Many ensembles made recordings, and names like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw became well-known. She took her son, her only child, to Little Rock, Arkansas, after the elder Stills death, and there she married again. The 1930s were very productive years for William Grant Still Jr.,'s career and also caused a change in his personal life. Calvert Bean Richard Fields, Piano. D. held a graduate degree from Oberlin CollegeConservatory of Music. In 1974, Opera/South in Jackson, Mississippi, presented the world premiere of Still's A Bayou Legend, originally composed in 1941. He married the writer Verna Arvey, who collaborated with him as librettist in his stage works. Little known acknowledged fact about him is he as wellas Langston Hughes was a participant in the Harlem Renaissance. What films did William Grant Still compose music for? what was william grant stills intention in his afro-american symphony? In his music he occasionally made use of actual Negro folk songs, but mostly he invented his thematic materials. Other elements throughout the movement reflect characteristic features of African American music. What term is used to describe the absence of key or tonality in a musical composition? https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/william-grant-still, "William Grant Still The Afro-American Symphony is scored for full orchestra, including celeste, harp, and tenor banjo (the piece was the first time a banjo had been used in symphonic music). Still was born in 1895 in Woodville, Mississippi, was raised in Little Rock, and came to maturity during the early years of the Harlem Renaissance. The blues are represented musically in William Grant Stills Suite for Violin and Piano. His later works, such as ThePrince and the Mermaid (1966), continued to indicate his originality within conventional modes of expression. John chose a particular recording of Stills Symphony for several reasons: The performance, by the Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra, is especially bright and full of life. Spark provides very specific information about World War I in the story, especially about the battles, the Western Front, and the countries involved. With its dark timbres, the second is a clear expression of sadness. How does the music of William Grant Still fit the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance as expressed in the Suite for violin? The Afro-American Symphony fits within the standard framework of a European four-movement symphony but incorporates African American musical idioms throughout the piece. He orchestrated musical comedies and wrote for outstanding personalities such as Artie Shaw and Paul Whiteman. Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire. First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: This site uses cookies to offer you the best possible experience. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1984. William Grant Still's Seven Traceries (1940) is a set of piano pieces that exhibits a number of post-tonal materials and techniques such as octatonicism, extended tertian sonorities, dense chromaticism, and extensive motivic development. How his Afro-American Symphony was received. Subjects: People Also, of note is that he wrote the theme music for the New York Fair for the year of 1939-1940. Why is A Black Pierrot regarded as a complete work? [7] By the end of World War II the piece had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, Paris, and London. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. The Children were: William Bundy Still, Gail Lynde Still, June Allen Still and Caroline Elaine Still. Encyclopedia.com. Woodville, Mississippi Born William Grant Still. Black Musicians in Early America [3] Still worked for the school assisting the janitor, along with a few other small jobs outside of the school, yet still struggled financially. Swing dance, on the other hand, flourished in tandem with the music. Read other posts by Megan Reich On October 4, 1915,[7] Still married Grace Bundy, whom he had met while they were both at Wilberforce. Portland, OR 97214, https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sgo/texts/dunbar.html, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/17492/Latshaw%2C%20Charles%20%28DM%20Orch%20Cond%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, https://www.bsomusic.org/stories/listening-guide-william-grant-still/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._1_%22Afro-American%22. '"[7], Still composed Song of a City for the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. It was titled, "Sons of a City.He also recorded it. CD. William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 - December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works for solo instruments. One of the most prominent African American contributors to the history of classical music was William Grant Still (1895-1978), a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance and known to his colleagues as the "Dean of Afro-American composers." William Grant Still was born in Woodville, Mississippi on May 11th, _____ teachers. 1 "Afro-American" (1930). Early African American Composers and Conductors Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like 1895, teachers, 14 and more. She had four children with him. ." They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The work remains Stills best known; it featured a mosaic of African-American motifs that included not only spirituals but also blues, jazz, and call-and-response elements. Accessed 30 Jan 2018. S. (N.Y., 1939); R. Simpson, W.G. