Classic Ross Amico

Tag: William Grant Still

NYCO: Will the Phoenix Rise Again?

Is it possible the phoenix is about to rise again?

For decades, New York City Opera was always the other, upstart opera company at Lincoln Center. From 1966 to 2010, it made its home at New York State Theater, across the plaza from the more venerated Metropolitan Opera.

While NYCO could not compete with the larger budgets and star-power of the Met, it was not unusual for it to excel its establishment neighbor – which could often be encumbered by its larger space and more ponderous productions – through creative artistic solutions and investment in unusual and neglected repertoire. Furthermore, NYCO provided a launchpad for many singers who went on to international careers and graduated to the Met itself, among them Placido Domingo, Samuel Ramey, José Carreras, Carol Vaness, and of course Beverly Sills. Sills served as NYCO’s director from 1979 to 1989.

Approximately one-third of NYCO’s repertoire was devoted to American opera. Among works to have received their first performances by the company include Aaron Copland’s “The Tender Land,” Robert Kurka’s “The Good Soldier Schweik,” Robert Ward’s “The Crucible” (recipient of a Pulitzer Prize in 1962), Jack Beeson’s “Lizzie Borden,” and Ned Rorem’s “Miss Julie.”

The company also presented a number classic musicals and served as a springboard into the opera house for Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide.”

Despite its decades of artistic success, in 2008, it was revealed the organization was struggling against serious financial difficulties. After 45 years, it would depart Lincoln Center to perform in a variety of New York venues, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, until its seemingly inevitable bankruptcy in 2013. (Ironically, it was in 2008 that billionaire David H. Koch donated $100 million for the renovation of New York State Theater. The space has since borne his name.)

In 2016, the company was revived under new management, NYCO Renaissance Ltd. The new NYCO returned to Lincoln Center with a performance of “Tosca,” not at Koch Theater, but at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Since then, it has maintained something of an itinerant existence, in recent years maintaining its presence mainly through recitals and park performances. It has not given a staged performance since the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis” in 2022.

Now the company seems poised to begin a new era. Conductor Constantine Orbelian, who had been the organization’s music director since 2021, was promoted to its executive director in September. The first concert under his administration will not be a staged opera, but rather an ambitious program to be presented at Carnegie Hall under the title “Music of Survival: A Celebration of Survival and Perseverance Told Through the Universal Language of Music.” The evening will include Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Suite from “The Last Inch” and Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s rarely-heard Cello Concerto, conceived for the Bette Davis film “Deception,” and the U.S. premiere of Gennady Rovner’s “Metamorphosis” Symphony. The concert will take place on February 24 at 8 p.m.

This will serve as preamble to next season, which will highlight a fully-staged revival of William Grant Still’s opera “Trouble Island.” The work, with a libretto by Langston Hughes and Still’s wife, Verna Arvey, focuses on the rise and fall of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution, the only slave rebellion in history to successfully establish an independent nation.

“Troubled Island,” the first work by a Black American to be performed by a major company, in 1949 (after having been withdrawn twice in 1945 and 1948), was a great success with the opening night audience, receiving 22 curtain calls. Critical reaction was not as kind. Years later, Still’s daughter Judith claimed the work’s positive reception had been undermined by institutional racism. “Howard Taubman came to my father and said ‘Billy, because I’m your friend I think that I should tell you this – the critics have had a meeting to decide what to do about your opera. They think the colored boy has gone far enough and they have voted to pan your opera.’ And that was it. In those days, critics had that kind of influence.”

Still had already achieved unprecedented recognition in his field for a composer of color, having also been the first Black American to have had a symphony performed by a major orchestra, the first to have had a symphony performed widely, the first to have conducted a major orchestra, and much later – three years after his death, in fact – the first to have an opera (“A Bayou Legend”) broadcast on national television, as late as 1981. During his heyday, Still was widely hailed as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.” But for some reason, a Black man in the opera house was evidently perceived by influential forces as an audacious step too far.

