Host Ana Smith and Dr. Tammy Kernodle conclude their discussion of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Gershwin wrote most of his music in the decades between World War I, and thus was inspired to create a style of music that was unique to the United States. He wasn’t alone in this idea: In the mid 1800s, a group of Russian composers known as “The Mighty Handful” set out to do the same for Russia, and later on, composers like Claude Debussy, Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel did the same for France. The music of early 20th century composers like Gershwin and Scott Joplin was frequently revisited as the US rose to global dominance following World War II. Their style of American music was supplemented with new music by composers like Aaron Copland, William Grant Still, and Charles Ives.
This episode discusses the reasons for the differences between Gershwin’s brand of American music and the brand of composers like Copland, and how to put Gershwin’s role as a white man in jazz into modern perspective.
Key Vocabulary:
- William Grant Still (1895-1978): A leader of 20th century American music, known as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.” His Afro-American Symphony was the first complete work by a Black American to be performed by a major orchestra.
- Aaron Copland (1900-1990): A leader of 20th century American Music, whose music depicted vast landscapes and pioneering spirit of common Americans. He is best known for works like Appalachian Spring (1944), Rodeo (1942), and Fanfare for the Common Man (1942).
- Alexander Borodin (1833-1887): One of the five Russian composers who sought to create a unique Russian sound in the 19th century.
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908): One of the five Russian composers who sought to create a unique Russian sound in the 19th century, best known for “Flight of the Bumblebee” (1900).
- Claude Debussy (1862-1918): One of France’s most influential composers, known for pieces like “Clair de lune” (1905). Debussy was a leader of the Impressionist movement
- Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): One of France’s most influential composers, known for his Carnival of the Animals (1886) and Danse Macabre (1874).
Dr. Tammy Kernodle is a professor of musicology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She specializes in Black American music, gender studies, and their intersection.
