William Schuman (1910-1992)
William
Schuman's 60-year career as a composer and an educator left an
indelible mark on several generations of American musicians. Schuman
began exploring jazz and popular music while attending public school,
eventually forming an ensemble of his own (in which he played violin
and banjo). Abandoning a career in commerce, Schuman enrolled in the
Juilliard Summer School, and, in 1933, entered Columbia University's
Teacher's College, eventually taking his bachelor's and master's
degrees. After summer study at the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1935 and the
completion of his First Symphony in 1936 (a work subsequently withdrawn
by the composer) he received private instruction from well-known
American composer Roy Harris. Schuman found an ally in conductor Serge
Koussevitsky, who, at Harris' prompting, premiered the Symphony No. 2
in 1938 (also subsequently withdrawn). Between 1938 and 1945 Schuman
served as director of publications for G. Schirmer, Inc. as well as on
the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College, leaving this post to take over
as president of the Juilliard School (where he remained until 1961,
initiating a wide range of new projects and policies, including the
complete reorganization of the theory/composition program and the
creation of the Juilliard String Quartet). Other administrative
positions throughout his long career include serving as president of
the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (1962-1969), director of the
Koussevitsky Music Foundation, director of the Chamber Music Society at
Lincoln Center, and director of the Walter W. Naumberg Foundation. Late
in life he was awarded the National Medal of the Arts (1987), and was
among those premiere American artists honored at the Kennedy Center in
1989. Already an established composer in the early 1940s, Schuman was
thrust into the national and international limelight when the very
first Pulitzer Prize in music was bestowed upon him in 1943 (for his
cantata A Free Song). His Third Symphony, along with Harris' and
Copland's Third Symphonies, is considered by many to be the pinnacle of
American symphonic achievement, with lofty aesthetic aims and rigorous
contrapuntal structure.- Blair Johnston, All Music Guide
COMPOSITIONS Schuman Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Schuman on Schuman
Four Canonic Choruses, chorus (1933)
Choregraphic Poem, for seven instruments (1934)
Symphony No. 1, for 18 instruments (1935, withdrawn?)
String Quartet No. 1 (1936)
Symphony No. 2 (1937, withdrawn?)
String Quartet No. 2 (1937)
Chorale Etude, chorus (1937)
Pioneers, chorus (1937)
American Festival Overture, orchestra (1939)
Quartettino, 4 bassoons (1939)
String Quartet No. 3 (1939)
Prologue, chorus and orchestra (1939)
Prelude for Voices, chorus (1939)
This is Our Time (Secular Cantata No. 1), chorus and piano (1940)
Symphony No. 3 (1941)
Symphony No. 4 (1941)
Newsreel (in Five Shots), orchestra or band (1941)
Piano Concerto (1938-42)
A Free Song (Secular Cantata No. 2), chorus and orchestra (1942) - Pulitzer Prize Winner
Requiescat, women’s chorus and piano (1942)
William Billings Overture, orchestra (1943)
Three-Score Set, piano (1943)
Symphony for Strings (Symphony No. 5) (1943)
A Prayer in Time of War, orchestra (1943)
The Earth is Born, film score (1944)
Steeltown, film score (1944)
Circus Overture, orchestra (1944)
Variations on a Theme of Eugene Goosens, string orchestra (1944)
Te Deum, chorus (1944)
Undertow – Ballet Choreographic Episodes, ballet (1945)
Truth Shall Deliver, chorus (1946)
Night Journey, ballet (1947)
Violin Concerto (1947; rev. 1959)
Symphony No. 6 (1948)
Judith – Choreographic Poem, ballet (1949)
String Quartet No. 4 (1950)
George Washington Bridge, band (1950)
The Mighty Casey, baseball opera (1953); adapted into Casey at the Bat, a baseball cantata (1976)
Voyage – a Cycle of Five Pieces, piano (1953)
Voyage for a Theater, ballet (1953)
Credendum – Article of Faith, orchestra (1955)
New England Triptych, orchestra (1956)
Prologues, chorus and orchestra (1957)
On Freedom’s Ground, An American Cantata, baritone, chorus and orchestra (1958)
