Search Results for: Howard hanson

Remembering David Cripps, the Horn Player who Created Princess Leia

by

David Cripps, the legendary British horn player, passed away last week following a battle with cancer. Cripps served as principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra between 1974 and 1983. During that time, he performed and recorded under such conductors as André Previn and Claudio Abbado. Perhaps he will be remembered most for his original soundtrack performances of Princess Leia‘s Theme, and other horn solos throughout John Williams’ iconic film scores for Star Wars …

Read more

Remembering Ron Nelson

by

The American composer Ron Nelson, who wrote numerous works for wind ensemble, as well as for orchestra and chorus, passed away on December 24, 2023. He was 94. Leonard Slatkin once called Nelson a “quintessential American composer,” and praised his “ability to move between conservative and newer styles with ease,” adding, “The fact that he’s a little hard to categorize is what makes him interesting.” Born in Joliet, Illinois, Nelson studied with …

Read more

Samuel Barber’s Capricorn Concerto: An Homage to the Baroque

by

Completed in 1944, Samuel Barber’s Capricorn Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Trumpet, and Strings is a twentieth century homage to the Baroque concerto grosso. This is the form in which solo instrumental voices engage in contrapuntal conversation with one another, and with a full ensemble. It is a thrilling dialogue which plays on the contrast between large (grosso) and intimate forces. Barber’s scoring mirrors the instrumentation of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. The Capricorn …

Read more

William Schuman’s Third Symphony: An American Monument

by

The ten years between 1935 and 1945 produced a handful of contenders for the title of “great American symphony.” The list includes Samuel Barber’s epic 1936 Symphony in One Movement, the third symphonies of Roy Harris and Aaron Copland, and David Diamond’s Second Symphony, as well as symphonies by Howard Hanson and Walter Piston, among others. Many of these commissions were initiated by Serge Koussevitzky, the influential music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, …

Read more

David Diamond’s Second Symphony: A Mid-Century American Masterwork

by

Listeners who go in search of “the great American symphony” will be rewarded with a handful of often-neglected mid-twentieth century masterworks. They include the Third Symphonies of Aaron Copland and Roy Harris, the First Symphony of Samuel Barber, as well as music by Howard Hanson, Walter Piston, William Schuman, Peter Mennin, Lou Harrison, and others. These composers came to prominence in the 1930s and 40s, championed by conductors like Boston Symphony music director Serge Koussevitzky. Their musical …

Read more

David Diamond’s Fourth Symphony: A Neglected Mid-Century Masterwork

by

There’s a whole group of great American symphonists who came of age in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, flourished in the middle of the century, and then fell into relative neglect as atonality became the ruling doctrine of concert music. Their names include Howard Hanson, Walter Piston, William Schuman, and Roy Harris. David Diamond (1915-2005) is another significant composer from this group. Diamond’s music was programmed in the 1940s and ’50s by …

Read more

Happy Birthday, Serge Koussevitzky

by

Today marks the 143rd anniversary of the birth of the legendary conductor, composer, and double-bassist, Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951). Born in Russia into a Jewish family of professional musicians, Koussevitzky was music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. During his unusually long twenty-five year tenure, the Boston Symphony established a reputation as one of the world’s greatest orchestras. In 1937, Koussevitzky was instrumental in developing the Tanglewood Music Center, the …

Read more