American Orchestral History: the Composers, the Programming, and the Performers
Chair(s): Colin T. Roust (University of Kansas)
This session outlines various aspects of American orchestral history by utilizing case studies on the performers, programming, and composers who shaped American orchestras in the mid-twentieth century. Each case study focuses on how various facets of American orchestras reacted to changes to the status quo and subsequently marginalized American composers, works, and musicians who did not adhere to the growing national sound and identity.
The first paper focuses on Howard Hanson (1896-1981), a prominent “Neo-Romantic” American composer. Hansen and his fellow "Neo-Romantics," were marginalized as a result of the creation of the canon and is seen by some as an “American exceptionalist,” which essentially denotes Hanson as a xenophobe or a fascist. This grossly oversimplifies his identity and his compositional style, and the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how his compositions illustrate how individuals connect to national and cultural narratives and create a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of American musical heritage.
The second paper offers a glimpse into how American composers on the whole were marginalized in American orchestral programming. The study focuses on reinterpreting data surrounding the programming practices of several US orchestras in the 1930s and 40s. While many orchestras and conductors were programming mostly Austro-German works during this time, two conductors, Serge Koussevitzky and Karl Krueger, programmed many American works in the first half of the twentieth century. This study helps to provide a model for current orchestras and administrators to assess and reevaluate their own programming habits.
The final paper examines how women were kept out of major American orchestras on the basis of their gender through a case study focusing on Frances Blaisdell (1912-2009). Blaisdell was the first woman wind player to attend the Institute of Musical Art. Despite her adept flute playing she was denied the opportunity to audition for the New York Philharmonic in 1937 because she was a woman. This paper details Blaisdell’s successful career in other well-known orchestras in spite of this snub and how she helped prove that women could be professional musicians in a time when no one believed they could.
Presentations of the Symposium
Howard Hanson and the Pitfalls of American National Identity
Matt E. Anderson
University of Kansas
The development of American musical culture in the 20th century saw the emergence of a canon, but many significant figures, particularly the "Neo-Romantics," were marginalized. These composers, including Howard Hanson, drew on 19th-century techniques and were dismissed as outdated or conservative amidst the rise of modernist movements. Though Hanson played a crucial role in promoting American music, he is seen by some to be an “American exceptionalist,” which is a term used to present Hanson as a xenophobe at best or a fascist at worst. However, the view that Hanson’s aesthetic solely represents American nationalism oversimplifies the diverse and multifaceted nature of Hanson the human being.
Hanson himself rejected the notion that one composer could define American music, stressing that a national movement requires contributions from many individuals. Modern scholarship highlights the inadequacy of using "identity" to analyze American musical culture, as it tends to essentialize categories like race, class, and gender and the stereotypes which are often associated with them. Instead, the concept of "belonging," as explored by scholars like Rogers Brubaker and Tuuli Lähdesmäki, provides a more nuanced framework, emphasizing the fluidity of cultural attachments and personal connections.
This paper examines Hanson and his music through the lens of nationalism, identity, and belonging, revealing his complex exploration of what it means to be American. His compositions embody diverse themes and contradictions, demonstrating that American identity, and indeed any identity, is not a fixed concept but performative process. By focusing on belonging, Hanson’s work illustrates the multifaceted ways individuals connect to national and cultural narratives, offering a richer, more inclusive understanding of American musical heritage.
Orchestral Programming and American Identity in the Great Depression and World War II
Denise E. Finnegan-Hill
Classical Music Indy
In 1993, the League of American Orchestras released a strategic report titled “Americanizing the American Orchestra.” Wrestling with the idea of what makes an orchestra “American,” the report acknowledges the small amount of American music orchestras perform. Similarly, much scholarly research on American orchestras focuses on how the “sacralization” of culture in the mid-to-late nineteenth century influenced the amount of American programming, and how works American composers of all races were set aside in favor of their European classics. Sociologist Paul DiMaggio and historian Lawrence Levine both point to the BSO’s programming of Beethoven and other Austro-German composers as the source of this “sacralization.” Their ideas, and those of the League, suggest programming remained stagnant. However, conductors such as Serge Koussevitzky (Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor from 1924 to 1949) and Karl Krueger (Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra conductor from 1933 to 1943) both garnered a reputation of programming many American works in the first half of the twentieth century. While musicologists such as Joseph Horowitz, Douglas Shadle, and Nicholas Tawa have done important research on the programming of American works and composer relationships with Koussevitzky, none have undergone a quantitative analysis to assess Koussevitzky’s reputation, nor Krueger’s.
To evaluate the amount of American music Koussevitzky and Krueger’s orchestras performed, I have undergone my own quantitative study of programming at the BSO and the KCPO from 1933 to 1943. Through my analysis of the numbers, I assess the accuracy of the claim of “American advocate” for both Krueger and Koussevitzky. Furthermore, I explore intersections of American identity and the programming of these two conductors as Koussevitzky was a Russian immigrant and Krueger was one of the first American-born conductors of a major U.S. orchestra. My study serves as a model for musicologists and orchestra administrators alike to gain a bigger picture of programming in American orchestras and for administrators to assess programming in their own institutions.
Frances Blaisdell: Trailblazing Flutist in the Face of Orchestral Gender Discrimination
Eden E. P. Miller
University of Kansas
Frances Blaisdell (1911-2009) was an American flutist and teacher who was the first woman instrumentalist to attend the Institute of Musical Art and later the graduate school at Juilliard. She went on to play first flute with Phil Spitalny’s All Girl Orchestra, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the National Orchestral Association, and the New Opera Company. Beyond being a staple performer in New York, she taught at major music schools, namely the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes, and New York University.
While Blaisdell is a pivotal figure in the history of women’s participation in American orchestras, she remains under researched, and a complete biographical study has yet to be published. This paper aims to document the hardships and triumphs of a first-class flutist by outlining and analyzing her contributions to New York’s music scene throughout her career. In particular, it will explore why she was denied the opportunity to audition for the New York Philharmonic in 1937 solely on the basis of her gender. The prevailing sentiment that women were too fragile in body and mind to be serious musicians at the time proved to be a major hurdle to Blaisdell’s career which cost her the opportunity of a lifetime With this in mind, this paper argues that Blaisdell’s success despite blatant sexism propagated against her by the foremost orchestra in the country helped to show that women were strong enough to participate in rehearsals and concerts and served as an inspiration to generations of women flutists to come.
