An Introduction to America’s Music

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CHAPTER

CONCERT MUSIC B E T WEEN 13

THE WORLD WARS

I

n the decades between the two world wars, classical music in the United

States underwent profound transformations. Symphony orchestras saw the

rise of the celebrity conductor, an elevation of the performer to a stand-

ing in the classical sphere once reserved for the composer. At the same time,

some composers, both ultramodernists and conservatives, responded to the

Great Depression with a new populist spirit that placed a higher value on con-

necting their music to the lives of ordinary Americans. And some Americans

made music that confounds the familiar division into classical, popular, or folk

categories.

This chapter begins with a consideration of how the Great Depression

altered the relationships between composers, performers, and audiences

in the classical sphere, with a focus on one ultramodernist, Ruth Crawford

Seeger, as an exemplar of the classical musician’s struggle to balance advanced

musical techniques with political relevance. Next we take up George Gersh-

win, a composer whose music, perhaps more than that of any other American

artist, resists the usual categories. To conclude, this chapter surveys con-

cert works by African American composers with strong ties to jazz and folk

traditions.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, CELEBRITY

CONDUCTORS, AND THE NEW MEDIA

As described in chapter 8, in the latter 1800s Theodore Thomas and other con-

ductors established the American symphony orchestra as an ensemble grounded

in European classics. The years 1890 to 1930 saw the establishment of permanent

orchestras in such cities as Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco, and Seattle. Symphony

orchestras were supported by a combination of box-offi ce receipts and private

gifts. The role of wealthy citizens was crucial, yet orchestras survived because

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