American Symphony Orchestra: Forging an American Musical Identity

In 1962, when the New York Philharmonic moved from Carnegie Hall to the brand-new Lincoln Center, famed Conductor Leopold Stokowski founded the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) to play at Carnegie. The ASO had, and has, multiple goals: affordable prices; concerts of less-known pieces, particularly from the Americas; and the presentation of new music. The orchestra also has an educational component, including in-person conductor's Q&As preceding performances; concerts at the Metropolitan Museum keyed into current exhibitions; detailed and often fascinating notes in the Playbills: and free videos and recordings on the website (americansymphony.org/). Music Director Leon Botstein, part of the ASO since 1992, honors the music with excellent presentations and is a clear and charming speaker. 

In other words, the ASO and Mr Botstein are treasures.

Photo: Matt Dine

At the recent Carnegie Hall concert, the ASO and the Bard Festival Chorale performed an evening titled "Forging an American Musical Identity," starting with Dudley Buck's Festival Overture on the American Air (1879), theme and variations on "The Star-Spangled Banner." I am not a fan of "The Star-Spangled Banner," finding it too martial and not all that pleasant to listen to. But Buck made it as beautiful as I think it ever could be.

Next came three spirituals arranged by Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949), arguably the first Black composer to achieve national fame. They were gloriously sung by mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges.

J'Nai Bridges
Photo: Matt Dine

The first act closed with an American centennial march (1876) by Richard Wagner, which was surprisingly dull.

Photo: Matt Dine

The second act brought Symphony No. 5, Op. 62, "Niagara," composed by George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898), with text by Charles Walker Lord, featuring orchestra, chorale, and four soloists. The work hadn't been performed in full in over a hundred years. As rescued by the ASO, the piece was received rapturously, in a way that made me hope that, if there is an afterlife, Bristow was watching.

Wendy Caster

William Grant Still and the Harlem Renaissance

The Orchestra Now (TON) regularly presents concerts keyed into exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The most recent, William Grant Still and the Harlem Renaissance, focuses on Still's "Symphony No. 2, Song of a New Race," reflecting the Met exhibit, "The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism." Still had an impressive career full of firsts for Americans and African-Americans. He wrote five symphonies, nine operas, and four ballets, along with various choral works, art songs, and chamber pieces. His best known piece is probably his "Afro-American Symphony," which was the most frequently performed piece by an American for years, pre-1950. TON conductor/founder Leon Botstein chose to focus on Still's second symphony, which he felt was not sufficiently known.

The structure of these "Sight & Sound" performances starts with a curator discussing the art exhibit with accompanying slides, followed by Botstein's introducing the music through brief excerpts and a detailed discussion of the piece's strengths, meanings, and context. Then the piece is played in full, followed by a Q and A.

Tisch Curator at Large Denise Murrell's introduction to "The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism" was elucidating and thoughtful. Botstein's discussion of the music was also elucidating and thoughtful and also sometimes funny. He's a charming teacher. The excerpts from the symphony were inviting, and the orchestra was excellent. Strangely enough, the whole symphony was less than the sum of its parts, at least to me.

At the beginning of the Q and A, a Black woman complained that the performance exploited and appropriated Still's work and was arguably racist. With our country's history of systemic racism, the accuser's feelings and distress are understandable. I wish now I had heard Botstein's answer, but I left because these discussions seem to me to be impossible by their nature. (Also, to be honest, I was antsy.) What could Botstein really say? How can one answer such strongly felt emotions? Particularly when you've just been called racist?

I have an answer, however, since I'm not standing there in public like Botstein was. I think that the accusations were unfair.

I should mention that my friend and I had already noted how few Black people there were in the orchestra and the audience. That fact at least partially reflects racism in education and opportunity in the USA. But the woman's comments were specifically about this orchestra playing Still's piece.

First, TON was likely making little to nothing doing this performance. They were taking nothing from Still; I can't see how that would constitute exploitation.

As for appropriation: Botstein's discussion was the exact opposite of that. He spoke at length of Still's experiences, of the pitfalls of people of color or various ethnicities writing for a largely white audience, of how much he respected Still's work, and of how important it be that Still not be forgotten. Botstein in no way took credit for the work or tried to adopt it. Instead, he worked in service to the piece.

As for the day being racist, I do not think it is racist for a white conductor and largely white and Asian-American orchestra to play work by an African-American composer. I also think it's fine for gay people to play straight people in movies (and vice versa), for Asians to play Jewish roles, for men to write female characters, for Black people to perform in classics, and so on. The bottom line is the quality of the work.

The best depiction I have ever seen of a conversation between two teenaged girls was written by John Sayles. In Appropriate, currently on Broadway, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a Black man, has written a strong play featuring only White characters. Barbara Kingsolver's brilliant Demon Copperhead is written in the voice of a young man in Appalachia. And so on.

And, yes, I think it is okay for a non-Black orchestra to play music by a Black man, particularly in the context that Botstein provided. (Though, of course, there should be more Black people in the orchestra!) What wouldn't be okay would be for Still's work to be neglected due to the current cultural climate.

Wendy Caster