PalmBeachPost.com: “For the Fourth, William Grant Still”

[William Grant Still (Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, and is used with permission.)]

PalmBeachPost.com
Entertainment
July 4, 2008
“For this July Fourth, I haven’t had time to put together a playlist, but I am focusing on the work of William Grant Still (1895-1978).

Still has long been known as the dean of African-American classical composers, and his long career as an arranger and composer for popular and classical venues gave him a professional polish that allowed him to write well-crafted music of several different kinds. The folks at AfriClassical.com have several samples of his music on their site, and while the samples are short, they demonstrate Still’s melodic gift, his directness of expression, and his thorough craftsmanship.

I’m listening now to his Second Symphony, premiered in 1937 by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It’s subtitled Song of a New Race, and was written as a follow-up to his First, subtitled Afro-American. That first symphony was designed to evoke American black life around the Civil War, but the Second 'represents the American colored man of today,' according to Still’s program notes, which are excerpted in the Detroit Symphony’s 1993 recording (Chandos 9226) of the work. (The disc also contains William Levi Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, also a fine piece, and Luther Henderson’s orchestration of Duke Ellington’s Harlem.)”

“Still’s Second deserves to be a standard repertory piece in American orchestras, and is just the sort of piece that should make up their bread and butter. There’s nothing wrong with playing the great Europeans to bring in the house, but there’s no good reason when compiling programs that conductors on the lookout for an accessible, attractive work to present should turn to something like the Mendelssohn Fourth instead of the Still.” Posted by Greg Stepanich at July 4, 2008 2:56 PM Full Post

Symphony No. 2 (Song of a New Race)
William Grant Still
Deserves to be standard repertory
African American Composer
Duke Ellington
William Levi Dawson

African American Conductor Thomas Wilkins Leads Philadelphia Orchestra July 21

The African American conductor Thomas Wilkins will lead Kirill Gerstein, piano, and the Philadelphia Orchestra in performance Monday, July 21, 2008 8:00 PM at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. The program will include Grieg: Lyric Suite; Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; and Beethoven: Symphony No. 7.

Kaylor Management, Inc. says of Thomas Wilkins:
“Thomas Wilkins is Music Director of the Omaha Symphony, Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He was appointed as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony in 2005, and 2007/2008 marked his second season with the orchestra while the 2007/2008 season marked his eighth season as Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony. In March of 2008 he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for two seasons, making him the first person to hold a title with that ensemble since its founder, John Mauceri, retired after 16 years in 2006.” To see the complete Philadelphia area calendar of Black Classical Musicians and Concerts, click Here

Thomas Wilkins
African American Conductor
Philadelphia Orchestra
Resident Conductor of Detroit Symphony
Music Director of Omaha Symphony
Monday July 21

125 Years of Music of American Composers Heard at Grant Park Music Festival July 2

Classical mission brings radio host out of the studio
By John von Rhein | Chicago Tribune music critic
July 4, 2008
“Bill McGlaughlin's folksy but informed manner as host of the popular radio series 'Exploring Music' has pulled thousands of listeners into the classical experience. But that brings up a question: Why should he confine his missionary work to the studio when there are potentially thousands more to be reached in a live concert version of his program? Operating on that perfectly sensible theory, the Grant Park Music Festival brought McGlaughlin and his "Exploring Music" to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park on Wednesday night, with the Grant Park Orchestra under Carlos Kalmar to help him survey 125 years of American symphonic music. *** Along with short works from the first half of the 20th Century by William Grant Still, Leonard Bernstein and Ron Nelson, there were solid newer pieces by Tomas Svoboda (the dancing, celebratory "Overture of the Season") and Chicago composer Stacy Garrop ("Shadow," lambent lyricism offset by boldly dramatic strife). McGlaughlin at ease at Grant Park Chicago Sun-Times CONCERT | WFMT host runs through 125 years of music July 4, 2008 BY BRYANT MANNING Wednesday night at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, WFMT aired a live narrated presentation with the Grant Park Orchestra that sprinted through 125 years of American orchestral music. McGlaughlin handled the 2½-hour program -- which included an extended 30-minute intermission -- with all the familiar ease of his intimate radio broadcasts. *** McGlaughlin's aim was to get to the heart of what American music is, and by sitting at the piano, he played excerpts from Leonard Bernstein's "Lonely Town" and asked, "What's an F doing there? That's the blues and that isn't European." He also spent a considerable time meandering through the orchestra and handing the mike over to the ensemble's unsung contributors. Additional selections from George Whitefield Chadwick, William Grant Still, Tomas Svoboda and John Adams nicely framed the century of a country in search of its musical voice. Bryant Manning is the classical music editor for Time Out Chicago. Full Post

