Since the Fourth of July is coming up, I thought I would listen to a piece of American music this week, but what? I ran a Google-search for something like, “Best American classical music,” and I found a list from ClassicFM.com with that exact title, “The Best American Classical Music, HERE. Of the twenty selections they have listed, I’ve heard of fourteen of them, and I’ve heard thirteen of them performed. The pieces I had not heard of were there following:
I'm a fan of the music by Steve Reich, so I selected his “Different Trains” to listen to this week. I also listened to Carter’s “A Symphony of Three Orchestras,” but I will save that piece for an upcoming week. Also, before I get to Reich’s work, can I vent a little bit? Classic FM’s list of “The Best American Classical Music” included -- at spot #8 on their list of 20 works -- John Cage’s 4’ 33”. Really? 4’ 33” ranks as one of the “the best” pieces of American classical music? Here’s what ClassicFM had to say about the piece: “If you thought 4'33" was just three movements of silence, think again. John Cage, one of America's most influential 20th century composers, considered it his most important work. He was playing with the idea of what music 'is' - and as far as 4'33" is concerned, that includes any type of sound, whether it's played by an instrument or not.” So four and a half minutes of silence ranks as one of our best? This peccadillo motivated me to do two things.
Below from left to right: My new masterpiece "5x7." As you can see, this is an incredible piece, and its mood changes dramatically, depending upon which wall it is hung. If you have interest in making an offer to own this one-of-a-kind piece, please let me know a.s.a.p. -- as I am sure it will go quickly! Now, before I move on to Steve Reich's "Different Trains," here is my Top 20 list of "The Best American Classical Music" -- and please note, although I have twenty works named below, I did not rank them. The tiles highlighted in RED are also on the ClassicFM list. 1. The score from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein 2. Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland 3. Stars & Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa 4. Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber 5. Variations on America by Charles Ives 6. Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin 7. Suite of Old American Dances by Robert Russell Bennett 8. Piano Concerto in F by George Gershwin 9. Scene d'Amour from "Vertigo" by Bernard Herrmann 10. Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin 11. Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar 12 Beautiful Dreamer by Stephen Foster 13. Theme from The Magnificent Seven by Elmer Bernstein 14. Rodeo by Aaron Copland 15. The soundtrack to Star Wars' "A New Hope" by John Wiliams 16. Three Dances from "On the Town" by Leonard Bernstein 17. Washington Post March by John Philip Sousa 18. The Desert Music by Steve Reich 19. Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein 20. Breakfast Machine by Danny Elfman* *Hey, if ClassicFM can have 4' 33" on their list, then I can have Breakfast Machine on mine! If you had to identify twenty pieces as the "best American classical music," what would you include?
Okay, enough of all that. The time has come to discuss the piece at hand, Steve Reich's "Different Trains." First, let me say that the music of Steve Reich is not for everyone. The music. The music of Steve Reich. The music -- the music -- the music of Steve Reich is not -- is not -- for everyone. Is Not -- the music -- is not for everyone, everyone. Not for -- everyone. Okay, I’m being silly. However, if you’re not familiar with the music of Steve Reich, it is classified as “minimalism,” and I’m sure that the style does not appeal to everyone. I Google-searched “elements of minimalism” and I found this:
As you have probably guessed from my bit of silliness above, “Different Trains” is a minimalist piece, and it incorporates the elements of minimalism outline above -- so I'm sure it won't appeal to some (many?). The work consists of three movements:
During World War II, Reich made several train trips between New York and Los Angeles. Years later, he pondered the fact that, as a Jew, had he been in Europe instead of the United States at that time, he might have been travelling in Holocaust trains. This idea motivated him to compose “Different Trains,” a piece for string quartet and tape which includes recorded speech as a source for some of the melodies. The recorded speech is taken from interviews with people in the United States and Europe about the years leading up to, during, and immediately after World War II. More information about the interviews can be found on Wikipedia, HERE. The first movement begins by jumping in mid-trip with a train rushing ahead, lapping up the miles (to borrow Emily Dickinson’s description of a train, “I like to see it lap the Miles / And lick the Valleys up"). The rhythms, instrumentation, and sound effects most definitely convey the sound and feel of a train. And then comes the first recording of taped conversation: From Chicago From Chicago From Chicago From Chicago to New York. From Chicago to New York. From Chicago From Chicago From Chicago to New York From Chicago to New York From Chicago to New York From Chicago From Chicago to New York From Chicago Ugh. If I could make one change to "Different Trains," it would be to get rid of the recorded statements. They are monotonous, and they get in the way of truly appreciating the power of the piece. Yes, phrases of melody match the spoken pitches of lines like “one of the fastest trains” and “1939,” but they really do intrude with what could be a profound listening experience. One interesting feature of the minimalist approach with “Different Trains” is that trains really do generate steady beats with constant rhythms. They really do create specific and perpetual pitches with nominal changes. However, people don’t talk in fragmented and repeated phrases, and the repetitive lines detract from the powerful pulse and pitch of the piece. Plus, the phrases are banal and innocuous. They are more meaningful in the second movement, During the War (with lines like “Germans invaded Hungary” and “They tattooed a number on our arm”), but I think the music alone -- with the added sound effects of sirens and alarms -- leads to a more profound understanding of what is being conveyed. Maybe performance venues should just include the interviewee’s statements in the program notes? The intrusion by the lyrics is true for the third movement as well. The music conveys the speakers’ uncertainty about the end of war (“Then the war was over,” “Are you sure?” “The war is over”) and the moods and memories that follow in the wake of the horrific war. This site, HERE, includes all of the lines spoken in “Different Trains,” and the person who posted them concluded, “You can see that this music actually tells a story, although by fragmented sentences.” I think the music tells the story, and the fragmented sentences only get in the way. Again, having them printed in a program and then letting the music tell the story would be more powerful. Because of the intrusive lyrics, I have rated “Different Trains” BLUE. Minus the lyrics, I would have rated it higher.
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A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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