American Masters, Part VII

August 1, 2022, 7:00 pm

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American Masters, Part VII, is the seventh week in our series celebrating twentieth-century American composers. Bill is very fond of this series and calls it American Masters in honor of the fabulous PBS TV series that examines the lives and the creative process of artists. This week we have arrived at the composers born between the two World Wars (1918 to 1939), and who came of age in the ’50s and ’60s. Bill will feature the music of Ned Rorem, George Crumb, Jacob Druckman, Margaret Bonds, and Betty Jackson King.

Playlist

Episode 1

Rorem, Ned: Bright Music: I. Fandango II. Pierrot
Marya Martin, Andre-Michel Schub, Fred Sherry, Ani Kavafian & Ida Kavafian
Ned Rorem: Winter Pages/ Bright Music
New World 80416-2
6:10

Rorem, Ned: Winter Pages: IV. Paris then IX. Rue des Saints-Pères X. Valse Oubliée

Marya Martin, Andre-Michel Schub, Fred Sherry, Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian
Ned Rorem: Winter Pages/ Bright Music
New World 80416-2
5:04

Rorem, Ned: Violin Concerto
III. Romance Without Words: Hardly Moving
IV. Midnight: Slow
V. Toccata-Rondo: Very Fast
VI. Dawn: Wistful

New York Philharmonic/ Leonard Bernstein Gidon Kremer
Violin Concertos / Serenade
DG 289 445 185-2
17:09

Rorem, Ned: Symphony No.1
I. Maestoso
II. Andantino

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/José Serebrier
Rorem: Symphonies No. 1-3
Naxos – 8.559149
9:03

Rorem, Ned: “To a Young Girl”
“Santa Fe Songs II” Op. 101

Susan Graham, Malcolm Martineau
Songs of Ned Rorem
Erato – 8573-80222-2
4:27

Rorem, Ned: Symphony No. 2 II. Tranquillo
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/ José Serebrier
Rorem: Symphonies No. 1-3
Naxos – 8.559149
3:46

Rorem, Ned: “Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair”
Susan Graham, Malcolm Martineau
Songs of Ned Rorem
Erato – 8573-80222-2
2:41

Episode 2

Erb, Donald: Sonata for Solo Violin – I. Vesper (for Bain Murray)
Gregory Fulkerson (founding violinist, Audubon Quartet)
Sunlit Peaks and Dark Valleys
New World NW80537
4:57

Erb, Donald: Sonata for Solo Harp
I. “Round and Round the Wind”
II. “Song for Sarah Gooder”

Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Sunlit Peaks and Dark Valleys
New World NW80537
11:30

Erb, Donald: Concerto for Brass and Orchestra,  I. II. III.
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin
Works By Donald Erb
New World Records – 80415-2
18:17

Erb, Donald: String Quartet No. 2 (excerpt)
Cavani Quartet
Chamber Music
Albany Records – Troy 092
4:08

Erb, Donald: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra I. III.
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/ Leonard Slatkin Lynne Harrel, violoncello
Works By Donald Erb
New World Records – 80415-2
10:43

Episode 3

Hartley, Walter: Concerto for 23 Winds:
1. Andante-Allegro Non Troppo
2. Vivace
3. Lento
4. Allegro Molto
Eastman Wind Ensemble/Frederick Fennell
Fennell Conducts Grainger, Persichetti
Mercury – 432 754-2
16:50

Musgrave, Thea: Turbulent Landscapes; III. “Snow Storm; Hannibal and his Army crossing the Alps”
BBC Symphony/ Osmo Vanska
Turbulent Landscapes
NMC NMCD153
3:34

Musgrave, Thea: Journey Through a Japanese Landscape: II. “Summer”
Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui  Evelyn Glennie
Oriental Landscapes
BIS Records AB – BIS-CD-1222
4:12

Musgrave, Thea: Songs for a Winter’s Evening; No. 3. “O, whistle and I’ll Come to ye, my Lad!”
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/ Osmo Vänskä Lisa Milne, soprano
Turbulent Landscapes
NMC NMCD153
2:05

Druckman, Jacob: Prism: II. “After Francesco Cavalli” (excerpt)
New York Philharmonic/ Zubin Mehta
Rochberg: Oboe Concerto- Druckman: Prism
New World Records 80335 
1:39

Druckman, Jacob: Prism: I
II. “After Francesco Cavalli”
III. “After Luigi Cherubini”

New York Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta
Rochberg: Oboe Concerto- Druckman: Prism
New World Records 80335
17:51

Episode 4

Crumb, George: Four Nocturnes (Night Music II) – for Violin and Piano:
Notturno IV: Con un Sentimento Di Nostalgia George Crumb
Anne-Sophie Mutter & Lambert Orkis
Anne-Sophie Mutter: Recital 2000
DG E4695032
2:38

