#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 5, 2024

Two countries celebrate their independence in July -- and they just happen to be neighbors. On July 1, 1867, three separate British colonies were officially united. United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick became Canada. 

On July 4, 1776, thirteen separate British colonies were officially united, becoming the United States of America.

The #ClassicsaDay challenge for July is to post music by Canadian and American composers. Both countries have created their own forms of classical music, independent of Europe's. 

Here are my social media posts for the fifth and final week of #NorthAmClassics. As in past years, I alternate between Canadian and American composers.

7/29/24 Albertine Morin-Labrecque (1886 or 1890–1957): Arabesque

Morin-Labrecque was born in Montreal. After two decades touring as a concerto pianist, she joined the faculty of the Conservatoire national de musique.

 

7/30/24 Joan Tower (1938): Piano Concerto, Homage to Beethoven

Tower is one of the most performed living American composers. Her first piano concerto incorporated quotes from three Beethoven sonatas.

 

7/31/24 Hector Gratton (1900–1970): Legende, symphonic poem

Legende is Gratton's most successful work. It won the Jean Lallemand Prize and was premiered by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1937.

 

Next month:

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 4, 2024

Two countries celebrate their independence in July -- and they just happen to be neighbors. On July 1, 1867, three separate British colonies were officially united. United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick became Canada. 

On July 4, 1776, thirteen separate British colonies were officially united, becoming the United States of America.

The #ClassicsaDay challenge for July is to post music by Canadian and American composers. Both countries have created their own forms of classical music, independent of Europe's. 

Here are my social media posts for the fourth week of #NorthAmClassics. As in past years, I alternate between Canadian and American composers. 

07/22/24 Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000): Symphony No. 1, Op. 17 "Exile Symphony"

Hovhaness' first symphony was premiered by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski would broadcast and record Hovhaness' first three symphonies.

 

07/23/24 Alfred La Liberté (1882–1952) - Arabesque

La Liberté was a pianist and composer. He was a faculty member of the Canadian Conservatory of Music in Ottawa. He admired the music of Scriabin, and over time the two became close friends.

 

07/24/24 Harry Partch (1901-1974) - Sonata Dementia

Partch was a true outsider. He developed his own 43-note scale, his own musical theory based on it, and his own instruments capable of playing it.

 

07/25/24 Jocelyn Morlock (1969-2023) -half-light, somnolent rains

Morlock was composer-in-residence for the Vancouver Symphony. She died at age 54, cutting short a brilliant career.

 

07/26/24 Florence Price (1887-1953) - Violin Concerto No. 2

Price completed her second violin concerto a year before her death in 1953. For years it was considered lost. But in 2009 it was rediscovered in her former residence in Chicago during a remodeling.

 

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 3, 2024

Two countries celebrate their independence in July -- and they just happen to be neighbors. On July 1, 1867, three separate British colonies were officially united. United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick became Canada. 

On July 4, 1776, thirteen separate British colonies were officially united, becoming the United States of America.

The #ClassicsaDay challenge for July is to post music by Canadian and American composers. Both countries have created their own forms of classical music, independent of Europe's. 

Here are my social media posts for the second week of #NorthAmClassics. As in past years, I alternate between Canadian and American composers. 

07/15/24 J. E. P. Aldous (1853–1934): Prelude and Fugue in D minor

Aldous emigrated from England to become the organist for Central Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, Ontario. Most of his compositions were short works for organ and choirs.

 

07/16/24 Lukas Foss: Baroque Variations for Orchestra (1967)

Foss was a classmate of Leonard Bernstein and later replaced Arnold Schoenberg on the faculty at UCLA in the 1950s. His music was admired by his contemporaries for its quality and accessibility.

 

07/17/24 Henri Miro (1879–1950): Please

Miro was a pioneering conductor for the CBC in the 1930s. At one time his orchestral compositions were part of almost every Canadian orchestra's repertoire.

 

07/18/24 C.L. Barnhouse (1865-1929): The Messagner March

Barnhouse was a self-taught cornet player from West Virginia. In 1888 he began publishing works for concert bands. Municipal bands were trending, and there was a ready market for quality (yet easy to play) band music.

 

07/19/24 W.H. Anderson (1882–1955): Give Ear to My Words, O Lord"

Bronchitus turned Anderson from singing to composing. Most of this Canadian's works were written for choral ensembles.

 

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 2, 2024

Two countries celebrate their independence in July -- and they just happen to be neighbors. On July 1, 1867, three separate British colonies were officially united. United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick became Canada. 