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Wyatt, Lucius "Still, William Grant Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982. It was premiered by Howard Hanson and the Rochester Philharmonic. He was born in Woodville, Mississippi, and died in Los Angeles, California, in December. Determined to develop a symphonic type of Negro music, he wrote an Afro-American Symphony (1930). In 1939 he married, settling in Los Angeles. FALSE Question #2 As a young person, William Grant Still was hired to write arrangements for A. Duke Ellington. Arvey, Verna, In One Lifetime, University of Arkansas Press, 1984. Suite for Violin and Piano - William Grant Still (music starts at 3:57)African DancerMother and ChildGaminTeresa Ling, violinJeannette Fang, pianofilmed by T. C. played the violin in the university stringquartet while a college student. Slonimsky, Nicolas, ed. ." Then William Grant Still Jr. grew up. His father was bandmaster in Woodville; after his death when Still was in infancy, his mother moved the family to Little Rock, Ark., where she became a high school teacher. Often referred to as the dean of African-American composers, William Grant Still is noted in the history books for the series of firsts he achievedhe was the first black composer to have a symphony performed by an American orchestra, the first black composer to have an opera performed by a major company, and the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic), among others. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/still-william-grant, Wyatt, Lucius "Still, William Grant Your browser is not using Javascript. [7], In 1934, Still moved to Los Angeles. He died of a stroke in Los Angeles on December 3, 1978. What did William still do to help slaves? Still died on December 3, 1978 in Los Angeles. [citation needed], In 1981, the opera A Bayou Legend was the first by an African-American composer to be performed on national television. 3, The Sunday Symphony; 1958), No. While in school he had some personal activities outside of class. Still worked on the opera for several years, and its premiere at the New York City Opera on March 31, 1949, marked the first time an opera composed by an African American had been performed in a major house. At the end of the war, he went back to his life. lived a double life as a popular musician and a composer of concert works. What genre is a clear influence on the composition of Stills Suite for Violin and Piano? . ." His private studies in composition were with George Whitefield Chadwick in Boston and Edgard Varse in New York. Encyclopedia.com. . Bakers Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. RAPIDPASS is an on-road emissions test . . With its sweeping arc and gentle syncopation, the second melody, introduced by the oboe, is reminiscent of a Black spiritual. Since 1976, the United States has officially recognized February as Black History Month, an annual time to recognize the central roles blacks have played in U.S. history and a celebration of the achievements of African Americans in our culture and society. [10]:6,12, Still started violin lessons in Little Rock at the age of 15. By blending jazz, blues, and spirituals into a traditional classical form and placing them within the context of the concert hall, Still highlights these styles as something to be celebrated, rather than downcast as low class or vulgar music. William Grant Still's musical background. Stills melody has several key features that make it a classic blues tune, including its use of the standard twelve-bar blues harmonic progression, a swung rhythm, and a use of lowered fifth, third, and seventh scale degrees in the melodythat imitate blue notes. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like 1895, teachers, 14 and more. The work later received hundreds of performances in the United States and abroad. He met her after moving to L.A. Age of 16 enrolled at wilberforce university as a premedical student, but still played violin in the string quartet, and abandoned medicine for music. 2, 1975, pp. Prolific and influential, many call William Grant Still the "Dean of African American composers" and it's not hard to see why. During the 1930s he also moved to Los Angeles. Paulette Coleman Ashburn, VA 20147. Nor did Still abandon popular forms; he wrote the score for the Bing Crosby film Pennies from Heaven after moving to California in 1935. Symphony No. 23 Feb. 2023 . In One Lifetime. He started violin lessons at age 15. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Education: Attended Wilber-force College, Wilberforce, OH, 1911-15; attended Oberlin College, Wilberforce, OH; studied with composers George Chadwick and Edgard Varse, 1920s. Interestingly, several measures into the first theme is a tune that closely resembles Gershwins I Got Rhythm. Did Gershwin get his melody from Still, or was it the other way around? . His mother, Carrie remarried Charles Shepperson. Also of note is Stills unusual instrumental timbres. Cons. : No. In 1939 he remarried; his second wife, Verna Arvey (who later wrote a biography of Still), was a Jewish concert pianist, and he wrote the piano collection Seven Traceries and other piano music as a result. Wyatt, Lucius "Still, William Grant His career can be described as interesting, but not very successful. [16] Many of his works are believed to be lost. . When he composed his Suite for Violin and Piano in 1943, he was inspired by three sculptures: Richmond Barths African Dancer, Sargent Johnsons Mother and Child, and Augusta Savages Gamin. I. Assai Moderato A classic twelve-bar blues progression may be found in the opening movement, moderato assai (extremely mild). Classical Music CHAMBER : Suite for Violin and Piano (1943); Pastorela for Violin and Piano (1946); 4 Folk Suites for Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Strings, and Piano (1962); Vignettes for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano (1962); piano pieces. The Afro-American Symphony, however, remains as Stills landmark piece, and remains one of the most frequently performed symphonies by an American composer in the United States. He began to think about a career as a classical composeran option not even on the horizon for African Americans at the timeafter the Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor came to Ohio on a U.S. tour. 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