In 2006, Judith Still organized the heartbreaking story into a 600-page book she compiled from original documents, “Just Tell the Story: Troubled Island.” I ordered it in 2021, from William Grant Still Music, which is owned and operated by the composer’s family, but have yet to read it. I will do so before attending next season’s performance. Hopefully the planned revival will not be hampered or dismissed because of anti-DEI initiatives. While I agree that music and composers should rise or fall according to their individual merit, they should also be given the same opportunities as their peers. From what has been allowed to reach the public, Still has long proven himself an important voice in American music. Sadly, it’s only in the wake of George Floyd that many of our musical institutions are finally giving Still the platform he has so long deserved. I think he would be shocked to know his music is now being played by most of the country’s great orchestras.

NYCO was founded in 1943, offering affordable opera out of New York City Center, on West 55th Street, formerly a Masonic temple, converted into a performing arts center by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and City Council President Newbold Morris. La Guardia dubbed it “the people’s opera.” As previously indicated, the company moved to Lincoln Center in 1966, the same year the Met opened at its new digs. (Since 1883, the Old Met had been located at 1411 Broadway.)

Unfortunately, I missed the glory days of Sills and her associates, but in the 1990s, I would travel in to New York with my best friend to catch NYCO performances of rarely-staged operas by Korngold, Sir Michael Tippett, Ferruccio Busoni, and Paul Hindemith. This would have been during Christopher Keene’s tenure. Keene had conducted at NYCO since 1970, and I am greatly indebted to him for some highly enjoyable and musically stimulating afternoons at the theater. Later, I learned of Keene’s personal demons, which made his energy and professionalism all the more remarkable. Sadly, he died of complications from AIDS in 1995 at the age of 48.

Buoyed by the excellence of these productions, I brought my parents, who were not “opera people,” but were curious, to see Arrigo Boito’s “Mefistofele.” Tito Copabianco’s classic production had propelled both Norman Treigle and Samuel Ramey to superstardom, but regrettably by 1994, it was looking a little threadbare and sad. At least it had an orgy and some horses (though not in the same scene).

Orbelian says he also plans to resurrect Pietro Mascagni’s “Isabeau.” You can read more about it here:

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-city-opera-constantine-orbelian-c4b9260c0ca4d5dbb8caf326de81a430

Music of Survival at Carnegie Hall on February 24

https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2025/02/24/The-New-York-City-Opera-Orchestra-Music-of-Survival-Works-by-Weinberg-Korngold-0800PM

PHOTOS: William Grant Still and baritone Robert Weede, behind the scenes of “Troubled Island;” and New York City Opera’s Constantine Orbelian

January 29, 2025
Juneteenth, Classical Music, and Cultural Change

Is Juneteenth poised to become the next Mardi Gras/St. Patrick’s Day/Cinco de Mayo? Well, at least it’s not a drinking holiday yet.

While I venture to guess it’s still all fairly new to most white folks (I was probably ahead of the curve, thanks to Ralph Ellison’s novel, “Juneteenth,” finally published in full, posthumously, in 1999), I can’t say its wider dissemination is altogether a bad thing. For classical music lovers, especially, there has been so much to discover – and yes, to celebrate – as the result of sweeping cultural changes and broader awareness over the past few years, and by no means restricted to June 19.

Some may roll their eyes at all the “over-exposure” of Florence Price, but come on, admit it, isn’t it a little invigorating to hear some American music other than the same old Gershwin and Copland? In the interest of full disclosure, I offer this as someone for whom Copland is probably one of my favorite composers. So much Black classical music, if it was known at all, was almost never heard, unless it was on that one, scrappily-played, often out-of-print and hard-to-find recording. For how many years was I hungry to hear the complete symphonies of William Grant Still? Now they’re getting played – in concert, no less!