On July 4, 1776, thirteen separate British colonies were officially united, becoming the United States of America.

The #ClassicsaDay challenge for July is to post music by Canadian and American composers. Both countries have created their own forms of classical music, independent of Europe's. 

Here are my social media posts for the second week of #NorthAmClassics. As in past years, I alternate between Canadian and American composers. 

07/08/24 Benjamin Carr (1768-1831): Federal Overture

Carr emigrated to America in 1793. In Philadelphia, he was a major figure -- music publisher, composer, teacher, organist, and concert organizer.

 

07/09/24 Nicolas Gilbert (1970 - ) UP!: Sesquie for Canada's 150th

Gilbert is a Canadian composer from Montreal. In 2008 he was named "Composer of the Year" by the Quebec Music Council.

 

07/10/24 Edward Burlingame Hill (1872-1960): Symphony No. 1

Hill studied with two of the "Boston Six" (John Knowles Paine and George Whitefield Chadwick). He was on the Harvard faculty from 1908 until his death in 1940. His pupils included Elliot Carter, Leonard Bernstein, and Virgil Thomson.

 

07/11/24 Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899-1974): Symphony No. 1

Eckhardt-Gramatté had an international career. She and her husband settled in Winnipeg in 1953 where she became -- in her 50s -- a Canadian composer.

 

07/12/24 Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809): Sonata No. 1

This English composer emigrated to America in 1789. In Philadelphia, he became an established composer, pianist, and teacher. George Washington was a fan. Reinagle taught his stepdaughter, Nellie Custis.

 

#ClasicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 1 2024

Two countries celebrate their independence in July -- and they just happen to be neighbors. On July 1, 1867, three separate British colonies were officially united. United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick became Canada. 

On July 4, 1776, thirteen separate British colonies were officially united, becoming the United States of America.

The #ClassicsaDay challenge for July is to post music by Canadian and American composers. Both countries have created their own forms of classical music, independent of Europe's. 

Here are my social media posts for the first week of #NorthAm classics. As in past years, I alternate between Canadian and American composers. 

07/01/24 Murray Adaskin (1906-2002): Musica Victoria

Adaskin was born in Toronto to Latvian immigrants. He served as the director of the University of Saskatchewan's music department for many years.

 

07/02/24 Amy Beach (1867-1944): Piano Quintet, Op. 67

Beach was the youngest member of the Boston Six, the most prominent American composers of the late 19th Century. Her piano quintet was completed in 1907. 

 

07/03/24 Elizabeth Raum: Spirit of Canada

Raum was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit for her contributions to Canadian music. She's a prolific composer and prides herself on her music's accessibility.

 

07/04/24 George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898): Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 50 "Arcadian"

Bristow strove to create an American style of classical music. His works often have nationalist themes. His 1872 "Arcadian" symphony depicts pioneers moving west.

 

07/05/24 Ruth Watson Henderson (born 1932): Kyrie Fugue

Henderson was an accompanist for the Festival Singers of Canada. It was there she developed her talent for choral writing. To date, Henderson has written over 200 choral works, in addition to other music.

 

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 4

Both countries in North America celebrate their independence in July. For Canada, it's July 1, 1867. And for the United States, it's July 4, 1776. To mark this event, the Classics a Day team challenge is to post video performances of music by both Canadian and American composers.

Finding examples by American composers was easy. But finding performances by Canadian composers proved a little more difficult. And that's a shame. Because the music I found was terrific.

Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #NorthAmClassics.

07/24/23 Edgar Stillman Kelley: Aladdin

Kelly was an important composer at the turn of the 20th Century. He headed the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and was interested in blending non-Western and American elements into classical forms.

 

07/25/23 Colin McPhee: Tabuh-Tauhan, Toccata for Orchestra and Two Pianos

Canadian composer McPhee was also an ethnomusicologist. He introduced Balanese music to Benjamin Britten. This 1936 work was based on his studies of Balinese music.

 

07/26/23 George Elbridge Whiting: Prelude in A minor

Whiting was an important composer and organist in 19th Century America. He eventually became head of the organ department at the New England Conservatory of Music.

 

07/27/23 Linda Bouchard: Second Survival

Canadian composer and conductor Bouchard studied at the Manhattan School of Music. Bouchard is interested in the spatial relationships between sound sources and how they interact.

 

07/28/23 Arthur Batelle Whiting: Bagatelles for the Piano II: Humoreske

American composer Whiting studied with Rheinberger in Munich. He returned to America in 1885 and lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. He was also one of the first advocates for early music and authentic performance practices.

