Happy Thanksgiving from WGUC!

Happy Thanksgiving! If you are interested in a playlist to accompany your festivities today, please see my last post that features a list of famous, American works.

As you stop to celebrate this important American holiday, why not take the time to reflect: what are you thankful for?

 

Just a reminder that we have several Thanksgiving specials airing on 90.9 WGUC today to accompany your holiday activities! Below is the schedule:

 10:00 AM: Feast for the Ears with Mark Perzel

 6:00 PM: Giving Thanks 2014: Maya Angelou & Nikki Giovanni

With music and stories for Thanksgiving, host John Birge creates a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday.

A Thanksgiving Music Playlist

This week we gather with our loved ones and remember our nation’s history, reflect on what we’re thankful for in life, and eat good food! Have you ever thought about what music best exhibits an American national sound? In honor of this great American holiday, let’s talk about composers who succeeded in creating American nationalism in their music. Below, I list several American composers with example works but the list is by no means exhaustive. What other works/composers can you think of? Please provide examples of your favorites!

William Billings, Chester

Stephen Foster, Old Folks at Home

George Chadwick, Symphonic Sketches: Jubilee

Henry Mancini, Moon River

John Philip Sousa, Stars and Stripes Forever

Irving Berlin, God Bless America

George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue

Ferde Grofe, Grand Canyon Suite

Charles Ives, Concord Sonata: The Alcotts

Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring

William Grant Still, Afro-American Symphony

Cole Porter, Anything Goes

Duke Ellington, Satin Doll

Scott Joplin, The Entertainer

Erich Korngold, Violin Concerto

Mark O’Connor, Appalachia Waltz

This week on WGUC we will offer several Thanksgiving specials to accompany your festivities. Below is a schedule of our offerings!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 6:00 PM

Thanksgiving with Cantus – Cantus is one of the premiere men’s vocal ensembles, and with Alison Young, they talk about the holiday, music and food.

Thursday, November 27, 10:00 AM

Feast for the Ears with Mark Perzel

Thursday, November 27, 6:00 PM

Giving Thanks 2014: Maya Angelou & Nikki Giovanni

With music and stories for Thanksgiving, host John Birge creates a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday.

Russian Nationalism: Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture

Last time we looked at Russian nationalism in the music of Alexander Borodin and discussed “The Mighty Handful.” Today, let’s talk about another member of this Russian group of composers: Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.

Rimsky-Korsakov helped ensure that distinct Russian music carried on into the future by editing, completing, and orchestrating works of other Russian composers. He also taught key composers including Alexander Glazunov and Igor Stravinsky. Like Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov had nationalistic tendencies. One example can be found in his Russian Easter Festival Overture. This particular piece incorporates four themes from the Russian Orthodox book of canticles. It’s no surprise that Rimsky-Korsakov chose this holiday to depict in music as it’s known as the nation’s most significant holiday and the composer most likely had memories of it from growing up in Russia. You can even hear Easter bells toward the end of the work!

Here is a clip with Russian Easter Festival Overture. In your opinion, does it sound Russian?