For those of you tiring of George Walker’s “Lyric for Strings” (and how could you?), look at it as a corrective. At some point, the pendulum will swing back, and ideally this belated inundation of Black music will lead to the best of it taking its place in the active repertoire. It can’t happen unless people know it’s out there and are exposed to it.

I look forward to the day that we’ll be past the point of anyone grousing about quotas or “woke” or any of that nonsense. People are ridiculous creatures. It’s easy to deride and it’s tempting to mock – believe me, I can be as cynical as anyone, and in all things – but really, there are many sincere concert programmers out there who are just trying to do the best that they can. For anyone who happens merely to be paying lip-service to the zeitgeist, I’m sure there are many more who want to do the right thing.

For those for whom the holiday has always meant something (June 19 is the date in 1865 on which the federal enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation guaranteed freedom to enslaved peoples in all Confederate states following the Civil War), I can imagine how, after a while, it could all get to be a little much for them, too. The more popular it becomes, the more corporate or Disneyfied it risks becoming. How long before Juneteenth is ruined by the Man?

Anyway, celebrate responsibly, everyone, and remember – keep the Juneteenth in Juneteenth!

Florence Price, “Juba” from the Symphony No. 1

George Walker, “Lyric for Strings”

William Grant Still, “Serenade”

Adolphus Hailstork, “Celebration!” (composed for the U.S. Bicentennial)

June 19, 2024
William Grant Still Afro-American Composer

They say that still waters run deep.

William Grant Still, frequently described as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers,” wrote a lot of attractive music, much of it informed by the black experience. This week on “The Lost Chord,” to coincide with Still’s birthday anniversary (born on this date in 1895), we’ll hear some of it, including the delightful Symphony No. 2, subtitled “Song of a New Race.” Also, a more serious work fueled by racial injustice, “And They Lynched Him on a Tree,” for double-choir, narrator and orchestra.

Still, who died in 1978, emerged from unlikely circumstances – born in Woodville, Mississippi and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas – to become a major force in American music. Having abandoned a career in medicine for studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studied with George Whitefield Chadwick, Still was a “first” in many respects.

His Symphony No. 1, the “Afro-American Symphony” was the first written by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra (the Rochester 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). Another of his operas, “A Bayou Legend,” was the first to be performed on national television (as late as 1981). His works were performed internationally by the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, and the Tokyo Philharmonic.

Perhaps the least likely pupil of Edgard Varèse, Still incorporated jazz and blues elements into his concert music. He cut his teeth writing arrangements for Paul Whiteman, W.C. Handy, and Artie Shaw. According to Eubie Blake, one of Still’s improvisations in the pit during Blake’s revue “Shuffle Along” became the basis for Gershwin’s hit tune “I Got Rhythm.” (Blake conceded the appropriation was probably inadvertent.) Still and Gershwin were on friendly terms and made it a point to attend one and another’s performances.

Listen to Still’s Symphony No. 2 – first performed in 1936 by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra – and see if you don’t agree that Gershwin could only wish that he had composed its elegant second movement.

We’ll follow that with a very different piece, Still’s choral ballad “And They Lynched Him on a Tree,” composed in 1940. Poet Katherine G.C. Biddle, niece of Charlotte Mason, “Godmother of the Harlem Renaissance,” provided the libretto. The work is scored for contralto soloist, as mother of the victim, a “white chorus” to depict the mob, a “black chorus” to discover the lynching, a narrator (William Warfield in this recording), and small orchestra. The piece is almost exactly contemporary with Abel Meeropol’s “Strange Fruit.” It was given its first performance by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Artur Rodzinski.

Finally, at the end of the hour, we’ll decompress with Still’s beautiful and contemplative “Summerland.”

I hope you’ll join me for “Still Runs Deep” – music by William Grant Still – this week on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times for all three of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EASTERN)

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday on KWAX at 8:00 AM PACIFIC TIME (11:00 AM EASTERN)

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EASTERN)

Stream all three, at the times indicated, by following the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

May 11, 2024
Rediscovering Black Composers

Time was, one really had to scrape to pull together a good Black History program. My, how things have changed! The past few years have seen an explosion of recordings and wider exposure for composers once known mostly to record collectors. Who knew that Florence Price would one day be played everywhere?

