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David Amram's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra(1974): An Exploration of Amram's Diverse Style
Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation
Authors Tagawa, Laura
Publisher The University of Arizona.
Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this materialis made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona.Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such aspublic display or performance) of protected items is prohibitedexcept with permission of the author.
Download date 05/06/2018 11:42:01
Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/297059
DAVID AMRAM’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA (1974): AN
EXPLORATION OF AMRAM’S DIVERSE STYLE
by
Laura Tagawa
__________________________
Copyright © Laura Tagawa 2013
A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
In the Graduate College
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
2013
2
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
GRADUATE COLLEGE
As members of the Document Committee, we certify that we have read the document
prepared by Laura Tagawa, titled David Amram’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
(1974): An Exploration of Amram’s Diverse Style and recommend that it be accepted as
fulfilling the document requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts.
_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/2/13
Mark Rush
_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/2/13
R. Thomas Patterson
_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/2/13
Donald Hamann
Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s
submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College.
I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement.
________________________________________________ Date: 5/2/13
Document Director: Mark Rush
3
STATEMENT BY AUTHOR
This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an
advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library
to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.
Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission,
provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for
permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in
part may be granted by the copyright holder.
SIGNED: Laura Tagawa
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to the many individuals whose
assistance made the completion of this document and degree possible. I am thankful for
the support, patience and encouragement of my husband, Toru Tagawa, along this
journey. Also, to my parents for their love and support through the years.
I would like to thank Professor Mark Rush, both as my advisor and violin
professor, who encouraged me along the way. Also to my committee members, Professor
Thomas Patterson and Dr. Donald Hamann, for their help and advice.
I am thankful to the composer, David Amram, both as a musician and wonderful
human being for being an inspiration to all who have the honor of playing his music.
5
DEDICATION
Dedicated to my parents,
Paul and Dorothy Caputo
to my husband,
Toru Tagawa
and to my son,
Max
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................7
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ......................................................................................8
ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................10
Survey of Literature .......................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 2 BIOGRAPHY OF DAVID AMRAM ........................................................16
CHAPTER 3 COMPOSITIONAL STYLE ......................................................................27
CHAPTER 4 DAVID AMRAM’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA
(1974) .................................................................................................................................35
I. Allegro moderato ........................................................................................................37
II. Blues: Andante espressivo ........................................................................................44
III. Celtic Rondo: Allegro con brio ................................................................................49
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION...........................................................................................78
APPENDIX A. TRANSCRIPT OF DAVID AMRAM INTERVIEW ..............................82
APPENDIX B. PERMISSION FOR INCLUSION OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ..........101
APPENDIX C. IRB PERMISSION .................................................................................102
APPENDIX D. PERMISSION FOR INCLUSION OF INTERVIEW ...........................103
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................105
7
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Form chart of the first movement .......................................................................37
Figure 2. Form chart of the second movement ..................................................................44
Figure 3. Form chart of the third movement ......................................................................51
Figure 4. Third movement, chart of C section folk melodies, measures 164-171 .............58
8
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Musical Example 1. First movement, first theme, alternation of F natural and F sharp,
measures 9-14 ....................................................................................................................38
Musical Example 2. First movement, second theme, measures 40-48 ..............................40
Musical Example 3. First movement, violin glissandi, measures 62-64 ...........................42
Musical Example 4. Second movement, saxophone theme, measures 1-12 ......................45
Musical Example 5. Second movement, violin improvisatory theme, measures 25-36 ....46
Musical Example 6. Third movement, A section rondo theme, measures 1-20 ................52
Musical Example 7. Third movement, B section theme, measures 91-105 .......................55
Musical Example 8. Third Movement, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye,” flute, oboe,
English horn, measures 130-134 ........................................................................................56
Musical Example 9. Third Movement, C section theme, “Ellen O’Grady,” measures 164-
171......................................................................................................................................57
Musical Example 10. Third movement, “Fox Hunt” section, layering of folk melodies,
measures 180-210 ..............................................................................................................60
Musical Example 11. Third movement, “Howling” section, orchestra, measures 211-
226......................................................................................................................................72
9
ABSTRACT
This document examines David Amram’s (b. 1930) diverse compositional style,
as represented by his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1974). Amram’s unique
background as a performer in various genres allows him to blend styles seamlessly. He
highlights the use of a wide range of styles in this work, which makes this concerto a
significant work in the twentieth century, American violin concerto repertoire as well as
bridging the classical, jazz, and world genres creating a truly American style of music.
This document examines how these influences—including classical, jazz, world
music, and “Beat Generation” artists—have influenced David Amram’s compositional
style as represented in his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Biographical information
about David Amram, including his life, compositional output, and a brief musical
analysis with an emphasis on performance information useful to violinists are presented.
In addition an interview with Amram was conducted, in which his compositional style
and in particular his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was discussed. A transcript of the
interview is provided in the Appendix of this document.
10
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Composers throughout the centuries have drawn inspiration from native folk
traditions and the music of other cultures. Recent examples of this in America can be
seen in the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. Each turned to the American
vernacular—for Copland folk music and for Gershwin jazz—to ground their music in
American culture and give their music a sense of place. One modern composer known for
his use of a wide variety of musical styles in his works is David Amram (b. 1930).
Throughout his career, David Amram has been active as a performer, conductor,
and composer, and has worked in a variety of styles ranging from jazz to classical. He has
extensive experience as a classical horn player, having played with the National
Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. and as a member of the Seventh Army
Symphony Orchestra in Europe.1 A pioneer jazz horn player, Amram has played with
many jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993), Charles Mingus (1922-
1979), Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), and Charlie Parker (1920-1955).2 He is also a
virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, numerous flutes and whistles, percussion,
and dozens of folkloric instruments from twenty-five countries.3
1 Barbara A. Petersen and Don C. Gillespie, "Amram, David," In Grove Music Online, Oxford
Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/subscriber/
article/grove/music/00818 (accessed November 1, 2011).
2 David Amram, Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram, 3rd ed.
(Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2010), xii.
3 David Amram, “David Amram Biography,” David Amram, http://david-amram.blogspot.com
(accessed November 1, 2011).
11
Amram studied composition with Vittorio Giannini (1903-1966), Dimitri
Mitropoulos (1896-1960), and Gunther Schuller (b. 1925). In 1966 he was named the first
composer-in-residence with the New York Philharmonic where he worked closely with
Leonard Bernstein.4 Amram formed friendships with many of the “Beat Generation”
artists including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. The term “Beat Generation” refers to
a group of musicians, artists, and writers who lived in New York City during the 1950’s.
They shared a belief that art can serve a means of human expression and personal
freedom. Amram’s compositional style is influenced by his many interests in various
music genres, and the people he met and worked with throughout the world, including
Leonard Bernstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Langston Hughes, Dustin Hoffman, Willie Nelson,
Thelonious Monk, Odetta, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton,
Johnny Depp, and Tito Puente, among others.5
Amram’s diverse compositional style utilizes the musical range of the violin, an
instrument which is at home in a wide variety of styles. His unique background as a
performer in various genres allows him to blend styles seamlessly. Amram highlights the
use of a wide range of styles in his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1974), which
makes this concerto a significant work in the twentieth century, American violin concerto
repertoire as well as bridging the classical, jazz, and world genres creating a truly
American style of music.
4 Petersen and Gillespie.
5 Amram, “David Amram Biography.”
12
This document will examine how these influences—including classical, jazz,
world music, and “Beat Generation” artists—have influenced David Amram’s
compositional style as represented in his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Biographical
information about David Amram, including his life, compositional output, and a brief
musical analysis with an emphasis on performance information useful to violinists will be
presented. In addition an interview with Amram was conducted, in which his
compositional style and in particular his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was
discussed. A transcript of the interview is provided in Appendix A of this document. The
following literature survey examines the scope of research material available concerning
David Amram and his music. The lack of detailed information written about his violin
concerto will also be evident as a result of this literature survey.
13
Survey of Literature
At the present time, the only literature referring specifically to Amram’s Concerto
for Violin and Orchestra are CD reviews, concert reviews, and CD linear notes written by
the composer. A CD review of Amram’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, entitled
“Guide to Records” by Moore, was published in The American Record Guide (1996). A
review of “Three Concertos by David Amram” released by the violinist who gave the
premiere performance, Charles Castleman with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,
provides a brief description of the each movement of the concerto. It does not provide
any background information about the concerto. Another CD review, written in April
1996 by MacDonald, appeared in Cornucopia, which is a newsletter of the New England
Horn Society. This CD review gives general observations of Amram’s concertos for
violin, cello, and bassoon. Frank Peters wrote a concert review of the premiere
performance of Amram’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, in May 1981. Peter’s
review provides brief descriptions of each movement of the concerto and describes the
concerto as an “audience-pleasing work.”6 While these reviews are useful for brief
descriptions of the concerto, the information included is general and does not provide a
detailed account of the work.
