Friday, April 18, 2008

Music of Henry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett & William Grant Still In Richmond, Virginia May 2

[The Collected Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett; Summy-Birchard (1973)]

Today AfriClassical linked to a post on William Grant Still's Symphony No. 2 (Song of a New Race) at Letter V: The Virginia Classical Music Blog. We also sent an E-mail to its author, Clarke Bustard, who was a classical music critic for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for decades. We expressed our approval of his selection of Still's Symphony No. 2 as a work whose neglect cannot rationally be explained, and told him of the forthcoming 2-CD set of Symphonies Concertantes of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges on the Avenira label, on which we posted recently. Clarke Bustard has replied by E-mail:

“Mr. Zick:

Glad you approve of my inclusion of the Still Second, and thanks for linking to Letter V. Folks in these parts are quite familiar with the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, whose music has appeared on Richmond Symphony's and others' programs since the 1970s. I'll keep an eye out for the new recording.

Here's a historical factoid that may interest you and your readers, from a piece I wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch (published Oct. 15, 2000): 'Oratorical, literary, dramatic and musical societies were organized by black Richmonders shortly after [the Civil War]. One such group presented the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta H.M.S. Pinafore in 1880, two years after its premiere in London.'

Regards,
Clarke Bustard
Letter V: the Virginia Classical Music Blog”

Addendum: In my previous reply, I should have mentioned that the May 2 Richmond Festival of Music program includes Charles C. Perkins' 'Le Banjo,' H.T. Burleigh's 'In the Southland,' William Grant Still's 'Gamin' [correct me if I've mixed up composers and works - the presenter groups them as a mini-suite] and R. Nathaniel Dett's 'In the Bottoms.' I plan to post a review of that concert on Letter V." [AfriClassical thanks Clarke Bustard for the fascinating information on the Black Richmonders who presented H.M.S. Pinafore in 1880.]

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