Symphony No. 2 (Still)

Symphony No. 2 in G minor, also known as Symphony No. 2 "Song of a New Race", is a 1937 composition in four movements by American composer William Grant Still.[1] The work was first performed on December 10, 1937, by the Philadelphia Orchestra led by conductor Leopold Stokowski.[1][2][3][4] The symphony is about thirty minutes long.

William Grant Still in 1949, photographed by Carl Van Vechten

Overview

William Grant Still contrasted his Symphony No. 2 with his earlier Symphony No. 1. If Symphony No. 1 "represented the Negro of days not far removed from the Civil War," Symphony No. 2 represented "the American colored man of today, in so many instances a totally new individual produced through the fusion of White, Indian and Negro bloods".[4] According to one reviewer commenting on the premiere performance of the symphony by the Philadelphia Orchestra, "[The symphony]s characteristically expansive, lyrical string writing seems specifically intended to exploit that orchestra’s famously silky string sound. Near the climax of the first movement, and at key moments elsewhere, the brasses-trumpets and trombones especially, punctuate the texture with gestures suggesting call and response, elements of the African American essence that persistently asserts itself even as blacks were more fully integrated into the wider, more diverse American culture."[4]

Movements

The symphony is in four movements as follows:

  1. Slowly
  2. Slowly and deeply expressive
  3. Moderately fast
  4. Moderaly slow

Reviews

Allan Kozinn of The New York Times notes the work's, "bright, rhythmically vital third movement".[5]

See also

References
  1. Soll, Beverly (2005). I Dream a World: The Operas of William Grant Still. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-789-2.
  2. Louderback, Kathryn (2020). "William Grant Still: Song of a New Race". PianistMusings.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. Pentreath, Rosie (October 16, 2020). "How William Grant Still, the 'Dean of Afro-American composers', changed American classical music forever". ClassicFM.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  4. Smith, Catherine Parsons (January 28, 2021). "William Grant Still, Darker America, Africa, Symphony No. 2". AmericanSymphony.org. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  5. Kozinn, Allan (March 23, 2009). "Rescuing a Composer From Obscurity's Shadow". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

Further reading
  • Still, Judith Anne (1990). William Grant Still: A Voice High-Sounding (1 ed.). Flagstaff, Arizona: The Master-Player Library. ISBN 1-877873-15-2.
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