Carols of Death, chorus (1958)
Three Piano Moods, piano (1958)
Symphony No. 7 (1960)
Song of Orpheus, fantasy for cello and orchestra (1961)
The Orchestra Song, orchestra (1963); also for band (1967)
Symphony No. 8 (1963)
Variations on America by Charles Ives, orchestrated (1963) [originally for organ]
Amaryllis Variations, string trio with women’s voices ad. lib. (1964)
The Witch of Endor, ballet (1965)
Symphony No. 9, Le Fosse Ardestine (1968)
To Thee Old Cause, evocation for oboe, brass, timpani, piano and string orchestra (1968)
In Praise of Shahn – Canticle for Orchestra (1969)
Anniversary Fanfare, brass and percussion (1969)
Five Rounds on Famous Words, chorus (1969)
Declaration Chorale, chorus (1971)
Mail Order Madrigals, chorus (1971)
Voyage for Orchestra (1972)
Concerto on Old English rounds, solo viola, women’s chorus and orchestra (1973)
To Thy Love, Choral Fantasy on old English rounds, chorus (1973)
Prelude for a Great Occasion, brass and percussion (1974)
Symphony No. 10, "American Muse", orchestra (1975)
The Young Dead Soldiers, soprano and chamber ensemble (1976)
Amaryllis, variants on an old English round, string orchestra (1976)
In Sweet Music, voice and chamber ensemble (1978)
Time to The Old, voice and piano (1979)
Three Colloquies, horn and orchestra (1979)
American Hymn, variations on an original melody, orchestra (1981) [also arr. for band]
Esses, Short Suite for Singers, chorus (1982)
Perceptions, chorus (1983)
Dances, divertimento for woodwind quintet and percussion (1985)
Showcase, orchestra (1986)
Awake Thy Wintry Earth, clarinet and violin (1986)
String Quartet No. 5 (1987)
A Question of Taste, opera (1988)
WORKS BY GENRE Schuman Links ~ ~ ~ Schuman on Schuman ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
The Mighty Casey, baseball opera (1953); adapted into Casey at the Bat, a baseball cantata (1976)
A Question of Taste, opera (1988)
Ballet
Choregraphic Poem, for seven instruments (1934)
Undertow – Ballet Choreographic Episodes, ballet (1945)
Night Journey, ballet (1947)
Judith – Choreographic Poem, ballet (1949)
Voyage for a Theater, ballet (1953)
The Witch of Endor, ballet (1965)
Orchestra
Symphony No. 1, for 18 instruments (1935, withdrawn?)
Symphony No. 2 (1937, withdrawn?)
American Festival Overture, orchestra (1939)
Symphony No. 3 (1941)
Symphony No. 4 (1941)
Newsreel (in Five Shots), orchestra or band (1941)
William Billings Overture, orchestra (1943)
Symphony for Strings (Symphony No. 5) (1943)
A Prayer in Time of War, orchestra (1943)
Circus Overture, orchestra (1944)
Variations on a Theme of Eugene Goosens, string orchestra (1944)
Symphony No. 6 (1948)
Credendum – Article of Faith, orchestra (1955)
New England Triptych, orchestra (1956)
Symphony No. 7 (1960)
The Orchestra Song, orchestra (1963); also for band (1967)
Symphony No. 8 (1963)
Variations on America by Charles Ives, orchestrated (1963) [originally for organ]
Symphony No. 9, Le Fosse Ardestine (1968)
To Thee Old Cause, evocation for oboe, brass, timpani, piano and string orchestra (1968)
In Praise of Shahn – Canticle for Orchestra (1969)
Voyage for Orchestra (1972)
Symphony No. 10, "American Muse", orchestra (1975)
Amaryllis, variants on an old English round, string orchestra (1976)
American Hymn, variations on an original melody, orchestra (1981) [also arr. for band]
Showcase, orchestra (1986)
Band
Newsreel (in Five Shots), orchestra or band (1941)
George Washington Bridge, band (1950)
The Orchestra Song, orchestra (1963; arr. for band, 1967)
American Hymn, variations on an original melody, orchestra (1981) [also arr. for band]
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Piano Concerto (1938-42)
Violin Concerto (1947; rev. 1959)
Song of Orpheus, fantasy for cello and orchestra (1961)
Concerto on Old English rounds, solo viola, women’s chorus and orchestra (1973)
Three Colloquies, horn and orchestra (1979)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Prologue, chorus and orchestra (1939)
A Free Song (Secular Cantata No. 2), chorus and orchestra (1942)
The Mighty Casey, baseball opera (1953); adapted into Casey at the Bat, a baseball cantata (1976)
Prologues, chorus and orchestra (1957)
On Freedom’s Ground, An American Cantata, baritone, chorus and orchestra (1958)
Concerto on Old English rounds, solo viola, women’s chorus and orchestra (1973)
Choral
Four Canonic Choruses, chorus (1933)
Chorale Etude, chorus (1937)
Pioneers, chorus (1937)
Prelude for Voices, chorus (1939)
This is Our Time (Secular Cantata No. 1), chorus and piano (1940)
Requiescat, women’s chorus and piano (1942)
Te Deum, chorus (1944)
Truth Shall Deliver, chorus (1946)
Carols of Death, chorus (1958)
Amaryllis Variations, string trio with women’s voices ad. lib. (1964)
Five Rounds on Famous Words, chorus (1969)
Declaration Chorale, chorus (1971)
Mail Order Madrigals, chorus (1971)
To Thy Love, Choral Fantasy on old English rounds, chorus (1973)
Esses, Short Suite for Singers, chorus (1982)
Perceptions, chorus (1983)
Chamber
Choregraphic Poem, for seven instruments (1934)
String Quartet No. 1 (1936)
String Quartet No. 2 (1937)
Quartettino, 4 bassoons (1939)
String Quartet No. 3 (1939)
String Quartet No. 4 (1950)
Amaryllis Variations, string trio with women’s voices ad. lib. (1964)
Anniversary Fanfare, brass and percussion (1969)
Prelude for a Great Occasion, brass and percussion (1974)
Dances, divertimento for woodwind quintet and percussion (1985)
Awake Thy Wintry Earth, clarinet and violin (1986)
String Quartet No. 5 (1987)
Piano
Three-Score Set, piano (1943)
Voyage – a Cycle of Five Pieces, piano (1953)
Three Piano Moods, piano (1958)
Vocal
The Young Dead Soldiers, soprano and chamber ensemble (1976)
In Sweet Music, voice and chamber ensemble (1978)
Time to The Old, voice and piano (1979)
Incidental/Film
The Earth is Born, film score (1944)
Steeltown, film score (1944)
SCHUMAN LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Schuman on Schuman ~ top of page ~
A Conversation with Joseph W. Polisi, Author of American Muse (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox)
I Wanted to Run Before I Could Creep (Joseph W. Polisi, NewMusicBox)
The Life of William Schuman (WNYC)
Made in America: The Other Schuman (NPR Music)
On Teaching the Literature and Materials of Music (William Schuman, JSTOR/The Musical Quarterly) and a review
A William Schuman Discography (J. F. Weber)
William Schuman Papers (New York Public Library)
Books
American Muse - The Life and Times of William Schuman (Joseph W. Polisi, Amadeus Press)
William Schuman: a Bio-Bibliography (K. Gary Adams, Greenwood Pub, books.google.com)
William Schuman Is Dead at 81; Noted Composer Headed Juilliard (Bruce Lambert, The New York Times)
Composer's website
Schuman @ Wikipedia
Schuman @ All Experts
Schuman @ American Ballet Theatre
Schuman @ Answers.com also here
Schuman @ BandRoom.com
Schuman @ Classic Cat
Schuman @ Classical Archives
Schuman @ Classical CD Review
Schuman @ Classical Composers Database
Schuman @ Classical Net
Schuman @ ClassicsToday
Schuman @ Dilettante Music
Schuman @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Schuman @ DSO Kids (Dallas Symphony Orchestra)
Schuman @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Schuman @ Infoplease
Schuman @ The Kennedy Center
Schuman @ The Los Angeles Philharmonic
Schuman @ Making Music/Silver Burdett
Schuman @ Milken Archive of American Jewish Music
Schuman @ The Morrison Foundation
Schuman @ MSN Encarta
Schuman @ MusicWeb International
Schuman @ musicianguide.com
Schuman @ NationMaster
Schuman @ Naxos
Schuman @ New World Records
Schuman @ The New York Times
Schuman @ NNDB
Schuman @ Theodore Presser
Schuman @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Schuman @ G. Schirmer
Schuman @ United States Marine Band
Schuman @ US Opera
Streaming Audio
Schuman @ American Muse - The Life and Times of William Schuman (Joseph W. Polisi, Amadeus Press)
Schuman @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Schuman @ Classical Music Archives
Schuman @ last.fm
Schuman @ NPRmusic
Schuman @ Rhapsody
Schuman @ WNYC - Soundcheck/The Life of William Schuman
Recordings
Schuman @ ArkivMusic
Schuman @ ClassicsOnline
Schuman @ YouTube
~ top of page ~
Schuman on Schuman: Composer Portrait from Theodore Presser (VIDEO)
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