Crumb, George: Ancient Voices of Children;
I. El nino busca su voz (The Little Boy was looking for His Voice)

Barbara Ann Martin, soprano; Derek Yale, boy soprano; Noel Bisson, boy soprano; Dorothy Freeman, oboe and harmonica; Patrick Mercuri, mandolin; David Crumb, mandolin; Sophie Labiner, harp; Marcantonio Barone, electric piano and toy piano; Susan Jones, William Kerrigan, and Kenneth Miller, percussion; George Crumb, Kenneth Miller, and Marcantonio Barone, humming; James Freeman, conductor
Music of Our Time, Vol. 3: Music of George Crumb
NWCR803
3:59

Crumb, George: Ancient Voices of Children; Dances of the Ancient Earth
II. Me he perdido muchas veces por el mar (I Have Lost Myself in the sea Many Times)
III. De donde vienes, amor, mi nino; (From Where do You Come, My Love, My Child;)
Todas las tardes en Granada, todas las tardes se muere un nino
Barbara Ann Martin, soprano; Derek Yale, boy soprano; Noel Bisson, boy soprano; Dorothy Freeman, oboe and harmonica; Patrick Mercuri, mandolin; David Crumb, mandolin; Sophie Labiner, harp; Marcantonio Barone, electric piano and toy piano; Susan Jones, William Kerrigan, and Kenneth Miller, percussion; George Crumb, Kenneth Miller, and Marcantonio Barone, humming; James Freeman, conductor
Music of Our Time, Vol. 3: Music of George Crumb
NWCR803
8:59

Crumb, George: Black Angels: I. Departure
Kronos Quartet
Black Angels
Elektra Nonesuch 79242-2
5:28

Hanighen, Bernie, Williams, Monk: Round Midnight (Live)
Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald
‘Round Midnight (Live)
Verve Records – 843 621-2
3:38

Crumb, George: A Little Midnight Music;
I. Nocturnal Theme
II. Charade
III. Premonition

Emanuele Arciuli, piano
Crumb Vol. 9 Voices of Children Plus
Bridge 9170
1:36

Crumb, George: A Little Midnight Music;
IV. Cobweb and Pease blossom; Scherzo
V. Incantation
VI. Golliwog Revisited
VII. Blues in the Night
VIII. Cadenza with Tolling Bells
Midnight Transformation
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
Crumb Vol. 9 Voices of Children Plus
Bridge 9170
16:19

Crumb, George: A Little Midnight Music
IV. Cobweb and Pease blossom; Scherzo (excerpt)

Emanuele Arciuli, piano
Crumb Vol. 9 Voices of Children Plus
Bridge 9170
1:02

Episode 5

King, Betty Jackson: Lullaby (Arr. for Violin and Piano)
Rachel Barton Pine & Matthew Hagle
Violin Lullabies Violin and Piano Recital: Barton Pine, Rachel and Hagle, Matthew
Cedille CDR3006
2:41

Bonds, Margaret: Troubled Water
Samantha Ege
Four Women: Music for Solo Piano by Price, Kaprálová, Bilsland and Bonds
Wave Theory Records
5:37

Bonds, Margaret: The Ballad of the Brown King: VIII. “That Was a Christmas Long Ago”
Malcolm J. Merriweather, The Dessoff Orchestra and The Dessoff Choirs
The Ballad of The Brown King and Selected Songs
Avie Records – AV2413
1:24

King, Betty Jackson: Spring Intermezzo, from Four; Seasonal Sketches
Katharine Boyes
Piano Portraits of the Seasons by Women
Ivory Key Music #5637232036
4:34

Smith, Hale: Evocation
Natalie Hinderas
Plays Music By Black Composers
Desto Records – DC 7102/3
3:21

Smith, Hale: Variations à due: I.

Timothy Holley & Dr. Ira Wiggins, N. Carolina Central U
Music of Hale Smith
NWCR860
6:09

Smith, Hale: In Memoriam – Beryl Rubinstein:
I. Moderato
II. Poème D’Automne

Robert Shaw & Kulas Choir and Chamber Orchestra
Music of Hale Smith
NWCR860
5:09

Sir Roland Hanna: Mediterranean Seascape
Sir Roland Hanna
Round Midnight
Town Crier Recordings – TCD 513
5:30

Still, William Grant: Song for the Lonely
Lara Downes Titus Underwood
Remember Me to Harlem
Rising Sun Records RS 002
2:32

Adderley, Nat and Oscar Brown Jr: Work Song Signifyin’ Monkey Dat Dere
Nat Adderley, and Oscar Brown Jr
Work Song
Columbia – 4-41977
9:20