 

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 3

Both countries in North America celebrate their independence in July. For Canada, it's July 1, 1867. And for the United States, it's July 4, 1776. To mark this event, the Classics a Day team challenge is to post video performances of music by both Canadian and American composers.

Finding examples by American composers was easy. But finding performances by Canadian composers proved a little more difficult. And that's a shame. Because the music I found was terrific.

Here are my posts for the third week of #NorthAmClassics.

07/17/23 W. O. Forsyth: Confession, op. 45, No. 2

Wesley Octavius Forsyth studied at the Leipzig Conservatory before returning to his native Toronto. Forsyth had a successful career teaching and writing about music. Most of his mature works are piano miniatures.

07/18/23 Edward MacDowell: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 23

Although MacDowell wrote extensively for solo piano, he only composed two piano concertos. The second premiered in 1890.

07/19/23 Robert Nathaniel Dett: Magnolia Suite

Dett has been claimed by two countries. He was born in Canada. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 12. He was the first black composer to join ASCAP in the 1920s He's best remembered for his choral compositions, especially his oratorio "The Ordering of Moses."

07/20/23 Horatio Parker: Suite for Piano Trio, Op. 35

In the early 1900s, Parker was considered one of the best composers in America. That view was held both in the States and abroad. Parker had a premier at the Three Choirs Festival. He won the 1911 Met Opera competition for one opera, and a Los Angeles $10,000 prize in 1916 for his second.

07/21/23 Ernest MacMillan: Two Sketches on French Canadian Airs

For his service to music in Canada, MacMillan was knighted in 1935 by George V. He remains the only Canadian to receive this honor.

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 2

Both countries in North America celebrate their independence in July. For Canada, it's July 1, 1867. And for the United States, it's July 4, 1776. To mark this event, the Classics a Day team challenge is to post video performances of music by both Canadian and American composers.

Finding examples by American composers was easy. But finding performances by Canadian composers proved a little more difficult. And that's a shame. Because the music I found was terrific.

Here are my posts for the second week of #NorthAmClassics.

07/10/23 John Knowles Paine: The Tempest

This American composer was the eldest of the "Boston Six," a group of composers active in the late 1800s. The Six were trying to establish an American style of composing, albeit one based on European models.

07/11/23 Clarence Lucas: Macbeth Overture, Op. 39

Canadian composer Lucas was born at the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario. He was best known as a conductor and also worked for Chappel Publishing. This overture dates from 1900.

07/12/23 George Chadwick: Sinfonietta

Chadwick was part of the "Boston Six," an influential group of late 19th-Century American composers. He studied in Leipzig with Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. His own works reflect some of those Germanic influences.

07/13/23 Guillaume Couture: Jean le Précurseur

Canadian composer Couture was known primarily as a choral conductor and voice instructor. His oratorio "Jean le Précurseur" was started in 1907 and took two years to compose.

07/14/23 Arthur Foote: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 24

Foote received the first master's degree in music conferred by any American university (in this case, Harvard). Foote wrote most of his orchestral music early in his career before turning almost exclusively to chamber music.

#ClassicsaDay #NorthAmClassics Week 1

 Both countries in North America celebrate their independence in July. For Canada, it's July 1, 1867. And for the United States, it's July 4, 1776. To mark this event, the Classics a Day team challenge is to post video performances of music by both Canadian and American composers.

Finding examples by American composers was easy. But finding performances by Canadian composers proved a little more difficult. And that's a shame. Because the music I found was terrific.

Here are my posts for the first week of #NorthAmClassics.

Jocelyn Morlock: Golden

Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock died in March of this year at age 53. She left behind an impressive catalog of compositions. "Golden" was written in 2001 for soprano and baroque strings.

Carl Ruggles: Portals for String Orchestra

American composer Carl Ruggles' biggest hit was "Suntreader." "Portals" was written the year before in 1925, and shoes the direction Ruggles was moving towards.

Murray Adaskin: String Quintet with Double Bass

The bulk of Adaskin's music was written after his retirement. This Canadian composer was head of the University of Saskatchewan's Music Department until 1966. He wrote this work in 1995

Amy Beach: Piano Quintet, Op. 67

Beach wrote this work in 1907. When this American composer and pianist married in 1885, her husband forced her to give up concertizing, which gave her more time to write.

Ernest Gagnon: Le carnaval de Québec

Canadian composer and organist Ernest Gagnon is best remembered for his ethnomusicology. His "Chansons populaires du Canada" was published in 1865, and preserved many Canadian folk songs.