No theses or dissertations are written about Amram’s Concerto for Violin and
Orchestra, however there are theses and dissertations written about Amram, in which his
compositional style is discussed without focusing on specific compositions. There are
6 Frank Peters, “Good New Concerto from David Amram,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (May 4, 1981),
http://www.davidamram.com/classical_reviews/violin_concerto_1.html (accessed February 9, 2012).
14
two theses written in which David Amram’s compositional style is discussed:
“Composer/Performers of the Past and Present: Including Interviews with Contemporary
Composer/Performers” by George (1995) and “Three American Traditionalists of the
Twentieth Century: David Amram, Robert Evett, and Irving Fine” by Unruh (1989).
Several other theses and dissertations have been written concerning specific compositions
by Amram, including: “David Amram (b. 1930) Analysis of Selected Works for Wind
Band: King Lear Variations Andante and Variations on a Theme for Macbeth Ode to
Lord Buckley" by Romer (2010), “David Amram's Sonata for Piano: A Merger of
Contemporary Classical and Jazz Styles” by Lee (2006), “David Amram: His Life and
Five Major Compositions That Utilize the Oboe in a Prominent Role” by Hilbun (2004),
and “The Songs of David Amram: A Representative Analysis and Review of Published
Vocal Music for Accompanied and Unaccompanied Solo Voice” by Bieritz (2001). These
documents include information relating to Amram’s method of incorporating different
styles of music, such as jazz, into his classical compositions and will be relevant to this
project.
David Amram is the author of three books: Vibrations (1968) which is an
autobiography that covers his childhood to age thirty-seven; Offbeat: Collaborating with
Kerouac (2002), a memoir of Amram’s collaboration with Kerouac from 1956-1969; and
Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat (2008)—a second autobiography recounting his
various world travels.7 These books provide first hand sources concerning his life, works,
7 David Amram, Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram, 3rd ed.
(Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2010); David Amram, Collaborating with Kerouac (New York: Thunder's
Mouth Press, 2002); and David Amram, Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat (Boulder: Paradigm
Publishers, 2008).
15
and influences as both a performer and composer. Amram provides detailed accounts of
his collaboration with various artists throughout his life. Although the violin concerto is
not referenced specifically in these books, they are a valuable source for biographical and
stylistic information.
There are several journal articles which contain interviews with Amram,
including “An Interview with David Amram” by Clark (2010) and “Musical Personae”
by Auslander (1996). Clark’s interview topic focuses on Amram’s experience as a horn
player and provides information about Amram’s views on performance while
Auslander’s article examines the connection of music and the theater. Both provide
valuable information on Amram’s view of music as a form of communication. Also there
are numerous articles from newspapers, which include interviews with Amram that
address specific pieces of music or events in which Amram participated as a composer,
performer, or conductor. However, none of these articles address his violin concerto.
16
CHAPTER 2
BIOGRAPHY OF DAVID AMRAM
Born on November 17, 1930 in Philadelphia, to Philip Werner Amram and Emilie
Amram, David Amram showed an early interest in music.8 For his sixth birthday his
father gave him a regulation Boy Scout bugle, about which he wrote, “When at last he
[father] handed me the bugle I tried it for about thirty seconds and was able to make a
sound with relative ease. This first experience was the beginning of a lifelong
addiction.”9 The next year, Amram, his mother and sister moved to Pass-a-Grille, Florida
where they spent the winter and spring due to his sister’s health. During this time Amram
had an interest in taking music lessons, but his school had no music department. Amram
remembers the only instrument the school had was an “old beat-up piano” and that “I had
a vision of playing the piano and becoming a composer, even though I wasn’t sure what a
composer did.”10
In the summer of 1937, the family moved to a large farm in Feasterville,
Pennsylvania, where they lived until 1941. During this time, Amram began his musical
studies at age seven when he and his sister began taking piano lessons.11
He remembers
learning from the Diller-Quail Beginners’ Piano Book, but after listening to his father
playing music by composers such as Bach and Beethoven, the children’s pieces were
8 David Ewen, “David Amram,” Composers Since 1900: A Biographical and Critical Guide (New
York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1981), 6.
9 Amram, Vibrations, 2.
10
Ibid., 3.
11
Ibid., 4-5.
17
“amusing but boring” and “after playing them for awhile would then begin improvising
our own music.”12
At age eight he began trumpet lessons at the Music Settlement School
in Philadelphia.13
Amram recalls his first time hearing the French horn at a children’s
concert at the Academy of Music, with Leopold Stokowski conducting “Peter and the
Wolf”:
When William Kincaid played the celebrated flute solo, the dog began to bark.
More important, when the three French horns played the menacing warning of the
approaching wolf, I almost fell out of my chair. I remember a sensation going
through my entire body at the sound of these three magnificent French hornists
playing together. From my seat up in the peanut gallery I watched them stand up
to bow, the spotlights reflecting kaleidoscopic colors off their shiny instruments,
and I knew someday I wanted to play at least a note on one of those exotic,
wonderful-looking horns.14
In 1938 Amram discovered jazz by listening to jazz bands on the radio, including
bands led by Henry James, Gene Krupa, and Cab Calloway.15
At age nine, a man who
worked on their family farm had a gospel group and played the guitar and with Amram
playing trumpet they would play old-timey blues together in what Amram described as
“educational jam sessions.”16
During this time he also worked on the family farm where
he acquired a strong work ethic. He continued to dream about the idea of someday being
a musician and traveling.17
12
Ibid., 4.
13
Ibid., 5.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid., 6.
16
Ibid., 7.
17
Ibid., 13.
18
At age twelve, the family moved to Washington D.C. where Amram played the
trumpet and tuba and attended public high school. The next year he made his professional
debut playing the trumpet in Louis Brown’s jazz band which he said, “gave me a
foundation, an appreciation for many attitudes that helped me enormously as a
musician.”18
Amram describes the feeling of his jazz experiences,
It’s as if you were suddenly floating miles above the earth but with your feet
completely on the ground and your ideas almost coming out of the earth. It’s
as if the music were coming from somewhere else through you and out the
end of your horn. You don’t even think about music, what notes you’re
playing, what fingers you’re putting down or anything. Part of this comes
from the fact that you are listening so intently to the people who are playing
with you and they are listening as intently to you. Suddenly everyone playing
and ultimately even the audience becomes a part of the whole thing.19
After getting into trouble at the public high school in Washington D.C., Amram enrolled
in the Putney School in Vermont, where he took music classes, played in school
ensembles, and gained exposure to classical music repertoire. In 1945, he began playing
the French horn after he got braces and could no longer play the trumpet.20
During the
summer he returned to Washington D.C. where he studied French horn with Van Lier
Lanning and composition with Wendall Margrave.21
In the summer of 1946 he first met Dimitri Mitropoulos who was conducting at
the Philadelphia Dell Concert series.22
Amram remembers going to the concert and
18
Ewen, 7.
19
Amram, Vibrations, 21.
20
Ibid., 43.
21 Ewen, 7.
22
Ibid., 45.
19
watching Mitropoulos conduct Iberia and Images by Debussy and Symphony No. 1 by
Brahms, “I understood how much the personality of the conductor has to do with the kind
of music produced.23
Amram describes this powerful form of communication with the
orchestra and to the audience as, “His nonshowmanship was the best showmanship I had
ever seen.”24
Amram first began experimenting playing jazz on the French horn in 1946-47. He
began to miss jazz and although he did not have anyone to play with, he would play the
piano while listening to records or playing along with ensembles he would hear on the
radio.25
One night he traveled to North Beach with friends, Spencer Sinatra and Dick
Leith, sitting in with a Dixieland band and a group playing bebop. Leith told Amram,
“Never lose that groove you have now. If you don’t have the funk and swing in your
music, it doesn’t make any difference whether it’s Dixieland or bebop or Beethoven. It
still won’t make it.”26
In 1948 he graduated from the Putney School and went to the Oberlin College
Conservatory of Music to study French horn with Martin Morris.27
While at Oberlin, he
studied composition, horn, and played in the orchestra in addition to taking liberal studies
courses. After one year, he decided to leave Oberlin, saying “the atmosphere got me
23
Ibid., 46.
24
Ibid., 47.
25
Ibid., 53.
26
Ibid., 55.
27
Ewen, 7.
20
down, I felt the precious cloistered aura of the institution was more important than the
students, and the blandness of the Midwest was driving me crazy.”28
He returned to Washington D.C. and enrolled as a history major at George
Washington University. During this time he also studied horn with the first horn players
in the National Symphony, William Klang and later with Abe Knaiz.29
He began getting
professional jobs, playing along side members of the National Symphony Orchestra.
