Collective Difference: The Pan-American Association of Composers

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Several U.S.-based composers’ organizations preceded and set the groundwork for the Pan-American Association. The first association dedicated to presenting American works was the American Music Guild (1921-24). Its founders were Marion Bauer, Frederick Jacobi, Emerson Whithorne, Louis Gruenberg, and Albert Stoessel. While among the first Americans to be labeled modernist, their lush textures and French impressionist tonal style represented a conservative brand of modernism. Another organization active during those years was Pro Musica, founded in 1920 by E. Robert Schmitz. Known as the Franco-American Music Society until 1923, its scope was more international, and its purpose was to promote musical exchange between France and the United States. Edgard Varèse and Carlos Salzedo formed the International Composers Guild in 1921 to ensure performances of contemporary music. Concerts were restricted to previously unheard works, which upset some Guild members who quit and founded the League of Composers in 1923. Another internationalizing force in modern music was the International Society of Contemporary Music, founded in Salzburg in 1922 with the purpose of breaking down national barriers and promoting contemporary music regardless of aesthetic trends or nationality, race, religion or political views of the composer. In their constitution the ISCM defined contemporary as “music of all European countries written within the last fifteen years,” which, of course, technically excluded Americans. Members of the I.C.G. requested the constitution be amended. It was, and an international organization with headquarters in London was created in 1923. The New York chapter was established in 1928, the same year that a Cuban chapter was founded in Havana. The League of Composers, which merged with the ISCM in 1954, was founded to promote the composition and performance of contemporary music. The League commissioned works by American and European composers, sponsored American premieres of notable European works such as Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps. Its quarterly, Modern Music, ran from 1924-46. The first west-coast organization for contemporary music was Henry Cowell’s New Music Society (1925-1958). Besides concerts, the society was responsible for the publication of New Music Quarterly (1927-58), the only series of its day dedicated solely to the publication of new scores including the New Music Orchestra Series (1932-9) and 8
the New Music Quarterly Recordings (1934-42). These ventures were funded almost exclusively by Charles Ives. The society generally championed U.S. American composers, but New Music ventures also presented Schoenberg, Webern, Latin American and Russian composers. Between 1928 and 1931 Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions organized a concert series they called the Copland-Sessions Concerts. Not intended as a competitor with the League of Composers, to which both men belonged, this series was dedicated to the younger generation of American composers. Its programs included four works by Carlos Chávez but no other Latin Americans. Chávez, then living in New York, thought it would be a good idea to form a group to showcase talent from all of the Americas in the name of cultural exchange. Thus, the Pan-American Association of Composers was established. This society is the focus of Chapters 2 and 3 of this dissertation. Archival source material for this dissertation comes primarily from the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts and the Library of Congress. Travel has been made possible through grants from the Curtis Mayes Fund and the Presser Foundation. As the organizational backbone of the PAAC, Henry Cowell is of primary importance. His papers are housed at the New York Public Library. The collected papers of Nicolas Slonimsky, principal conductor of PAAC concerts, housed at the Library of Congress, are also an essential resource, because they provide his perspective on presenting Pan- Americanism to the world. Stylistic analysis of the music in Chapters 1, 3, and 4 provides evidence toward untangling the different strands of Pan-Americanism: modernism, indigenism and nationalism. Another essential aspect of this project is a reception history of the landmark PAAC concerts in Europe, which has not been attempted by previous research. A goal of the utmost importance to members of the PAAC was to present themselves and their art in a positive light to Europeans and to be taken seriously by them. They counted on their collective difference to push the margins of their peripheral position in Western musical culture. Chapter 1, “Pan-Americanism in 1930s Percussion Ensemble Music,” examines six percussion ensemble works composed between 1929 and 1935 and traces the intricate stylistic and aesthetic connections between them, demonstrating the combinations of 9
Page 1 and 2: FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to exp
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE I.1. Pan-Ame
Page 9 and 10: LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 1.
Page 11 and 12: EXAMPLE 4.5. Amadeo Roldán, “Sig
Page 13 and 14: INTRODUCTION Friendly cultural and
Page 15 and 16: of America, and [to] stimulate comp
Page 17 and 18: United States, because of its wonde
Page 19: Figure I.1. Pan-American Exposition
Page 23 and 24: CHAPTER 1 1930s PAN-AMERICAN PERCUS
Page 25 and 26: publication composed for percussion
Page 27 and 28: of scientific and technological adv
Page 29 and 30: In his Tecumseh, or the Battle of t
Page 31 and 32: percussion ensemble, eight pianos a
Page 33 and 34: in those popular dance genres. The
Page 35 and 36: concertmaster of the New York Philh
Page 37 and 38: Example 1.1. William Russell, Percu
Page 39 and 40: instruments that contributed to the
Page 41 and 42: Example 1.4. Amadeo Roldán, Rítmi
Page 43 and 44: Rítmica No. 5 separates rhythmic e
Page 45 and 46: Paris, “there is nothing more con
Page 47 and 48: of decadence and collapse.” 44 Ne
Page 49 and 50: Example 1.7. Ionisation, mm. 9-12 S
Page 51 and 52: Example 1.8b. Edgard Varèse, Ionis
Page 53 and 54: Example 1.9b. Amadeo Roldán, Rítm
Page 55 and 56: coquettes neither with academies no
Page 57 and 58: Rhythms and general direction of pi
Page 59 and 60: No. 1 conducted by Fritz Reiner wit
Page 61 and 62: against-three cross-rhythm (Example
Page 63 and 64: knowledge of it. Certainly, the sam
Page 65 and 66: with both Roldán and Caturla in th
Page 67: fortissimo 83 and are immediately f
Page 70 and 71:
wrote in 1932, “I am convinced th
Page 72 and 73:
subject of his early percussion wor
Page 74 and 75:
societies, the PAAC presented at le
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their own PAAC concerts in Havana a
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in Berlin was unsuccessful in Cowel
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This music congress never took plac
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most likely in the hope that he wou
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from Fabini - and Cotapos did not e
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sponsored by the League of Composer
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neither Cuban nor American, nor eve
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Figure 2.1. Concert program, Carneg
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Figure 2.3. Concert program, Slonim
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and somewhat soporific.” 39 With
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Figure 2.4. Concert program, New Sc
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composers of the Pan American, amon
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voz, who stated unequivocally of Ge
Page 102 and 103:
Caturla’s insightful description
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modern American music to these citi
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organizer and financier, and Slonim
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Paris, June 6 and 11, 1931 Paris in
Page 110 and 111:
Example 3.1. Adolph Weiss, American
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elated to Cowell, “the final gong
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however, attributed to the work a m
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of American popular culture in the
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Example 3.4. Wallingford Riegger, T
Page 120 and 121:
musicians seem to turn their invent
Page 122 and 123:
July,” with its quotations from t
Page 124 and 125:
as a medium. Slonimsky described To
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a generation of older composers inc
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the twelve-tone system. Roldán’s
Page 130 and 131:
sponsored many concerts of new Fren
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Figure 3.2. Concert program. Madrid
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in collaboration with Cowell’s Ne
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which I gave the names of Ives, Rug
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Figure 3.5. Concert program. Budape
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talent.” 81 In January 1933 Varè
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The evening consisted of Ruggles’
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on four Latin American PAAC members
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having been governed by Spain (1764
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God’s America, Spanish America.
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Blues and Son: Pan-American Literar
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example is “I, Too, Sing America,
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cultural expressions that defined a
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the repeated lines “tú no sabe i
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Example 4.2. Alejandro García Catu
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Example 4.3. Amadeo Roldán, “Neg
Page 162 and 163:
Example 4.6. Amadeo Roldán, “Sig
Page 164 and 165:
in Havana. Mexican composers Cháve
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Revueltas . . . asked me if I had o
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Example 4.11. Silvestre Revueltas,
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applying Marxist social theory to t
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present in the preceding stanza, le
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Figure 4.1. Carlos Chávez, “Nort
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A slave—under the whip, Beaten an
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may be mistaken for Blacks). Each s
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however, the logo was changed to re
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as well as other musical heritages.
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Henry Brant, Two Sarabandes Adolph
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Charles Weidman assisted by José L
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JUNE 6, 1932 Hause des Rundfunks, B
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Claude Debussy, La fille aux cheveu
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Alejandro García Caturla, La Rumba
Page 194 and 195:
Paul Dambly, A Paris June 26, 1931.
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Oscar Bie, Stuttgarter Neues Tagebl
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aharonián, Coriún.
Page 200 and 201:
___, ed. Yearbook for Inter-America
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García Canclini, Nestor. Hybrid Cu
Page 204 and 205:
Kuss, Malena. "Leitmotive de Charle
Page 206 and 207:
“Nuts! to Europe: Swell Stuff by
Page 208 and 209:
___. “The Newest American Compose
Page 210 and 211:
Unruh, Vicky. Latin American Vangua
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Collective Difference: The Pan-American Association of Composers

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