The Detroit Public Television Blog: Lunch with Aaron Dworkin & Sphinx Organization Team

The Detroit Public Television Blog
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Meaningful Internships
One of the cool benefits of working at Detroit Public TV is that you meet a lot of creative, smart people. Recently, I shared lunch with Aaron Dworkin and his team from the Sphinx Organization, which is working hard to increase the number of African American and Latino string players in classical music. Hearing about their innovative efforts to get violins into the hands of young people sparked a number of ideas about how public television could help them achieve their goals. A day later, Steve Hamp, the former head of The Henry Ford, now leading the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, and an all-round brilliant guy, spoke to our staff about efforts to retain and attract young people to Detroit. Among his many interesting observations, Steve shared research which showed that young people who participate in meaningful internships at local businesses and non-profit organizations are more likely to stay in the area once they embark on their careers. Full Post [Aaron P. Dworkin is an African American violinist as well as Founder/President of the Sphinx Organization. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

William Grant Still's “Afro-American Symphony” On WGTE-FM and Online Friday, July 4

[Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American) (24:10); William Grant Still; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, Conductor; Chandos 9154 (1993)]

Greg Kostraba is Classical Music Director of WGTE 91.3 FM in Toledo. He tells AfriClassical:
“I wanted to let you and your readers know that I will be broadcasting the Detroit Symphony's performance of William Grant Still's 'Afro-American Symphony' tomorrow afternoon, July 4th, 2008 on Afternoon Classics. The show can be heard on-line at http://www.wgte.org from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT. Thanks!!-- Greg” [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Afro-American Symphony
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
William Grant Still
African American Composer
WGTE.org July 4 Broadcast
Chandos 9154 (1993)

Songs from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's “Song of Hiawatha” Performed on Isle of Man July 5

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Clarinet Quintet (35:39); Harold Wright, clarinet; Virginia Eskin, piano;
Michael Ludwig, violin; Hawthorne String Quartet; Koch 3 7056 2H1 (1992)]

Isle of Man Today, Isle of Man, UK
THE first of two concerts to celebrate Manx Festival Chorus' 40th anniversary will take place at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin, on Saturday. Scenes from the Song of Hiawatha, a three-part cantata by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor based on the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, will take place at 7.30pm at Erin Arts Centre. Tickets are £8 and are available from the Arts Centre, ring 835858. It will feature Christine Bregazzi (soprano), Declan Kelly (tenor), Philip Smith (baritone), Marilyn Kissack (piano) and the conductor is John Bethell. The second concert will see the Manx Festival Chorus performing Messiah on November 29. This was the first work the Chorus sang with Mr Bethell in the Villa Marina four decades ago. [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

The Lydian Singers of Trinidad and Tobago Perform “Hiawatha” Songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

[Performances Page of Website of The Lydian Singers]

Jan of The Lydian Singers has made this entry in the Guest Book of AfriClassical.com:
Wednesday, 7/2/08, 7:13 AM Excellent resource for information! I am doing some research for a choir of which I am a member. This October 2008 in celebration of Black History month and as a part of our bi-annual Opera season, The Lydians will be performing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's popular piece, "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast", "The Death of Minnehaha" and "Hiawatha's Departure." The information on the composer in your website was instrumental in our research process for this Opera. A lot of our younger members had no idea that Coleridge Taylor was black and this production is proving a very educational process for them. I will e-mail you some further details if you are interested. Thanks once again! From:Trinidad and Tobago, (Caribbean)

One Small Voice Answers Comment by AfriClassical on James P. Johnson

[The Original James P. Johnson; Smithsonian Folkways 40812 (1996)]