Amram recalls, “my whole study of the horn during this time, because it was so broad
and devoted, also turned out to be a study of orchestration, musical interpretation and
music as a complete entity.”30
In addition to playing classical music, Amram regularly hosted informal jam
sessions in his basement apartment. All types of musicians would drop by to play
chamber music, jazz, or “whatever was around.”31
These jam sessions were influential
and through them Amram met and played with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
Amram remembers advice given by Charlie Parker which later helped him through
difficult periods of his life, “You have to love your horn and live with it and spend your
whole life with it and after a while if you love it enough, it will become a part of you and
you’ll feel a part of it and it will love you and become your best friend.”32
28
Amram, Vibrations, 64.
29
Ibid., 67.
30
Ibid., 83.
31
Ibid., 74.
32
Ibid., 106.
21
Amram earned a B.A. in history from George Washington University in 1952.33
After graduation, he joined the army and was sent to Europe where he played with the
Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra to complete his two years of military service. After
being discharged from the army he played horn in the American Houses, a group of small
cultural centers sponsored by the USA, toured Germany as a civilian, and visited the Jazz
Keller in Frankfort which he called “Europe’s number-one jazz hangout.”34
It was at the
Jazz Keller that he met Gunther Schuller who was also interested in jazz.35
In 1954,
Amram moved to Paris where during the daytime he would compose, the evening go play
in a jazz band at the Rose Rouge Club, followed by late night jam sessions at the Hôtel
des États Unis.36
There he played with jazz musicians from around the world, including
Henri Renaud, Bobby Jaspar, and Lionel Hampton.37
He also met writers and poets,
including George Plimpton and Terry Southern.38
Amram returned to the United States and attended the Manhattan School of Music
from 1955-1956, where he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini and Ludmila
Ulehla.39
He recalls, “They thought that rather than teach the students any particular
school of composition it was best to ground us in the traditional way. Giannini felt that
33
Petersen and Gillespie.
34
Amram, Vibrations, 154, 156.
35
Ibid., 168.
36
Ibid., 171, 187.
37
Leonard Feather, The Encyclopedia of Jazz (New York: Horizon Press, 1960), 101.
38
Amram, Vibrations, 187.
39
Ibid., 221.
22
after giving the composers the tools of the trade, it was then up to them to make music.”40
He studied horn with Gunther Schuller who was also his faculty coach for the Manhattan
School Woodwind Quintet.41
While a student, Amram worked part-time jobs, such as painting, moving
furniture, and cleaning, to support himself while also playing with jazz groups including
with Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, and Oscar Pettiford.42
Although he wanted to
continue studying at the Manhattan School for four years, he had to drop out after one
year because as Amram described it, he was “stone broke.”43
He continued composing
and playing jazz and led a group with the tenor saxophonist George Barrow that recorded
in 1957 and performed regularly at the Five Spot Café.44
Amram described the Five Spot Café as, “A hangout for the abstract-expressionist
painters who lived in the neighborhood and since many of the painters have an affinity
for modern jazz, young musicians found it a pleasant place to jam, and there were even
semi-regular sessions.”45
He formed friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and
other writers of the “Beat Generation.” In 1957 he played in the first jazz-poetry reading
40
Ibid.
41
Ibid., 222.
42
Feather, 101.
43
Amram, Vibrations, 237.
44
Brian Priestley and Barry Kernfeld, "Amram, David," The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd
ed. In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/J500400
(accessed November 1, 2011). 45
Goldberg, Joe. Jazz Masters of the Fifties (New York: Macmillan, 1965), 33.
23
session with Jack Kerouac at the Brata Art Gallery in New York City.46
Amram describes
this performance as an event where the poets Jack Kerouac, Howard Hart, and Philip
Lamantia would “read their poetry with music and Jack said he would join in, reading,
improvising, scat rapping with the audience and singing along.”47
Throughout his career,
Amram continues scat rapping, about which he says, “Every culture has a tradition of
creating and maintaining its own oral history.”48
In 1959, the film Pull My Daisy was
made. Jack Kerouac wrote the scenario, improvised the narration, and wrote the lyrics for
the title song (with Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady). Amram wrote the music for the
film and title song, Pull My Daisy.49
Amram starred in the film along with Allen
Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky, and Larry Rivers.
The 1950’s and 1960’s were an active period for Amram as composer of dramatic
and concert music. His music for the theater included incidental music for twenty-five
productions by the New York Shakespeare Festival, produced by Joseph Papp.50
In
addition he wrote the incidental music for the following Broadway productions: Comes a
Day (1958), J.B. (1958), The Rivalry (1959), Kataki (1959), and After the Fall (1964).51
For television he wrote background music for Something Special (1959), The American
46
David Amram, “Jack Kerouac and David Amram,” David Amram.
http://davidamram.com/kerouac.html (accessed November 23, 2012).
47
Ibid.
48
David Amram, Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat (Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2008), 226.
49
Amram, “Jack Kerouac and David Amram.”
50
Petersen and Gillespie.
51
Ewen, 8.
24
(1960), The Fifth Column (1960), and soundtracks of the films, The Young Savages
(1961), Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Manchurian Candidate (1963), and The
Arrangement (1969).52
Although Amram had success writing music for film, he decided to focus his
energy on writing concert music. Regarding his film music writing compositional work,
he wrote, “I could have just done that the rest of my life, but I always felt that I had a
higher calling, and still do. If I had just done film scores and waited to write my concert
music, I still wouldn’t have written anything, rather than the over one hundred pieces I
have.”53
This focus on writing concert music resulted in many compositions, including
his Piano Sonata (1960), Sonata for Violin and Piano (1960), String Quartet (1961),
Shakespearean Concerto (1959), King Lear Variations (1965), and his operas, The Final
Ingredient (1965), and Twelfth Night (1965-68).54
During his time as composer-in-
residence with the New York Philharmonic from 1966-1967, Amram was able to attend
rehearsals, concerts and recording sessions; study all of the music the orchestra was
performing; and work on his own compositions.55
In 1967, the New York Philharmonic
gave the premiere of Amram’s King Lear Variations.56
Amram has extensive experience as a conductor, making his debut in 1957 with
the Corpus Christi Symphony in Texas with a performance of his own Shakespearean
52
Ibid.
53
Gene Caprioglio, “Daring to Improvise: Talking with David Amram,” Peters Notes, 1996, 7.
54
Petersen and Gillespie.
55
Ewen, 9.
56
Ibid.
25
Concerto.57
From 1970 to 1999, Amram was the director and conductor of the Brooklyn
Philharmonic’s youth, family, and parks concerts, a series which Amram describes as
“cross-cultural programs where I could broaden my role to being someone who was
presenting all genres of music built to last, with each piece of music being done in the
correct way, whether it was music of Bach, Charlie Parker, or a new piece never played
before.”58
Since 1969, Amram traveled in twenty-five countries as a self-appointed
ambassador of music.59
In 1975 he was invited to Kenya to participate in a conference to
bring music and religion together, where people from more than one hundred countries
attended. Amram conducted and organized all musical events leading up to the final
concert.60
In 1977 he was chosen for the historic first concert by American musicians in
Havana, Cuba, which was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department, where he performed
with Dizzy Gillespie, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and Stan Getz.61
Amram has been inspired by
all types of music and wrote, “By continually learning about all forms of music
throughout the world, from Eskimo throat music to newly discovered baroque composers,
I become continually amazed at what a beautiful language music is.”62
Presently he
57
Ibid.
58
Amram, Upbeat, 100.
59
Ewen, 10.
60
Amram, Upbeat, 46.
61
David Amram, “Jazz and World Music,” David Amram. http://davidamram.com/kerouac.html
(accessed November 23, 2012).
62
Ewen, 11.
26
continues to travel, compose new music, and present concerts featuring his works.
Amram is a multi-instrumentalist playing a wide variety of instruments. He travels,
playing concerts for and with people from every walk of life, and as Kerouac pronounced
“living in the Now.” Amram describes his experiences, “Traveling and participating with
others around the world makes you see that you must always treasure the people whose
company you are in at that very moment, and learn from them, by opening yourself up to
how they feel about the precious everyday things in their lives.”63
While in Colorado in
2005, Amram expressed, “’I still have some of my instruments with me,’ I said, pointing
to my small black bag stuffed with various wind instruments, including my dumbek, the
small Middle Eastern drum that I always bring with me. ‘Sempre Peratis. That means
always be ready. I learned that in the Boy Scouts.”64
Regarding his three published books, Amram writes, “I hope that the sum total of
my experiences, with the stories of triumphs and fiascos, will encourage young artists to
hang in there and dare to go for it and never give up, regardless of what their career
counselors tell them, as they try to convince them that they are incapable of ever doing
anything creative.”65
A documentary about his life entitled, David Amram: The First
Eighty Years was released in 2012. The Boston Globe describes Amram as “the
Renaissance man of American music.”66
63
Amram, Upbeat, 227.
64
Ibid., 12.
65
Ibid., 286.
66
Edition Peters, “David Amram Biography,” Edition Peters. http://www.edition-
peters.com/composer/Amram-David (accessed April 28, 2013).
27
CHAPTER 3
COMPOSITIONAL STYLE
From an early age Amram remembers listening to all types of music, including his
father playing piano music by classical composers, a performance of “Peter and the
Wolf” conducted by Leopold Stokowski, and Bix Beiderbecke’s jazz records. During the
summer of 1943 Amram wrote his first symphony, which was later destroyed. Amram
recalls, “although I destroyed it long ago, I do recall elements in it which were similar to
George Gershwin’s work.”67
Amram remembers staying up until after midnight every
night listening to music from this collection while at the Putney School, “After listening
for a few minutes, I could actually feel that I was in Haydn’s court, or in the chorus
singing while Gesualdo conducted, or that I was playing the trumpet in an outdoor
English celebration during a performance of the Trumpet Voluntary.”68
After switching from trumpet to French horn in 1945, Amram wrote about how
playing the French horn opened up a new world to him,
The horn was used orchestrally in many more ways than the trumpet. I also
found that as a composer there were many more things I could hear. The
French horn made me listen. There were so many colors that the instrument
itself was capable of. Playing made me notice the other inner voices like the
violas and how effective they could be in a well-orchestrated piece.69
The orchestral world, both the music he heard and the musicians he met, had a big impact
on Amram. In his meetings with Mitropoulos in 1946, Amram remembers being inspired
by Miltropoulos’s performance of Debussy’s music,
67
Amram, Vibrations, 30.
68
Ibid., 34.
69
Ibid., 43.
28
The sounds from the orchestra seemed to sweep the whole audience away. It
was possible to visualize great mountains and forests at night, to hear the
wind whistling through the trees, to feel the branches rubbing against one
another. Mitropoulos’ own roots in God and nature were so deep they
seemed to project these true feelings into the music and made it sound
different from any performance of Debussy I ever heard.70
Mitropoulos gave him the advice to study modulation and expand his use of harmony,
which led Amram to study and rework his own horn trio. Amram also saw Mitropoulos’s
approach to music, which Amram describes as “a compositional one,” and noted
Mitropoulos’s desire to have every note precisely notated and make every sound as the
composer intended.71
These lessons learned from Mitropoulos influenced Amram’s
compositional style.
Jazz is an important influence in Amram’s compositional style. In 1949, while
living in Washington D.C., Amram began playing jazz using his French horn. He is a
pioneer of jazz horn, and played with many famous jazz musicians in the 1950’s. After
hearing Charlie (“Bird) Parker play, Amram describes his playing as, “If you could
imagine someone like Nijinsky or more recently Nureyev doing his famous leaps on a
tight wire a hundred feet off the ground, no net below, blindfolded at the same time, this
was how Bird played.”72
Amram met him after the show and later Parker came to
Amram’s basement apartment to jam. Amram describes how Parker’s whole concept of
music and his “dedication to it and the spirit he created” influences him as a composer.73
70
Ibid., 47.
71
Ibid., 49.
72
Ibid., 101-102.
73
Ibid., 106.
29
In the spring of 1952, Amram met and jammed with Dizzy Gillespie prior to leaving
Washington to join the Army.74
Jazz elements such as melody, rhythm, and harmony are
common in Amram’s compositions.
During his Army service, Amram met many musicians who also influenced his
compositional style. While in the army camp in Kentucky, he met Maceo Hampton, a
cousin of Lionel Hampton, who taught him a new way of voicing chords, “a system
where the third and the seventh are doubled so that a nonpianist could play more
complicated chord progressions and substitutions with a minimum of finger
movements.”75
Amram describes this new system as giving him “a whole new way of
using tonal harmony as a point of departure for my composing as well as playing.”76
After being discharged from the Army, while living in Paris in 1955, Amram had
to stop playing the horn to have his wisdom teeth removed. While recovering he spent a
lot of time sleeping, reading, and composing. He read works by many authors (Ernest
Hemingway and William Styron) and began thinking that he hoped he would be able to
write music that had the same quality as the work of the novelists he admired. He wrote,
I also thought from what I kept hearing in my head that my music could
never take the route that composers were supposed to follow in 1955; I could
never join others in chasing the ghosts of Schönberg, Webern and Berg. I
loved their music, but I was from Pennsylvania, not Vienna. I felt that if I
was going to accomplish my dream, I would somehow have to write down
what I felt and what I heard and hope that it would have enough impact to
74
Ibid., 107.
75
Ibid., 115.
76
Ibid.
30
mean something to musicians who played it and eventually to people who
would hear it.77
Upon returning to the United States in 1955, Amram enrolled at the Manhattan School of
Music where he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini, who taught him that music is
ultimately something to be heard. “If the composer did not listen and hear, in his mind
and with his ears, he certainly was not going to write any music that would mean
anything emotionally. Without feeling very strongly how music should sound, he could
never write anything that could communicate,” Amram states.78
Spontaneity is an important element in Amram’s music and he was influenced by
experiences with many artists of the literary world, including those of the “Beat
Generation.” Jack Kerouac wrote, “My way of writing and Dave’s music celebrate the
moment and captures the now! We have to move with the speed of light. Like Charlie
Parker, creating the masterpiece of the moment, with no going back!”79
Amram, Kerouac,
Hart, and Lamantia pioneered the first jazz-poetry reading in New York City in October
of 1957 of which Amram remembers, “the seeds had been sown for joining music and
poetry in many different forms.”80
Before the first readings in clubs or coffeehouses, they
77
Ibid., 181.
78
Ibid., 222.
79
David Amram, Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002),
95.
80
David Amram, “David Amram: Poetry and All That Jazz” All About Jazz (February 20, 2003),
http://allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=154#.UWG1s6KG02g (accessed April 7, 2013).
31
had already done it many times before, always spontaneously, “whenever, where ever the
spirit moved us.”81
Amram recalls,
We never once rehearsed. We did listen intently to one another. I never
drowned out one word of whatever Jack was reading or making up on the
spot. When I did my spontaneous scatting (today called freestyling) he would
play the piano or bongos and he never drowned out or stepped on one word
or interrupted a thought that I or whoever else joined us had percolating in
the late night-early morning world where we were doing all this, usually for
a handful of people.82
Amram wrote that “his work reflects this spirit of generosity, kindness and love and that
Jack was way ahead of his time spiritually,” and “through knowing Jack, I wrote some of
my best music.”83
During this period of time he was busy composing and in 1959 remembers, “the
year was so full of activity that I don’t think I had a day off. I was working around the
clock, writing my violin sonata.”84
That same year, his first composition for concert stage
was titled, Autobiography for Strings, and was performed by the Washington Square
Chamber Players. Amram describes the piece as an attempt to describe his life up to that
point, “the joy of playing jazz and traveling the world…the feelings I had experienced as
a French horn player.”85
Other important concert works during the 1960’s include his,
Shakespearean Concerto for oboe, horn and strings (1959), King Lear Variations for
wind band (1965), Horn Concerto (1965), and Triple Concerto for woodwind quintet,
81
Ibid.
82
Ibid.
83
David Amram, “Jack Kerouac and David Amram,”
84
Amram, Offbeat, 99.
85
Ewen, 8.
32
brass quintet, jazz quintet and orchestra (1965).86
His interest in varied musical styles and
experiences of the 1950’s including jazz and theater, are evident in his concert
compositions, which include elements of these styles incorporated into traditional
classical forms. Amram often composes using traditional forms such as sonata form,
theme and variations, and rondo form, but varies the style or texture, creating his own
unique sound. For example, Amram takes the traditional concerto form and features a
woodwind quintet, brass quintet, and jazz quintet as the soloists in his Triple Concerto,
making an original contribution to the concerto repertoire.
Amram remembers Bernstein looking at some of his work and giving him “many
helpful suggestions, criticisms and, most of all, encouragement.”87
Amram describes
Bernstein as, “In addition to having such a brilliant and an all-inclusive musical mind,
and being interested in all kinds of music from pre-Bach through Bartok, jazz, and the
latest rock and roll music, Bernstein was also interested and informed in politics, art,
literature-just about everything.”88
Amram embraces all music, and this is evident in his musical compositions, many
which feature folk songs or instruments from other cultures. He identifies how, “this
music from around the world relates to roots music of classical composers of the past,
and influences modern classical composers to explore new ways of expressing
86
Petersen and Gillespie.
