Post by erik on Jun 10, 2023 19:18:24 GMT -5
After many decades of obscurity, the great female African-American composer Florence Price has gotten her due; and one of the reasons is a symphony of hers in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Florence Price: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR
Because of the Jim Crow era of segregation, the generalized misogyny that existed back then, and the fact that her passing in 1953 was not altogether well noticed in the press, the achievements of the female African-American composer Florence Price only seriously came to light in this century. But since 2012, not only have so many of her orchestral works been uncovered, more than a few of them have managed to re-emerge back into the concert halls, and, even more so, on recordings. This is true of the symphonies she composed, three of which have been recorded (only the Second hasn’t, and that is because it has not been uncovered, or may have been irretrievably lost). Her Third Symphony, in C Minor, composed in 1938 but revised prior to its premiere in 1940, is a prime example of how America somehow missed her genius only on racial and gender grounds. It’s not surprising that this symphony, which runs 30-35 minutes in length, should contain rhythms of African-American folk music that make it every bit as flavorful, tuneful, and familiar as those of her male contemporary William Grant Still, and every bit as “American” as those of Aaron Copland. It was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Music Project during the time that America was only just beginning to emerge from the depths of the Great Depression, and premiered on November 6, 1940 at the Detroit Institute of the Arts by the Detroit Civic Orchestra under the direction of Valter Poole. Price also weaves elements of Wagner (notably in the work’s dramatic opening) and Shostakovich throughout the piece. But the work remained largely obscure for nearly six decades following Ms. Price’s passing, until the second decade of the 21st century, when many U.S. orchestras, and conductors, both Anglo-American and African-American took up the cause of her works.
Philadelphia Orchestra/YANNICK NEZET-SEGUIN (Deutsche Grammophon)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR
Florence Price: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR
Because of the Jim Crow era of segregation, the generalized misogyny that existed back then, and the fact that her passing in 1953 was not altogether well noticed in the press, the achievements of the female African-American composer Florence Price only seriously came to light in this century. But since 2012, not only have so many of her orchestral works been uncovered, more than a few of them have managed to re-emerge back into the concert halls, and, even more so, on recordings. This is true of the symphonies she composed, three of which have been recorded (only the Second hasn’t, and that is because it has not been uncovered, or may have been irretrievably lost). Her Third Symphony, in C Minor, composed in 1938 but revised prior to its premiere in 1940, is a prime example of how America somehow missed her genius only on racial and gender grounds. It’s not surprising that this symphony, which runs 30-35 minutes in length, should contain rhythms of African-American folk music that make it every bit as flavorful, tuneful, and familiar as those of her male contemporary William Grant Still, and every bit as “American” as those of Aaron Copland. It was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Music Project during the time that America was only just beginning to emerge from the depths of the Great Depression, and premiered on November 6, 1940 at the Detroit Institute of the Arts by the Detroit Civic Orchestra under the direction of Valter Poole. Price also weaves elements of Wagner (notably in the work’s dramatic opening) and Shostakovich throughout the piece. But the work remained largely obscure for nearly six decades following Ms. Price’s passing, until the second decade of the 21st century, when many U.S. orchestras, and conductors, both Anglo-American and African-American took up the cause of her works.
Philadelphia Orchestra/YANNICK NEZET-SEGUIN (Deutsche Grammophon)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR