As the immortal Violent Femmes once opined:
"I like American music
Don't you like American Music (Baby)?"
The Pixies, Coltrane, LCD Soundsystem - sure. But, what about classical music? With the exception of a pair of composers named John Adams, the only American music you'll hear at most orchestra concerts these days are a bunch of perfunctory 6-12 minute pieces played at the beginning of a program, most of which are in one ear and out the other, never to be heard again. (Fortunately, American opera has fared somewhat better.)
That wasn't always the case. Roll back the clock to the middle of the last century, and there were substantial American works - symphonies, orchestral suites - regularly commissioned and programmed by all of the world's leading orchestras. Sadly, much of this brilliant, incisive music was swept aside by the serial music bulldozer of the 1950's and 60's, long forgotten by the time orchestras woke up a half-century later and remembered that music isn't an academic exercise.
Fortunately, the young musicians of the Mannes Orchestra, led by their music director David Hayes, had something to say about that last night at Alice Tully Hall, where they gave their annual fall concert. The All-American program began with Marion Bauer's Symphony No. 1 (1947-50). Bauer, a lifelong advocate for women's music and the second woman to have her music performed by the NY Philharmonic, completed her only symphony shortly before her death. The bright, colorful music was all but forgotten until it was revived by the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy (WPA) and given its first performance in 2022.
The one living composer on last night's program was Adolphus Hailstork, 83, a prolific composer of mixed-race background whose profile has risen in recent years through his politically charged music such as the oratorio A Knee on the Neck (2022), written in response to the police killing of George Floyd. Here, the orchestra gave the U.S. premiere of Hailstork's nocturne Ndemara (2017), named for a star in the summer sky that holds meaning for several African tribes. Primarily written for string orchestra with a pair of oboes and horns thrown in, the deeply affecting music was run through with hints of jazz, Americana, and Asian music, all wrapped in a romantic sweep.
David Diamond (1915-2005) was perhaps the most brilliant of those mid-century American symphonists whose careers were interrupted by the countervailing music trends mentioned earlier. (Diamond later became a noted teacher, with Hailstork among his many students.) His Symphony No. 2 (1943) unfolds over four movements, sparkling and relentlessly inventive. After the percussive energy of the first two movements, the tender Andante espressivo featured a beautiful, naked flute, followed by solos for clarinet and oboe. The thrilling Copland-esque Finale was filled with shining Bartók-like brass and pizzicato strings.
After the symphony's crisp conclusion, I heard several audible gasps in the audience - astonishment not only at the virtuosity of these impressive young musicians, but also at the unplumbed depths of 20th century American music. One can only hope there will be many more concerts of conviction like this one.
More pics on Instagram.