87
Amram, Vibrations, 459.
88
Ibid.
33
themselves.”89
Amram describes his own compositions as “those that were based on my
life’s experiences, using folk rhythms or fragments of traditional melodies or chants
which ended us becoming the basis of formal works, after I had performed them and
lived with them for years.”90
Amram has combined musical styles in several of his concertos. Examples of
such combinations include the use of jazz in his flute concerto, Giants of the Night, the
use of jazz, French Canadian folk songs that Kerouac learned as a child, and a Native
American melody in his cello concerto, Honor Song for Sitting Bull. The Concerto for
Violin and Orchestra, a work in three movements includes a first movement combining
Romantic style with jazz inspired melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, with a second
movement Blues, and a third movement Rondo incorporating traditional Irish folk
melodies.
Amram’s diverse experience as a pianist, French horn player, and folkloric multi-
instrumentalist gives him a vast knowledge of various instruments which is evident in his
colorful orchestration. Amram’s concert compositions include music in various genres,
including solo, chamber, orchestra, and wind band. He is equally at home writing for a
variety of instruments having composed concertos for flute, bassoon, horn, saxophone,
violin, and cello. Amram’s style of using instrument groups as choirs give his
compositions a unique sound. This is evident in his symphony orchestra music, which
may feature textures which highlight the brass section, producing the effect of a wind
89
Amram, Upbeat, 270.
90
Ibid., 234.
34
band, in a symphonic work. Another aspect of Amram’s orchestration style, is his use of
standard ensembles such as orchestra and wind band, but in expanded form, with the
addition of instruments, both standard and non-standard. Examples of this include, an
expanded wind and percussion sections in his King Lear Variations and use of expanded
orchestra including saxophone and non-standard percussion instruments such as the
spoons in his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. This expanded instrumentation gives
Amram a wide variety of tonal colors to explore, and is evident in his Concerto for Violin
and Orchestra.
35
CHAPTER 4
DAVID AMRAM’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA (1974)
Completed in 1974, the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was written for
violinist Charles Castleman with support from a Ford Foundation Grant. Amram first met
Castleman at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont in 1961, where Amram was hired
as composer-in-residence by Rudolf Serkin. Amram describes the Marlboro Music
Festival as a musical oasis for chamber musicians, and observed that “they had the same
loving care, the way they were sitting and playing one page of a Mozart String Quartet
and spent the whole day working on that, or one phrase over and over, and then getting
together when they were done and playing something else, just for fun.”91
Amram
compares these chamber musicians to jazz or folk players who loved to get out and play
with one another. Castleman, a classically trained violinist who studied with John Blake,
also liked jazz and he and Amram informally played jazz together.92
“Blake sounds like a
Blues singer or a saxophone player, but he’s actually a classical player,” Amram states.93
Around 1970, Castleman received a Ford Foundation grant to commission a piece by an
American composer. Castleman asked Amram to write a violin concerto. Amram
describes Castleman as, “a wonderful, adventuresome violinist, a great classicist, he had a
91
David Amram, interview by author, New York, NY, September 7, 2012.
92
John Blake, violinist, was born in Philadelphia in 1947. He studied music education, piano and
violin at West Virginia University (BME 1969). He was inspired by recordings by Ray Nance and Michel
White and began improvising and playing jazz. He went on to play with Grover Washington Jr., McCoy
Turner, Locksmith, James Newton and Avery Sharpe, among others. From around 1983, Blake led his own
jazz groups. (Source, TNG Dictionary of Jazz Online)
93
Amram, interview.
36
great background as a scientist, and also a brilliant, almost like a child, violinist.”94
Their
shared musical interests make Castleman the ideal violinist to perform the concerto.
The concerto was premiered in 1981 by Castleman and the St. Louis Symphony
with Leonard Slatkin conducting. It was recorded by Castleman performing with the
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra in 1995. The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is
Amram’s only violin concerto to date and is in three movements:
I. Allegro moderato
II. Blues: Andante espressivo
III. Celtic Rondo: Allegro con brio
This concerto is representative of Amram’s musical style, highlighting his ability to write
within the classical idiom, while creatively integrating other musical styles. The
following section will examine the form and style of each movement, with important
aspects of melody, harmony, and rhythm discussed in relation to Amram’s compositional
style.
94
Ibid.
37
I. Allegro moderato
The first movement, Allegro moderato, combines Romantic style with jazz
influences. Amram describes this movement as a “prelude or overture to the melancholy
and nostalgic second movement.”95
This movement is in sonata form, as shown in Figure
1. Amram creates a dialogue between soloist and orchestra, “using the violin as leader
and commentator to the various choirs of the orchestra.”96
EXPOSITION
(Measures 1-57)
DEVELOPMENT
(Measures 58-124)
RECAPITULATION
(Measures 125-144)
Theme 1
Orchestra (1-8)
Violin (9-26)
Orchestra (26-29)
Violin (30-39)
Theme 2
Orchestra (40-43)
Violin (44-57)
Orchestra (58-59)
Violin (60-95)
CADENZA
(96-124)
Orchestra (125-136)
Violin (137-144)
Figure 1. Form chart of the first movement
The main theme, first stated by the orchestra and followed by the violin solo is
centered around the tonal center of D. Amram meticulously notates specific indications
95
David Amram, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Piano Reduction by David Amram
(New York: C.F. Peters, 1995). 96
Ibid.
38
such as tenuto, robusto, and bravura in the solo part indicating the violinist must produce
a sustained, rich tone to achieve the desired Romantic style. Tonal harmonies are mixed
with chromaticism throughout the movement. Amram often changes the third of the
chord using both major and minor tonalities. This mixture along his use of the notes of
the blues scale highlights Amram’s style of incorporating jazz into his compositions.97
An example of this is found in the main theme with the alternation of F natural and F
sharp in Musical Example 1.
Musical Example 1. First movement, first theme, alternation of F natural and F sharp,
measures 9-14
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
97 The term “blues scale” refers to the diatonic notes of a scale which may employ a lowered third,
fifth, and seventh.
39
In measure 30, the orchestra passes the theme from the bassoons to the horns, the basses
play in augmentation, while the violin plays an improvisatory style melody, marked ben
ritmico and molto articolato. This is an example of Amram’s layering styles, of
contrapuntal technique with improvisatory style.
In contrast, the second theme is livelier in nature, as seen in Musical Example 2.
Amram changes the meter from 4/4 to 6/8 time and indicates Ben articolato e molto
deciso in the score during the orchestral passage and leggiero when the violin enters.
Numerous articulation indications such as accents, staccato, and tenuto markings are
present throughout this section. In order to achieve this light, playful style, the violinist
must carefully differentiate each articulation, with an emphasis on clear accents.
40
Musical Example 2. First movement, second theme, measures 40-48
41
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
Jazz influences include accents on weak beats, alternation of duple/triple beat divisions,
and glissandi. The orchestra part includes counterpoint of the theme with the solo part as
well as punctuated chords in the horns, indicated secco and with fp markings. The violin
part indicated, con forza, ends the Exposition section with accented rhythmic chords.
The orchestra begins the Development section, combining the first theme’s notes
with the second theme’s rhythm. Amram fragments both themes in the violin solo and
orchestra, with both as equal partners. Amram writes glissandi both ascending and
descending as expressive devices. While ascending glissandi are typical in the virtuoso,
Romantic style of the violin repertoire, descending glissandi are less common.
42
Musical Example 3. First movement, violin glissandi, measures 62-64
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
A feeling of freedom is present in the Development, marked with numerous contrasts in
tempi, which give this section a feeling of improvisation, even though every note is
meticulously notated.
The Cadenza begins in Measure 96 with a meter changes back to 4/4 time and
piacere indication. Multiple extended techniques are included in the cadenza, including
double/triple/quadruple stops, glissandi, harmonics, left-hand pizzicato, and the use of the
extreme high range. Following the Cadenza, the orchestra plays shortened variations of
the first and second themes without the violin solo, followed by a Coda with violin and
orchestra. This ending features the violin playing long pedal tones over second theme
fragments played by the piccolo.
43
Amram includes metronome indications in the score of the concerto. There is a
discrepancy between the printed tempo marking and the tempo performed by Castleman
on the recording made with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra in 1995. Regarding this
discrepancy, Amram remembers Slatkin suggesting changing the tempo of the first
movement. Amram recalls the conversation with Slatkin at while rehearsing the concerto
for the recording,
“David, I can see this whole piece the way it’s laid out clear, and I only have one
suggestion,” Slatkin said, “I think that the first movement is gorgeous, but it’s the
wrong tempo, let me try it the tempo that the music tells you and see what you
think.” We did and it was perfect. And I said, “Leonard… thank you.”98
The slower tempo suggested by Slatkin makes clear execution of Amram’s articulations
possible for the violinist. It also makes sense rhythmically, allowing the changes in
subdivisions from two to three distinguishable. Amram states that the tempo on the CD is
the tempo that violinists perform the movement, “the tempo I thought of made me feel
good when I was studying it at home, but had nothing to do with the reality of what it
was.”99
The original metronome indication published in the music is, quarter note equals
one hundred eight, while the metronome speed of the recording is quarter note equals
seventy.
