, no specific genre
•Genre: Orchestral piece
•Originally one of two “Contemplations” –
paired with “Central Park in the Dark”
•Not published until 1940
•Both parts usually performed separately -
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World War 1
As with all other walks of life, the First World War took its terrible toll on classical music, with many composers and performers dying in battle or left irrevocably scarred. -
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Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday: one of the leading female jazz singers
She broke racial barriers by performing with white bands
Known for her renditions of blues songs -
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Billy Strayhorn
Strayhorn composed A Train
Strayhorn and Ellington collaborated on songs for many years
The “A” train is the subway line that runs through Manhattan up to Harlem (NYC) -
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Jazz
An American musical style – arose in the early 20th century. Sources: African traditions, popular and art music traditions of the West. Roots: West African music. Call-and-response singing.
19th-century African-American ceremonial and work songs -
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Leonard Bernstein
Bisexual!!! Also made some music: “Make our garden grow” from Candide (1956/1989). West side story. -
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Blues
An American genre of folk music based on a simple, repetitive, poetic-musical form. Derived from folk music. Form: 3-line text strophes set to a repeating harmonic pattern of 12 (or 16) bars. Modern Blues styling: Office Party Blues
12-Bar Blues Progression:
I, IV, I, V, IV, I -
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The Harlem Renaissance
•William Grant Still and Langston Hughes (poet)
•There emerged a kind of cultural capital of African American arts, including literature, painting, and music
•Lasted up until the depression in the 1930s, but provided a cultural movement well into the 1940s -
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Vibraphone Invented
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument with tuned metal bars created by Lionel Hampton. It was first used as an instrument in jazz and made it's way into orchestras in 1937 with the Alban Berg's opera. -
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Television Invented
By 1955, television had made its way into the living rooms of half of the American population. American Families were able to listen to the music played on TV shows. -
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Swing Era
The highly improvisational style of New Orleans jazz led, in the 1930s, to the swing or big band era. Duke Ellington -
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World War 2
At its core, composers of the Romantic Era saw music as a means of individual and emotional expression. Indeed, they considered music the art form most capable of expressing the full range of human emotion. As a result, romantic composers broadened the scope of emotional content. -
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Bebop Era
The new “cool” jazz (late 1940s). Fast tempos, dissonant solos
Performers:
Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet
Charlie Parker, saxophone
Bud Powell, piano
Thelonious Monk, piano -
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Appalachian Spring 1944-45
•Ballet for Martha Graham who also danced the lead •The ballet portrays a pioneer celebration in spring around a newly-built farmhouse in the Pennsylvania hills in the early part of the 1800s. There is an engaged couple, a preacher, neighbors, etc. •In 1945 he made an orchestral suite drawn from the ballet •Copland created suites from many of his ballets so he could sell the music to different markets