AMERICAN MASTERS VIDEO SESSIONS

This page contains all 8 video sessions plus the YouTube music links from the series.

How does one begin to discover the richness and imagination of 20th Century American composers? There are hundreds of composers writing in a dizzying number of styles and genres. I’ve settled on two approaches for this series. The first four sessions focus on four undeniably influential American masters— the experimental eclectic Charles Ives, the neoclassicists Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland who, among others, defined the “American” concert music style, and the eclectic mystic George Crumb, who only recently passed away. The second four sessions focus on prominent 20th century musical styles, exploring music by prominent composers that helped defined those styles:

•Serialism and Atonality with Roger Sessions, Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, Arthur Berger, and Donald Martino
•Experimentalism with Henry Cowell, John Cage, Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, Ben Johnston, and Conlon Nancarrow
•Neoclassicism and Minimalism with Harold Shapero, Ned Rorem, Roy Harris, William Bolcom; Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and John Adams
•Expressionism and Eclecticism with Leon Kirchner, William Kraft, and John Corigliano, plus three important women composers: Joan Tower, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Meredith Monk.

Together, these two approaches provide you the listener with crucial context and skills that will first deepen your appreciation and awareness for the rich eclecticism of the American classical tradition, and second give you confidence to go explore on your own the multitude of gifted American composers I did not have time to cover.

Introduction and Overview
Charles Ives

Tom Sails Away , Concord Sonata Putnam’s Camp from Three Places in New England , Symphony No. 4

Samuel Barber

Piano Sonata , Knoxville: Summer of 1915 , String Quartet , Symphony No.1

Aaron Copland

Piano Variations , Appalachian Spring , Piano Quartet

George Crumb

Ancient Voices of Children , Vox Balaenae , Black Angels , Music for a Summer Evening , American Songbook I

Serialists and Atonalists—Sessions, Carter, Babbitt, Berger, Martino

Sessions: Concerto for Orchestra/ Carter: Night Fantasies /Babbitt: Philomel, Partitions /Berger: Trio for Guitar, Violin, and Piano /Martino: Triple Concerto

Experimentalists—Cowell, Cage, Partch, Harrison, Johnston, Nancarrow

Cowell: The Banshee, Sinister Resonance /Cage: Waterwalk, Fontana Mix with Aria, Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano/ Partch: Castor and Pollux, Sonata Dementia /Harrison: Gamelan Music, Varied Trio, Piano Concerto /Johnston: String Quartet No. 4 (Amazing Grace) /Nancarrow: Study for Player Piano No. 21

Neoclassicists and Minimalists— Shapero, Harris , Rorem, Bolcom; Riley, Glass, Reich, Adams

Shapero: Symphony for Classical Orchestra; Harris: Symphony No. 3; Rorem: Letters from Paris: Spring and Autumn; Bolcom: 12 New Etudes

Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air; Glass: Metamorphosis; Reich: Tehillim; Adams: Shaker Loops, Harmonium

Expressionists and Eclectics—Kirchner, Kraft, Corigliano, Tower, Taaffe Zwilich, Monk

Kirchner: Piano Trio No. 1, Music for Twelve, Music for Orchestra; Kraft: Concerto for Timpani; Corigliano: Symphony No. 1

Tower: Piano Concerto; Taaffe Zwilich: Bassoon Concerto, Symphony No. 3; Monk: Atlas

AMERICAN MASTERS MUSICAL EXAMPLES AND BIO LINKS

1. Charles Ives

Charles Ives Wiki Bio
The Unanswered Question Wiki page
The Unanswered Question with Score, Northern Sinfonia, James Sinclair Conductor
Tom Sails Away, Thomas Hampson and Michael Tilson Thomas
Tom Sails Away Lyrics
Putnam’s Camp from 3 Places in New England, Boston Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
Three Places in New England with SCORE
Concord Sonata Wiki Page
Concord Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 2) with SCORE Alexei Lubimov (piano), Laurent Verney (viola), Sophie Cherrier (flute)

Symphony No. 4 with Score, Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi

More Ives:
Central Park in the Dark
Serenity sung by Jan Gaetani
Three Quarter Tone Pieces—Yes Ives experimented with microtonality
Leonard Bernstein on Charles Ives Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 2

2. Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber Bio Wiki
Samuel Barber singing his Dover Beach setting
String Quartet in B Minor op. 11 with SCORE with Quatour Diotima
Adagio for Strings, Dudamel conducting Vienna Philharmonic
Agnus Dei (choral setting of Adagio for Strings)
Wiki page for Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 text
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 SCORE Leontyne Price New Philharmonia Orchestra

Symphony No. 1 with SCORE, Baltimore Symphony
Piano Concerto op. 38 with SCORE, John Browning with Cleveland Orchestra conducted by George Szell
Piano Sonata op. 26 with SCORE, John Browning
Piano Sonata op. 26, Vladimir Horowitz

3. Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland Wiki Page
Piano Variations, Marc-André Hamelin with Score
Appalachian Spring with Score, Louis Lane and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Appalachian Spring conducted by Aaron Copland, National Symphony Orchestra
Appalachian Spring original Chamber Version, New England Conservatory Contemporary Ensemble
Appalachian Spring 1958 Television Performance with Martha Graham!
Piano Quartet with Score, members of the Borromeo String Quartet Violin: Nicholas Kitchen Viola: Hsin-Yun Huang Cello: Wilhelmina Smith with Michael Boriskin on piano

4. George Crumb
George Crumb Wiki Page
A Conversation with George Crumb
George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children at 50—Radio Interview
LA Phil Program Notes Ancient Voices of Children
Text Translation of Lorca’s poem from Ancient Voices (scroll down) within “Mythical Dimensions of a Style:The Reception of George Crumb’s Music

Score to Niño de Elche from Ancient Voices of Children
(fascinating journey through Crumb’s circular score)
Ancient Voices of Children sung by Jan De Gaetani—this is the classic recording Side 1
Ancient Voices of Children sung by Jan De Gaetani—this is the classic recording Side 2
Ancient Voices of Children video sung by Ana Cristina Lopes Ferreira
Ancient Voices of Children video sung by Justine Aronson (Bang on a Can Festival)
Bach Bist du bei mir—the piece from the Anna Magdalena Notebook that Crumb quotes (actually composed by Gottfried Stölzel
Translation of Bist du bei mir

Vox Balanae (Voice of the Whale), Ensemble Contemporain
Black Angels (with SCORE) with Miró Quartet
Music for a Summer Evening V: Music of the Starry Night (with SCORE)
Music for a Summer Evening video, Nadia Shpachenko, Genevieve Feiwen Lee, Nick Terry, Justin de Hart
The River of Life, Ann Crumb soprano

5. Serialists and Atonalists—Sessions, Carter, Babbitt, Berger, Martino
Sessions: Concerto for Orchestra
Carter: Night Fantasies
Babbitt: Philomel, Partitions
Berger: Trio for Guitar, Violin, and Piano
Martino: Triple Concerto

Anton Webern Piano Variations, op. 27 Glenn Gould

Pierre Boulez - Le marteau sans maître
Combinatoriality on Wiki
All Combinatorial Hexachords

Roger Session bio Wikipedia
Roger Sessions Symphony No. 1 1927
Roger Sessions Concerto for Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony

Milton Babbitt Partitions, Augustus Armone piano
Milton Babbitt Philomel notes
Milton Babbitt Philomel text
Milton Babbitt Philomel, Tony Arnold, Soprano

Elliott Carter bio Wiki
Elliott Carter String Quartet No. 3, Arditti Quartet
Elliott Carter Night Fantasies, Charles Rosen, piano

Arthur Berger Woodwind Quartet in C Major, Calliope Winds
Arthur Berger Trio for Flute, Guitar, Piano

Donald Martino Triple Concerto for Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and Contrabass Clarinet

6. Experimentalists—Cowell, Cage, Partch, Harrison, Johnston, Nancarrow

Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell Wiki Page
Cowell’s resonant effects inside the piano:
The Banshee for Piano Strings
Sinister Resonance

John Cage
TV broadcast with live performance:
Waterworks

Piece combining tape electronic mix with soprano aria
Description of Fontana Mix
Aria Printed Edition
The piece itself:
Aria with Fontana Mix

Chance music:
Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for 12 Radios
Another version—Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for 12 Radios
A third version—Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for 12 Radios

Prepared piano:
Sonata No. 5 from Sonatas and Interludes (Prepared Piano)

Harry Partch
Harry Partch Wiki Page
Castor and Pollux
Sonata Dimentia