98 Amram, interview.
99 Ibid.
44
II. Blues: Andante espressivo
Amram describes the second movement as “simply a traditional twelve-bar blues
pattern, but I used all kinds of extended harmonies, which the master jazz artists have
done since the very early days of it.”100
Figure 2 is a form chart of the movement, which
is in ABA form with an accompanied cadenza before the return of the A Section.
A SECTION
(Measures 1-48)
B SECTION
(Measures 49-87)
A SECTION
(Measures 88-115)
Saxophone/Celli (1-12)
Saxophone/Brass (13-24)
Violin (25-36)
Violin (37-48)
Violin (49-63)
Orchestra (64-68)
Strings (69-76)
QUASI CADENZA
Violin/Strings/Harp
(77-87)
Saxophone/Violin
(88-115)
Figure 2. Form chart of the second movement
The A Section consists of a twelve-bar phrase, played first by the alto saxophone, an
instrument associated with jazz. The style of the solo is improvisatory, but centered
around the tone F, as seen in Musical Example 4. Amram varies the texture by changing
the accompaniment of the theme. In the first statement of the theme, the saxophone is
accompanied by a walking bass line played by the celli. This is followed by the second
100
Ibid.
45
twelve-bar phrase played by the saxophone, this time with added chorale-like chords
played by the brass. This is representative of Amram’s style of orchestration which
features different instrument groups to add tonal color. Amram follows a standard blues
chord progression, with a slight variation and chromatically altered notes.101
Musical Example 4. Second movement, saxophone theme, measures 1-12
Copyright © 1974 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
101 A standard 12-bar blues chord progression consists of I (four measures), IV (2 measures), I (2
measures), V7 (1 measure), IV (1 measure), I (2 measures).
46
The violin plays an improvisatory melody over the main theme played in the orchestra in
measures 25-36, as found in Musical Example 5.
Musical Example 5. Second movement, violin improvisatory theme, measures 25-36
47
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
The B Section contrasts the A Section in tempo, and is marked energico e
animato. It is faster and similar in style to the music of George Gershwin and Leonard
Bernstein. This section ends with an intense fortissimo passage played by divided violin
sections (3 parts), in the high range, which builds intensity and transitions to the quasi-
cadenza.
The Cadenza is accompanied by long pedal notes played by the harp and muted
strings. The A Section returns, this time with the saxophone and violin playing the theme
and the improvisatory theme over a walking bass line, this time played pizzicato by the
48
string section. It is interesting to note that in the entire movement, the violin part never
plays the theme, first stated by the saxophone. It is Amram’s hope that the second
movement be a further extension of how Stuff Smith, Stefan Grapelli, and Joe Venuti
advanced the violin in the jazz genre. Amram states “All four took the violin and made it
into a jazz instrument.”102
102 Amram, interview.
49
III. Celtic Rondo: Allegro con brio
Two unrelated situations provide inspiration for this movement including Amram
hearing Irish folk music played by musicians at a neighborhood bar and a special request
made by Castleman.
Late at night, when I would take a break from composing, I used to go to a place
two blocks from by apartment in Greenwich Village, and go to a neighborhood
bar called the Bells of Hell. Frank McCourt’s brother Malachy McCourt was the
proprietor. Almost every night great singers and instrumentalists would drop by
and perform Irish folk music. I thought it would be great to use some of those
wonderful traditional Irish folk songs that I heard them play, and use some of
them somewhere in the last movement of the concerto.103
The second source of inspiration came from Castleman’s request, “I know you will write
what is in your heart, but I do have one request for you to think about. I am going to mail
you an LP, and when you have a chance listen to it, see if you can incorporate some ideas
you might get from the LP into the concerto.”104
Amram did not listen to the LP until
after he began writing the concerto, stating, “I was afraid he was going to send me a
recording of one of the great concertos I loved, like Bartok’s Violin Concerto or one of
the pieces that I loved so much that if I heard it again, I would be so swayed that I would
either try to compose a concerto similar to Bartok’s, or be so intimidated that I would
decide that it wasn’t necessary to write a violin concerto.”105
After completing the first
two movements, Amram finally listened to the LP, which he describes as sounding like
“sirens blaring late at night or banshees screaming in pain.” Castleman explains, “this is a
103 Ibid.
104
Ibid.
105
Ibid.
50
series of wolf calls recorded live, where a group of wolves are howling and
communicating with each other the way whales do. I love the way they sound. If there’s
any way you could incorporate anything resembling them howling in the concerto, I
would really appreciate it.”106
Amram decided to use the wolf calls as inspiration to add a
programmatic element to the movement. Amram explains the program and structure of
this movement.
I decided that for the C section of my Celtic Rondo, I would organize a
whole series of traditional Irish folk songs about foxes, having each one that
entered be super-imposed on the others, and somehow find a way to have
them all fit together contrapuntally. This C section would be a musical
portrayal of an imaginary fox hunt, but when the fox is finally cornered by
the hounds, and a gunshot is heard, instead of the fox being killed by the
people hunting it, the fox would be allowed to escape, with both the hounds
and the fox howling in pleasure at having out-witted the hunters. And their
howling would be composed to replicate the sounds of the wolf howls which
Charles hope would somehow appear in the piece.107
These two unrelated sources of inspiration led Amram to write this original final
movement, which he describes as, “all this is not something that I ever would of thought
of in a million years.”108
This movement is in Rondo form, ABACA, as illustrated in the form chart in
Figure 3.
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid.
108
Ibid.
51
A SECTION B SECTION A SECTION C SECTION A SECTION
Intro
Spoons,
Bodrahn (1-
8)
Original
Theme
Violin (9-90)
2/4 Time Allegro con
brio
Original Theme
Violin (91-122)
Transition
Violin/Orchestra
(123-134)
Folk Melody: “Johnny, I Hardly
Knew Ye”
Flute/Oboe
(130-134)
6/8 Time Con moto e
grazioso
Original
Theme
Violin
(135-147)
2/4 Time Allegro con brio
Folk Melody: “Ellen O’Grady”
Violin/Orchestra
(164-226)
3/4 Time
Folk Melodies: “Paddy’s Resource”
“The Bridge of
Athlone”
“The Hunt”
“The Wearing of the
Green”
“Off to the Hunt”
“Hunting the Hare”
Orchestra
(182-208)
3/4 and 2/4 Time
“Gunshot”
Orchestra
(209-210)
“Howling”
Orchestra
(211-226)
Folk Melody: “When the foxes sleep”
Harp/Violin/Strings
(227-249)
Intro
Spoons,
Bodrahn
(250-253)
Original
Theme
Violin
(254-289)
2/4 Time Allegro con
brio
Figure 3: Form chart of the third movement
The A section features a newly composed rondo theme in the style of an Irish folk
melody, as seen in Musical Example 6.
52
Musical Example 6. Third movement, A section rondo theme, measures 1-20
53
Copyright © 1974 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
The movement begins with an eight measure introduction played by the spoons and
bodhran (authentic Irish drum). Amram describes the introduction as,
To set the atmosphere for this final movement, I painstakingly notated the
rhythmic patterns used by folk percussionists in the joyous dances of the Celtic
culture, with a small field drum, a pair of spoons, and tom toms to recreate the
54
sounds of the bodhran, the ancient traditional Irish drum which is still used
today.109
Typical of his style, Amram incorporates traditional instruments which add tonal color
and a folk influence, further highlighted by the bassoons and oboes playing accented,
sustained notes indicated in the score as “Like Uillean pipes.” The A Section consists of
the rondo theme which is stated three times followed by an extended, improvisatory
section, indicated as cantando and pastorale as well as textural changes including
accompaniment by only the string section.
The B section is an original theme in 6/8 time, in the style of an Irish jig, shown in
Musical Example 7.
109 Ibid.
55
Musical Example 7. Third movement, B section theme, measures 91-105
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
56
This theme includes ornamentation, rhythmic accents on the first and fourth eighth notes,
and double stops, all characteristic of the Irish fiddling tradition. The ornaments are
notated in a variety of ways, including trills, mordents, and rolls in the score. The
violinist must pay special attention to differentiate the ornaments. Accented ornaments
must be well articulated in order to highlight strong beat accents found throughout this
section. Amram further strengthens these rhythmic accents through orchestration, with
pizzicato played by the string section on the strong beats. This section ends with the first
appearance of a traditional folk melody, “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye,” played by the flute
and English horn in measure 130, before the return of the rondo theme in measure 135.
