It’s a banner day for William Grant Still in the Trenton-Princeton area.
As I posted only a short while ago, Still’s “Afro-American Symphony” will be the featured highlight on “The Lost Chord,” tonight at 10:00 on WWFM The Classical Network and wwfm.org, as I conclude my month-long survey of highlights from the reissued Black Composers Series on Sony Classical.
Another of Still’s symphonies – the much less frequently heard (read NEVER) Symphony No. 4, subtitled “Autochthonous” – will be performed by the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey at Trenton’s Patriots Theater at the War Memorial this afternoon at 4:00. The concert will also include the recently rediscovered Violin Concerto No. 1 by Florence Price and, as an added bonus, Adolphus Hailstork’s “Celebration.”
My preview of this exciting program is in the current edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper – PrincetonInfo. I know I posted about it earlier in the week, but I thought it would be helpful to mention it again, not least because the last time I failed to notice that I didn’t include a link until about five hours after! So here it is again.
https://princetoninfo.com/african-american-composers-shine-in-trenton/
The so-called “Dean of Afro-American composers,” Still lived from 1895 to 1978. He was a “first” in many ways. His was the first symphony written by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra (the New York Philharmonic). He was the first to be given the opportunity to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic, at the Hollywood Bowl). His opera, “Troubled Island,” became the first to be produced by a major company (the New York City Opera). His works were performed internationally by the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, and the Tokyo Philharmonic.
Similarly, Florence Price, who lived from 1887 to 1953, was the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have her music performed by a major orchestra (the Chicago Symphony). Her violin concerto was among a stash of manuscripts rescued from her dilapidated summer home as recently as 2009. This afternoon’s performance by the Capital Philharmonic will be the work’s East Coast premiere, and possibly only the second time it has ever been heard in public.
This is the rare concert that is more than just a concert.
Tickets are still available through the orchestra’s website, capitalphilharmonic.org.
