The years of the Great Depression, World War II, and their aftermath                  brought a sea change in American music. This period of economic, social, and                  political adversity can truly be considered a musical golden age. In the realm of                  classical music, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson, Virgil Thompson, and                  Leonard Bernstein -- among others -- produced symphonic works of great power and                  lasting beauty during these troubled years. It was during this critical decade and a                  half that contemporary writers on American culture began to speculate about "the                  Great American Symphony" and looked to these composers for music that would embody                  the spirit of the nation.In this volume, Nicholas Tawa concludes                  that they succeeded, at the very least, in producing music that belongs in the                  cultural memory of every American. Tawa introduces the symphonists and their major                  works from the romanticism of Barber and the "all-American" Roy Harris through the                  theatrics of Bernstein and Marc Blitzstein to the broad-shouldered appeal of                  Thompson and Copland. Tawa's musical descriptions are vivid and personal, and invite                  music lovers and trained musicians alike to turn again to the marvelous and lasting                  music of this time.

The Great American Symphony: Music, the Depression, and War PDF

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