This is the only appearance of this folk melody in the movement.
Musical Example 8. Third Movement, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye,” flute, oboe,
English horn, measures 130-134
Copyright © 1974 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
The C Section, which represents the fox hunt and chase, begins with the Irish
melody, “Ellen O’Grady,” written in 3/4 time, as seen in Musical Example 9.
57
Musical Example 9. Third Movement, C section theme, “Ellen O’Grady,” measures 164-
171
Copyright © 1995 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
“Ellen O’Grady” is introduced by the violin in measures 164-179, followed by an
orchestral transition which builds to the climax of the movement. Amram layers several
folk melodies in this section contrapuntally which build in both texture and dynamics.
Folk melodies introduced in this section include, “Ellen O’Grady,” “Paddy’s Resource,”
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“The Bridge of Athlone,” “The Hunt,” “The Wearing of the Green,” “Off to the Hunt,”
and “Hunting the Hare.” Figure 4 represents the layering of folk melodies.
Figure 4. Third movement, chart of C section folk melodies, measures 164-171
The orchestral version contains all seven folk melodies, however the piano part
contains fewer do to the limitations of the instrument. Differences between the piano and
orchestra versions include: the piano part remains in 3/4 time throughout this section
while the orchestra part uses 2/4 and 3/4 meters simultaneously; the piano part contains
two folk melodies, “Ellen O’Grady” and “The Wearing of the Green,” while the orchestra
part contains all seven folk melodies played by various combinations of instruments; and
the musical “gunshot” effect in the piano part is produced by the pianist playing a tone
59
cluster, indicated in the score as “right arm: black keys, left arm: white keys, while the
musical “gunshot” effect in the orchestra part is produced by written pitches notated as
sfffz.
Regarding selection of the Irish traditional melodies, Amram recalls returning to
the Bells of Hell, “I spoke to Liam Clancy of the Clancy Brothers and I told him about the
idea, and Clancy said, ‘Ah, David there are hundreds of songs about foxes. I’ll show you
some of my favorites.’ So I sat down with Liam every night for a week and learned about
thirty different songs, taxing his patience for hours as I cranked away, trying to learn to
play them the way they were supposed to be played.”110
Amram states that his biggest
challenge was learning the correct ornamentation. Amram recalls, “These little grace
notes and appoggiaturas are subtle but essential.”111
Amram uses the contrapuntal technique of augmentation of “Ellen O’Grady”
starting in measure 196, played by the trombones and tuba in accented quarter notes in
the lowest range. Amram also layers multiple meters, using 3/4 and 2/4 time
simultaneously. As instruments are added, multiple folk melodies are played
simultaneously. This grand, orchestral crescendo, described by Amram as “intentional
musical chaos,” results in a sfffz chord, which is the musical equivalent of a “gunshot.”
110 Ibid.
111 Ibid.
60
Musical Example 10. Third movement, “Fox Hunt” section, layering of folk melodies,
measures 180-210
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Copyright © 1974 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
The continuation of the C section which follows represents the howling, which
Amram indicates in the score as, “Like distant hounds howling.” The howling effects are
produced by various instruments (horns, trumpets, clarinets, oboes, flutes, strings),
playing glissandi chords at slightly different pitches. Amram writes, “LA-YAH-H-H O-
O-O” in the horn parts indicating the desired effect. These musical effects are notated as
71
grace note figures in the piano reduction. These eerie sounds are all clearly notated in the
orchestral score, and produce the effect of sirens and animals yelping, as seen in Musical
Example 11.
72
Musical Example 11. Third movement, “Howling” section, orchestra, measures 211-
226
73
74
75
76
Copyright © 1974 by C.F. Peters Corporation. Used by permission.
Amram states, “this bizarre section works as a perfect set-up for the gorgeous folk
melody, ‘When the foxes sleep,’ played by just the harp and violin, as a happy ending to
77
show that the foxes escaped and went to sleep safe and sound.”112
The harp is often
associated with Irish music, and creates the calming mood of this beautiful, slow melody.
At measure 250, the opening introduction played by spoons and bodrahn returns followed
by the final statement of the Rondo theme in E Flat Major, then in the home key of D
Major to conclude the movement. Amram states his intention for this movement, “I could
do something musically which I had never done before, and hopefully add to the
repertoire by doing something new and innovative, that would also be fun for the
musicians and audience.”
112 Ibid.
78
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
This document has examined how these influences—including classical, jazz,
world music and “Beat Generation” artists—have influenced David Amram’s
compositional style as represented in his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Amram who
integrates non-classical elements, such as jazz, into traditional classical forms, hopes,
“that I could make people in the classical world feel welcome to include jazz as part of
their vocabulary.”113
Amram’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is an important
contribution to the violin concerto repertoire of the twentieth century because it integrates
jazz and world music into a classical format with the intention of shifting the boundaries
between musical styles.
Amram states that his own interest in using jazz and folk music as a source of
inspiration in his own concert works, stems from a long history of classical composers
who have done such. Amram’s violin concerto may have influenced other composers
who have blended styles in classical works, including Mark O’Connor’s Fiddle Concerto
(1992). At the date of publication, the author knows of no other violin concertos, which
combine classical elements with jazz and Celtic styles in the unique way Amram’s
achieves in his only violin concerto. Although this remains an important distinguishing
feature of the concerto, the work as a whole is a welcome addition to the twentieth
century, American violin repertoire. Amram’s concerto is a solid work both in terms of
violin technique and structure as a whole work. Amram uses chromaticism to add color,
while his music employs tonal harmonies, which may make this work accessible to both
113 Ibid.
79
performer and audiences. This in combination with a standard three movement structure
provides the listener with a familiar framework upon hearing the work for the first time.
The variety of styles of each movement is a strong element of this concerto. The last
movement may also be performed separately, and its programmatic elements about a fox
hunt, may be interesting to audiences
Amram provides detailed information regarding his Concerto for Violin and
Orchestra in the interview conducted on September 7, 2012. The complete written
transcript of this interview is included in the Appendix of this document. Amram
discusses the inspiration of the concerto, specifically for the Blues and Celtic Rondo
movements. His account of Slatkin’s suggestion to change the tempo of the first
movement is also very important to violinists performing the work. In the interview
Amram also provides additional stylistic information such as the artists who influence
this work and who he believes advanced the violin as a jazz instrument, including Stuff
Smith, Stefan Grapelli, and Joe Venuti. Although it is not necessary to listen to
recordings since Amram meticulously notates the nuances of jazz, listening to recordings
by these performers may assist the violinist in such things as technical style, such as the
speed of glissandi and vibrato as an expressive device, especially in the second
movement. Amram’s thoughts and views on the incorporation of various styles of music
into classical compositions and how his life experiences, such as travel and collaboration
with various artists and musicians, influence this concerto are valuable sources of
information about the this work and his compositions as a whole.
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Amram believes that music is a form of personal expression and communication.
In this way, the style of his concerto represents who he is as a person, and that each
individual has their own unique story. He states,
I always respectfully begged to differ, and never felt that I had to consciously
abandon the age-old concept of having a beginning, a middle and end and tell a
personal story creating something that has its own form, and its own emotional
curve. And these age-old fundamentals are what I have always felt are the
cornerstone of all great music built to last. That is why to me, the relationship of
jazz and global folkloric music to symphony music is obvious. All forms of great
music share, number one, purity of intent and number two, an exquisite choice
of notes. And like a poet, painter or any other creative artist, the composer should
tell their own story.114
Amram continues to compose, conduct, write, perform, and travel the world
sharing music. Over the past few decades his music has been performed and recorded
more frequently. Because of continued interest in Amram’s life and compositions through
publication of his music, books, and most recently a documentary, it is hoped that his
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra will be performed more frequently. Violinists who
regularly perform concertos from the standard repertoire will find this concerto a
welcome addition for performance because of its variety of styles and audience
accessibility. When asked if he has any plans to write another concerto, Amram answers,
“I would like to write something else for the violin, and I am sure that I will. Because like
everything else, things like that just seem to happen, and when they do, because the
nature of what I am doing, it’s always somebody I would really like to work with and
that’s a big inspiration.”115
114 Ibid.
115 Ibid.
81
Amram’s compositions are published exclusively by C.F. Peters music publisher.
Amram, described as a “Renaissance Man” in music, is a prolific American composer.
His Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is representative of his diverse musical style and
is an important contribution to the violin concerto repertoire.
