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Providing information about American composers
from the 19th century,
such as as the best known Professional Song Composer,
to the 20th century,
such as the Dean of American Composers,
The Celebrity Composers
We live in a time when more emphasis is given to music celebrities and that includes some composers. It is unfair to concentrate on just a few well-known composers.
Over the past fifty years or so, most of the attention has been paid to only a handful of American composers from the 20th century who might be called...
"The Big Five"
[Aaron Copland with Leonard Bernstein]
While The Big Five composers are all worthy of great respect and admiration, there are also other American composers that are worth more research and discovery.
The Neglected ComposersOther American composers have had some of their music available on recordings, but not nearly as much as The Celebrity Composers.
Three of the American composers were all born in the 1850s:
George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931)
Three other American composers deserving more attention are:Dudley Buck (1839-1909)
Charles T. Griffes (1884-1920)And there are many more composers who could be added to this list of Neglected Composers.
Among classical record labels, there is a tendency to pay attention to only the
well-known American composers, like Copland, Gershwin or Ives.One of the few exceptions is Naxos Records which has had
an excellent American music series.To help correct this deficiency there is a need to encourage research and performances of lesser known American composers and their music in colleges, universities and music schools.
Another way is to distribute information, such as on this web site.
One formerly neglected area now receiving more attention is film music.
For more information on this subject, go to Film Composers and SoundtracksSee also the list of rare music and interviews with classical composers available
in the American Music Recordings Archive [AMRA]Also look at the names of composers on the web poll of
Top Ten Favorite American Composers
Recommended For Your Bookshelf...
A Composer's Notes: Remembering Miklós Rózsa - A Personal Recollection by Jeffrey Dane
And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey by Studs Terkel
For The Love of Music: Invitations to LISTENING by Michael Steinberg and Larry Rothel
George Gershwin: His Life and Work by Howard Pollack
A Guide To Film Music: Songs and Scores by Roger Hall
Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life by John Adams
A History of Film Music by Mervyn Cooke
Hitchcock's Music by Jack Sullivan
The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
Web Submissions
CD Review: SERENADA SCHIZOPHRANA (Danny Elfman)
Essay: Leonard Bernstein: The Total Musician by Jeffrey Dane
Essay: The Vanishing American Composer by Steven A. Kennedy
If you have researched or performed music by a lesser known American composer from the past and would like to submit a short essay or review, click on this link for the
AMP Links
American Music Recordings Archive [AMRA]
Favorite American Composers (Web Poll
Film Music Review (online magazine)
New England Music Archive [NEMA]
Society for Earlier American Music [SEAM]
Store for Music Publications and Recordings
Please remember to credit this website!
If you use any text from this web site for a class or a publication,
please give credit toAmerican Music Preservation.com
For any questions, write to:
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Use this handy Search Box for your purchases...
American Music Recordings Archive
Essential American Recordings Survey
New England Composers No. 1: Edwin Arthur Jones
New England Composers No. 2: George Whitefield Chadwick
New England
Music Archive (NEMA)
Society For
Earlier American Music [SEAM]
Leonard Bernstein:
The Total Musician
Tribute to
George
Templeton Strong
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