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THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL I:
Stucky, Thomson, Barber, Ives & Adams
APRIL 2026
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL I:
Stucky, Thomson, Barber, Ives & Adams
Inching inexorably toward the Semisesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
Inching inexorably toward the Sesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
Using criteria for the Great American Novel, a widely shared, lucrative, & evolving national obsession, the GAS must also act as a snapshot of American life—capturing emotions, manners, & cultures. The symphony must embody American essences & complexities of national identity. We start this playlist (1 of 3) with the newest candidate—Symphony in one movement by Steven Stucky (1949-2016) premiered in 2012 by Gustavo Dudamel leading LA Phil—with sections “Intro & Hymn”, “Outcry’, “Flying”, & “Hymn & Reconciliation”—co-commissioned with NY Phil who got recording rights. NY Times found the work “engrossing;” LA Times: “substance and uncertainty”. Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) composed Symphony on a Hymn Tune in Paris under the wing of Nadia Boulanger in 1928 & conducted the NY Phil premiere in 1945. The Boston Globe called it “strong as hell.” Kyle Gann noted the work’s “…affectionately comic evocations.” Another taut one-movement work, First Symphony by Samuel Barber (1910-81) was premiered in Rome in 1936. Cleveland gave the U.S. premiere with Artur Rodzinski, who then conducted it with Vienna in Salzburg—the first American symphony heard there. U.S. cities embraced it. Chock full of American tunes & expanding the form to five movements, Symphony No. 2 by Charles Ives (1874-1951) was composed 1897-1902—but not premiered until 1951 by the New York Phil. Ives heard Bernstein conduct the live broadcast on a neighbor’s radio. While not called a symphony, Harmonielehre by John Adams (b. 1947) is convincing (“thrilling ambition & equally thrilling success”—SF Gate) with movements: “The Anfortas Wound”, “Meister Eckhardt & Quackie”. Named after Theory of Harmony by Arnold Schoenberg, It was commissioned & premiered (1985) by San Francisco Symphony, Edo De Waart conducting. Each recording here is the best available. Stiff competition for Ives was finally settled by the brilliance of LA Phil playing the Ives Society Critical edition, Dudamel & DG in 2020.
MAY 2026
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL I:
Stucky, Thomson, Barber, Ives & Adams
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL II:
Fine, Price, Hovhaness, Korngold & Stravinsky
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL II:
Fine, Price, Hovhaness, Korngold & Stravinsky
Inching inexorably toward the Semisesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
Inching inexorably toward the Sesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
TGAS must act as a canvas of American life—capturing emotions, manners, & cultures; must embody essential complexities of national identity. Irving Fine was America’s most promising symphonist when he conducted Boston Symphony’s premiere of his only symphony & later that summer at Tanglewood, 11 days before dying from cancer in 1962. Symphony moves from cold war light & shadows, with a dry hint of Soviet spy craft, to embrace a bigger boned neo-classic model that effectively integrates 12-tone techniques to gain rigor & intensity. Now almost forgotten, it was hailed as Fine’s masterpiece. This Florence Price album won Philadelphia Orchestra their only Grammy in 2022. While following the Dvorak model, Price’s Third Symphony is her most mature and authentically African American work with a rousing 3rd movement “Juba.” Commissioned by the WPA Federal Music Project, the work was premiered in Detroit by the WPA Symphony in 1940 & forgotten. The uneven excess of Alan Hovhaness’ output (67 symphonies!) may have undermined his reputation, but Symphony No. 2 “Mysterious Mountain” (alluding to Armenia’s Mount Ararat) remains movingly powerful for its blend of drive & spiritual serenity. Premiered in 1955 at a time of extreme anti-romanticism, it was televised nationwide with Leopold Stokowski leading Houston. Fritz Reiner & Chicago recorded it in 1958 gaining chart-topping popularity. Premiered by the Vienna Symphony in 1954, Erich Korngold’s ambitious post WWII symphony cobbled together Hollywood film music with Austrian structural integrity. Stravinsky’s 1946 “War Symphony” established the 3-movement form as rigorously American while also recycling music for film projects and ending with a high-energy chord often associated with “V” for victory. He conducted the NY Phil at Carnegie Hall. Both were initially panned by the press—Korngold as “too old-fashioned” & Stravinsky as “too modern.” Now they are regarded as quintessential California symphonies.
JUNE 2026
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL III:
Piston, Gottschalk, Still, Schuman, Carter & Ives
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL I:
Stucky, Thomson, Barber, Ives & Adams
THE GREAT AMERICAN SYMPHONY VOL III:
Piston, Gottschalk, Still, Schuman, Carter & Ives
Inching inexorably toward the Semisesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
Inching inexorably toward the Sesquicentennial, I’m obsessed by the idea of the Great American Symphony. Am I alone?
TGAS must act as a mural of American life—capturing emotions, manners, & cultures to embody essential complexities of national identity. Establishing his career, Walter Piston’s 2nd Symphony was not awarded the Pulitzer Prize, but he claimed it twice for terrific less-deserving symphonies. Its National Symphony premiere won NY Music Critic’s Circle Award. Bernstein conducted its soulful adagio for Piston’s memorial in 1976. America’s first symphony is the unlikely 2-movement “Night in the Tropics” by Louis Moreau Gottschalk premiered in Havana, Cuba. A 650-piece orchestra included 100 percussion players with local tumba francesa drummers for its infectious groove in 1860! The much smaller US premiere was in 1955. Esteem for William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony is steadily rising since 2020 & the “musical justice” movement celebrating its ingenious fusion of blues & symphonic form. Premiered by Rochester Phil in 1931, Still’s was the most often performed American symphony before 1950. Relative obscurity followed. Karl Krueger conducted it as early as 1938 & recorded it here in 1965. William Schuman got the first Pulitzer Prize for music, but again not for his career-making 3rd Symphony. In four sections, the 2-movement symphony is resolutely neo-classical (Passacaglia, Fugue, Chorale & Toccata) but influenced by the most modern sonorities of the day, including jazz. Commissioner, dedicatee, & conductor of the premiere Serge Koussevitzky led Boston to massive acclaim in 1941. Elliott Carter distilled his spikey colorful style for Pierre Boulez, who commissioned/conducted the NY Phil in 1978. The visually engaging Symphony for Three Orchestras, received great critical acclaim despite a challenged audience. Ives Fourth (19xx-xx)is unique among all symphonies for its unusual form, choral singing of American hymns, collage techniques & transcendental technical demands requiring 3 conductors for its posthumous premiere in 1965. Vol III is dedicated to the late great Michael Tilson Thomas, who led its first & last works.
Fred Strickler Memorial Concert
August 24, 2025 - Zipper Hall