On July 2 AfriClassical posted: One Small Voice: The Composer James P. Johnson wrote “You've Got To Be Modernistic”. The blog “One Small Voice” belongs to Peter Saint-Andre, who writes under the nom de plume of “stpeter”. He writes in reply, on his blog: “Thanks for the link! I have a recording of 'Yamekraw' by Marcus Roberts from his album 'Portraits in Blue', but I have not heard any other recordings of the work. (I keep hoping that Roberts will also make a recording of Ellington’s 'New World A-Coming', but as far as I know he hasn’t done so yet.) As I understand it, James P. Johnson’s struggles were many, as were the struggles of musicians like William Grant Still and so many others — Maurice Peress talks a bit about that in his book 'From Dvořák to Duke Ellington', which I discuss here. As to the question of ragtime vs. stride vs. jazz vs. classical (etc.), I like Ellington’s take on the matter: there is only music, and the artificial division into camps and genres is not conducive to deep musical understanding. Many of the early piano virtuosos we associate with stride and jazz were influenced by the likes of Liszt and Chopin, and they might even have pursued 'classical' careers were it not for the fact that such an avenue was closed to them. In any case, I had forgotten about the full range of works written by James P. Johnson (e.g., the tone poems and string quartet), so thank you for the reminder. Do recordings of these works exist? Comment by stpeter — July 2, 2008 @ 9:29 am Correction, I also have a solo piano recording of 'Yamekraw' by James P. Johnson himself, on his album 'The Original James P. Johnson', which I’m listening to right now. :) Comment by stpeter— July 2, 2008 @ 11:09 am”

AfriClassical has no knowledge of recordings of James P. Johnson's symphonies, concertos, tone poems or his string quartet. We certainly feel these works deserve to be recorded!

James P. Johnson
African American Composer
Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody
The Original James P. Johnson
Tone Poems & String Quartet
American Folkways

One Small Voice: The Composer James P. Johnson wrote “You've Got To Be Modernistic”

[Victory Stride: The Symphonic Music of James P. Johnson; The Concordia Orchestra; Marin Alsop, Conductor; Music Masters 67140 (1994)]

Yesterday the blog “One Small Voice” posted a commentary entitled “You've Got to be Hellenistic”: “In a comment on my last post, my friend Deb asked me how I stay so mellow despite the fact that the world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket.” The last line of the post reads: “(And yes, the title of this post pays homage to the great American stride pianist James P. Johnson, specifically his tune 'You’ve Got to be Modernistic'.)”

Today AfriClassical posted a comment: “I am delighted to find your reference to 'You’ve Got To Be Modernistic' by the great African American composer and stride pianist James Price Johnson (1894-1955). His profile at AfriClassical.com presents the lesser-known classical music side of this composer. Perhaps the best-known example of his classical works is “Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody”, which is available on recordings by VocalEssence and Marco Fumo. When the era of stride piano ended, Johnson studied classical music. Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma is one of the most accomplished scholars of Black Classical Composers. AfriClassical.com quotes his essay on James P. Johnson, including this paragraph: 'Despite little recognition and limited encouragement, James P. Johnson would write two symphonies, a piano and a clarinet concerto, two ballets, two one-act operas and a number of sonatas, suites, tone poems and a string quartet.' I hope you will visit my page on James P. Johnson at AfriClassical.com”

One Small Voice
You've Got To Be Modernistic
James P. Johnson
Stride Pianist
Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody
African American Classical Composer

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “George Walker's 'Lyric for Strings,'...beautiful and beautifully played”

[Photos courtesy of George Walker and Danielle Belen Nesmith]

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
July 1: Scenes from the Arts-burgh
By The Tribune-Review
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Isaac Hayes with the Pittsburgh Symphony

American music icon Isaac Hayes thrilled a large and appreciative audience at Downtown's Heinz Hall Thursday night for the Pittsburgh Symphony's fifth annual Community Partners Concert. The event raised money for 50 local nonprofit organizations. Hayes, 65, had a stroke two years ago and was helped onstage for the second half. But once at his keyboard and performing, he gained in strength. By the time he reached "Walk on By," his sonorous bass rolled over the audience, which responded with cheering.

When Hayes stood up and walked nearer to the center of the stage to conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the intro to "Shaft," there was another outburst of cheering and applause. Hayes' six-piece band and three vocalists were excellent and carried the show because the arrangements gave the symphony musicians little to do.

The first half of the concert was a mixed bag. Black composer George Walker's "Lyric for Strings," written for his grandmother, was beautiful and beautifully played. Conductor Lawrence Loh led a rip-roaring account of Franz von Suppe's "Light Cavalry Overture." But although Sphinx Competition winner Danielle Belen Nesmith proved a capable violinist playing the last movement of Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto, there was little rapport between her and conductor. -- Mark Kanny [The African American composer George Walker (b. 1922) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Pittsburgh Symphony
Community Partners Concert
George Walker
Lyric for Strings
Beautiful and beautifully played
Danielle Belen Nesmith