A West-Coast premiere for Still

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1940, the “Standing Room Only” signs went up early as a crowd of 23,000 stormed the Hollywood Bowl to hear the great Paul Robeson perform.

On the program was Earl Robinson’s “Ballad for Americans,” a work for solo voice and orchestra that was for a time one of the most popular musical works in America. Earl Robinson had studied with Copland, and in 1934 had joined the Federal Theater Project. His “Ballad for Americans” quickly became a popular concert hall vehicle for Paul Robeson, and, in election year 1940, it was even performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Republican Party’s National Convention. Robeson made a famous recording of the work, but nowadays “Ballad for Americans” is seldom, if ever, heard or performed.

Also on the Hollywood Bowl’s program for July 23, 1940, was the first complete West Coast performance of William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1, subtitled the “Afro-American Symphony” by its composer. Still had settled in Los Angeles to work for the film industry, but by 1940 had also achieved fame as the country’s foremost African-American composer of concert music. Unlike “Ballad for Americans,” the “Afro American Symphony” still shows up on concert programs these days.

Music Played in Today's Program

William Grant Still (1895-1978) Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American) Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 9154

On This Day

Births

• 1796 - Swedish composer Franz Berwald, in Stockholm

• 1866 - Italian opera composer Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria

• 1916 - American composer Ben Weber, in St. Louis, Mo.

Deaths

• 1757 - Italian composer and harpsichordist Domenico Scarlatti, age 71, in Madrid

• 1983 - French composer Georges Auric, age 84, in Paris

Premieres

• 1982 - John Harbison: "Variation" for clarinet, violin and piano, at the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico, by clarinetist David Satz, violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and pianist Ursula Oppens