| 10 American Works (91-100) |
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| 91. |
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Piano Fantasy (1957) [29'21"]
Charles Fierro - piano
Track 1, Charles Fierro Plays Aaron Copland {Delos 1013} |
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There are many reasons why I probably should not have included this work on the list. This work is not easy. It's long and frequently disturbing to listen to. Many easier Copland works are already played on most classical radio stations. Well, those reasons are precisely why this work is on the list. Since Copland is a known entity, this more difficult work of his can be a bridge to more difficult music by others. I know that it won't be to everyone's tastes, but it is an important work filled with exciting virtuosity and is worthy of occasional airplay.
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| 92. |
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Symphony No. 4 (1916) [30'39"]
American Symphony Orchestra (+ N Y Schola Cantorum) / Leopold Stokowski - conductor
Charles Ives: Symphony No. 4, etc. {Sony Masterworks Portrait Series MPK 46726} |
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It is difficult to justify ignoring the greatest American composer. Yes, there are dissonant moments but most are full of rhythmic excitement and fun. While there have been more accurate subsequent readings of this score, this world premiere recording (for which Stokowski needed two assocaite conductors) will always be extra-ordinarily heartfelt and glorious.
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| 93. |
William Schuman (1910-1992)
Symphony No. 3 (1941) [30'57"]
New York Philharmonic / Leonard Bernstein
Harris/Schuman: Symphonies {Deutsche Grammophon 419780} |
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Justifiably acknowledged as one of the greatest American symphonies but not played often enough. Leonard Bernstein liked it so much, he recorded it twice. Doesn't that make it worth a few listens?
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| 94. |
Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995)
Suite from The Lost Weekend (1945) [33'33"]
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Sedares - conductor
Tracks 1-3, Miklós Rózsa: Double Indemnity {Koch International Classics 7375} |
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Not nearly as well known as the score he wrote for Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, Rózsa's other theremin-filled score from 1945, The Lost Weekend was the score that Rózsa regarded more highly. Both works show that he was a major innovator as well as a great communicator. The recording, which is not a soundtrack, is further testimony that film music is a viable repertoire option for orchestras.
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| 95. |
Morton Feldman (1926-1987)
Clarinet and String Quartet (1983) [40'45"]
Ib Hausmann - clarinet, Pelligrini Quartet
Track 3, Morton Feldman: Clarinet and String Quartet {hatART 6166} |
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The longest work on the entire list, but actually a very short work by Feldman's standards. There are shorter Feldman works but not including something that captures Feldman's time-warping quiet vastness would do him an injustice. You might not think this extremely introverted music works on the radio, but I once heard his even longer 1985 Piano and String Quartet [79'33"] on the radio one night and stopped everything I was doing to listen till the end. Such is the power of this music.
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| 5 by Living Americans (96-100) |
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| 96. |
Alvin Singleton (b. 1940)
Shadows (1987) [22'10"]
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Robert Shaw - conductor
Track 1, Meet The Composer Residency Series - Alvin Singleton {Nonesuch 79231} |
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A powerful, yet haunting post-minimalist work by one of the most prominent African-American composers of music for the concert hall.
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| 97. |
Elodie Lauten (b. 1950)
Variations on the Orange Cycle (1991-95) [24'17"]
Lois Svard, piano
Tracks 1-4, Other Places - Lois Svard {Lovely Music 3052} |
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A seemingly simple, yet very elaborate exploration of time based on the vibration of the color orange!
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| 98. |
Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Different Trains (1988) [26'20"]
Kronos Quartet
Steve Reich: Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint (Nonesuch 79176} |
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In a recent The New York Times feature, Richard Taruskin called this Grammy Award-winning holocaust memorial for string quartet and taped speech the single greatest work from our time. What more can I say?
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| 99. |
John Adams (b. 1947)
Shaker Loops (1978) [28'10"]
Ensemble Modern / Sian Edwards - conductor
John Adams: Shaker Loops - Phrygian Gates - Chamber Symphony {BMG Classics 68674} |
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John Adams is the most frequently performed living American composer. Here's why in a work which is as important a harbinger of the music of the next century as Schoenberg's 1899 Transfigured Night was for this century.
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| 100. |
Leo Ornstein (b. 1892)
Piano Quintet (1927) [39'03"]
Janice Weber, piano, Lydian String Quartet
Leon Ornstein: Piano Quintet, String Quartet No. 3 {New World 80509} |
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The second longest work on this list, by the oldest composer on this list. A true American original whose exciting music has too long been overlooked, Ornstein is worthy of the extra time!
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