This week on “Sweetness and Light,” I feel sheepish even making it a two-parter, as I’m still merely skating across the surface. But it is, after all, a light music show.

Enjoy a second cup of coffee with Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; the “Dean of Afro-American composers,” William Grant Still; former slave “Blind Tom” Wiggins (allegedly once the highest-paid pianist of the 19th century); Philadelphia-born bugle virtuoso Francis Johnson (including his “Princeton Gallopade”); and Duke Ellington.

Next year, maybe I’ll make it a four-parter. Or better yet, be more conscious about including more of this music throughout the year. I try, but I can’t tell you how many times things get cut, so that I can fit it all into an hour. (Apologies to you, Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, and Edmond Dédé!)

Good music is not a black and white issue. I hope you’ll join me for another “Sweetness and Light,” music calculated to charm and to cheer. It’s part two of “Black and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Listen to it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

PHOTO: Have coffee with the Duke

February 24, 2024
William Grant Still: A Long-Awaited Revival

Can it be that William Grant Still’s time has finally come?

Whereas in the past, I would be lucky ever to encounter his works outside of recordings, within the last few months, I was able to hear “Ennanga,” for piano, harp and strings, with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony No. 2 with the New York Philharmonic, and the “Afro-American Symphony” (the Symphony No. 1) with the New Jersey Symphony.

In October, on its first subscription concert of the 2023-24 season, The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform the Symphony No. 4. The New Jersey Symphony will open its season with Still’s “Out of the Silence.” And how appropriate that title has turned out to be.

Still is on the move. And it’s about time.

The “Afro-American Symphony” is one of my favorite American symphonies ever. And it’s been so for decades. I’ve been in love with it ever since I first heard it on record nearly 40 years ago. It’s poetic, nostalgic, celebratory, genuinely reflective, beautiful, and brimming with great tunes. It’s congenial, and in the end quite moving. Not to take anything away from the noisy wartime symphonies of Copland, Harris, Schuman, and the rest, but surely there’s room in the pantheon for other points of view.

Any discussion of Still must include a litany of “firsts.” His “Afro-American Symphony” was the first written by a black composer to be performed by a professional orchestra (the Rochester Philharmonic in 1931). He was the first black composer to be given the opportunity to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 1936). His opera, “Troubled Island,” became the first to be produced by a major company (the New York City Opera in 1949). Another of his operas, “A Bayou Legend,” was the first to be performed on national television (as late as 1981). His works were performed internationally by the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, and the Tokyo Philharmonic.

Yet in nearly 40 years of attending concerts, until recently, the only times I ever encountered Still “live” were when the Westminster Community Orchestra played “Wood Notes,” in 2015, and the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic Orchestra performed the Symphony No. 4, on a program with Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1, in 2019. Both were before the death of George Floyd spurred arts organizations to get with it, already. So bravo, local orchestras!

Otherwise, all of my familiarity with Still’s work has been gleaned from recordings.

Price, in particular – the first black woman to have her music played by a major orchestra (the Chicago Symphony in 1933) – is undergoing quite a revival. It’s too bad neither she nor Still are around to see it. It’s not a matter of skin color that makes the music worthwhile, but unfortunately, it has been the case that because of it, their music was perhaps not always taken as seriously as it might have been.

We are now in the enviable position to be able to address some of the injustices of the past, in resurrecting this music, giving it the exposure it deserves, and allowing posterity to sort it out. Just because music is not played doesn’t always mean it is not worthwhile. A lot of very talented, very qualified people are finally getting their chance to be heard.

And you don’t have to be a minority to reap the rewards.

Happy birthday, William Grant Still.

PHOTO: In living color – my heart be Still!

May 11, 2023

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