82
APPENDIX A. TRANSCRIPT OF DAVID AMRAM INTERVIEW
Interviewed by Laura Tagawa on September 7, 2012 in New York, NY
Laura Tagawa (LT): How did your Concerto for Violin come to be written? What is the
approximate date of completion? Did you collaborate with any violinist when writing the
concerto?
David Amram (DA): Charles Castleman received a Ford Foundation grant where he was
able to commission a piece by an American composer if the piece was going to be
performed. And Charles was a wonderful teacher and performer, and still is all these
years later. Back around 1970 he said, “David I would like you to write the concerto.”
I knew Charlie from the Marlboro Music Festival from 1960-61. He was a wonderful,
adventuresome violinist, a great classicist, had a great background as a scientist, and was
also a true virtuoso violinist in the grand tradition. So I said, “Charlie, I’d be thrilled to.”
"I know you will write what is in your heart" he said, “But I do have one request for you
to think about. I am going to mail you an LP, and when you have a chance listen to it, see
if you can incorporate some ideas you might get from the LP into the concerto.”
I said “Well Charlie, let me work on the piece first and at least complete the first draft.
Then and maybe when I am done, I can listen to what you have sent me. You know how
much I respect you but I want to start out composing this piece with a clean slate."
Actually I was afraid he was going to send me a recording of one of the great concertos I
loved, like Bartok's Violin Concerto or one of the pieces that I loved so much that if I
heard it again, I would be so swayed that I would either try to compose a concerto similar
to Bartok's, or be so intimidated that I would decide that it wasn't necessary to write a
violin concerto.
So I kept putting off listening to the LP that Charlie sent me and continued working away
for months until I finally started composing the last movement.
Late at night, when I would take a break from composing, I used to go to a place two
blocks from by apartment in Greenwich Village, and go to a neighborhood bar called the
Bells of Hell. Frank McCourt’s brother Malachy McCourt was the proprietor. Almost
every night great singers and instrumentalists would drop by and perform Irish folk music.
I thought it would be great to use some of those wonderful traditional Irish folk songs that
I heard them play, and use some of them somewhere in the last movement of the concerto.
So I began to learn to play them on my penny whistle and also began creating melodies
of my own, and began to compose the last movement based on the roots of many of the
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Irish folkloric pieces I had learned, like the planxties, jigs, reels and airs. And I decided to
call the movement a Celtic Rondo.
Shortly after I began the last movement, when Charlie called to see how I was
progressing, I told him that I was finally ready to listen to the LP he had sent me.
"Please listen to track 6.” he said. "I'd like to know what you think."
Later that night, I took the LP out of its wrapper for the first time, put the arm of the
record player on the sixth track and listened and it sounded like sirens blaring late at night
or banshees screaming in pain.
“Uh-oh, it must be a defective tape,” I thought.
I called up Charlie to report my reaction.
He said, “I am so excited that you finally heard it. How’d you like it, how’d you like it?”
I said, “I don't know what to tell you Charlie, Are you sure you sent me the right LP? Is
the one you sent me OK? It sounded like it was an electronic compilation of mistakes, or
a series of weird noises.”
"No, David" said Charlie “Those aren’t weird noises you heard, This track #6 on the LP
is a series of wolf calls recorded live, where a group of wolves are all howling and
communicating with each other the way whales also do. These are actual field recordings
of wolf calls. I love the way they sound. If there’s any way you could incorporate
anything resembling them howling in the concerto, I would really appreciate it. Those
wolf calls are haunting. They are singing to one another as well as communicating in the
wolf language.”
I said, “Charlie, Prokofiev already wrote Peter and the Wolf. I don’t know how these
sounds could fit into any piece of music but I’ll try and think of some way to do it if it is
possible.”
After Charlie finished talking I went on my nightly midnight stroll to the Bells of Hell. I
kept thinking about what Charlie has said. Since Charlie was one of my favorite
musicians in the world as well as a dear friend, I didn't want to disappoint him by not
even trying to do something to incorporate these sounds.
After I had played with the band of visiting musicians, it occurred to me that since I was
playing with all these Irish musicians almost every night, maybe I could create a place in
the last movement where there could be a musical portrayal of a fox hunt, since the
various musicians I played with told me that the names of many of the traditional
melodies we played were titled about foxes. And somehow I could have the sounds of
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hounds baying and even imaginary sounds of foxes howling (even if they actually didn't
howl in real life) and that I could depict a hunting scene and have the wolf call effects fit
into the "C" section.
I already had enough experience in 1972 to know that even if I wrote 300 pages of
program notes and gave an endless prepared statement about the piece, if the fox hunt
idea and the wolf sounds didn't all make sense MUSICALLY, the concerto would be
performed one time and then placed in history's dumpster, along with thousands of other
pieces with great thematic content but which didn't stand up musically.
So I had to do a lot of organizing, and fill up several wastebaskets before ending up with
this last movement, which now gets played frequently as a short piece with no program
notes at all.
I always remembered what Stravinsky said, whenever too much verbiage occurred in any
concert situation.
"Music expresses itself."
I now had plan. I decided that for the "C" section of my Celtic Rondo, (after the A-B-A
section was completed) I would organize a whole series of traditional Irish folk songs
about foxes, having each one that entered be super-imposed imposed on the others, and
somehow find a way to have them all fit together contrapuntally.
This "C" section of the Rondo would be a musical portrayal of an imaginary fox hunt, but
when the fox is finally cornered by the hounds, and a gunshot is heard, instead of the fox
being killed by the people hunting it, the fox would be allowed to escape, with both the
hounds and the fox howling in pleasure at having out-witted the hunters.
And their howling would be composed to replicate the sounds of the wolf howls which
Charles hoped would somehow appear in the piece.
Needless to say, all this is not something that I ever would of thought of in a million
years. But these imaginary experiences became my road map for composing the last
movement of my Violin Concerto, and is called Celtic Rondo.
For the principal themes of the "A" and "B" sections of the Celtic rondo, I created my
own melodies, honoring the traditional sounds of Irish music.
To set the atmosphere for this final movement, I painstakingly notated the rhythmic
patterns used by folk percussionists in the joyous dances of the Celtic culture, with a
small field drum, a pair of spoons, and tom toms to recreate the sounds of the Bodhran,
the ancient traditional Irish drum which is still used today.
85
The percussionists are joined by the sounds of the Uillean pipes, which are played by an
oboe, English horn and bassoon to recreate this unique sound.
The "A","B" "A" section of the rondo was no problem to write, and with my new plan of
an imaginary fox hunt being musicalized, I no longer had to worry about the "C" section
of the concerto being a rehash of what had already been done in the ABA sections.
Instead, I could do something musically which I had never done before, and hopefully
add to the repertoire by doing something new and innovative, that would also be fun for
the musicians and the audience.
I spoke to Liam Clancy of the Clancy Brothers and I told him about the idea, and he said,
“Ah, David there are hundreds of songs about foxes. I’ll show you some of my favorites.”
So I sat down with Liam every night for a week and learned about thirty different songs,
taxing his patience for hours as I cranked away, trying to learn to play them the way they
were supposed to be played.
In the "C" section of the Rondo, the part where the fox hunt starts, the series of melodies
all based on traditional songs about foxes are suddenly interrupted by what sounds like a
gunshot.
Then there are musical effects, all clearly notated which sound like sirens, (or hounds
baying like the sounds that the wolves in Charlie's recording made) and the horns play
eerie sounds that sounds like animals yelping.
I wrote it all out precisely so that it would be clear for the players in the orchestra.
Following all of this intentional musical chaos, this bazaar section works as a perfect set
up for the gorgeous old folk melody “When the Foxes Are Sleeping,” played by just the
harp and the violin, as a happy ending to show that the foxes escaped and went to sleep
safe and sound.
Then the theme of the rondo (the A section) returns again to conclude the concerto.
The hardest part of incorporating the fragments of the traditional songs for the rondo was
learning the correct ornamentation. These little graces notes and appoggiaturas are subtle
but essential.
I gradually learned them by playing them night after night, until I learned them the way
Liam Clancy and his friends played them.
Then when I would go home after a night of playing at the Bells of Hell bar, (my
newfound conservatory of Celtic music) I would play the melodies which I thought I had
finally learned, slow them down and take dictation from myself, as if I were a researcher
86
for an ethnomusicologist, taking field recordings, but using myself as the traditional
musician whose work I was transcribing.
Then I would return next night to the Bells of Hell, try to find whoever was there that
night who had taught any of these melodies to me and then ask them if they could play at
least one of them .
If I heard one tiny thing that was different for what I thought was correct, I would ask the
person who played it, "can you play it again, even though I know you are doing it for the
thirty-ninth time, but please do it in slow motion so I that can notate it accurately"
Finally, after I had notated all the melodies which I liked the most, I was able to put them
all together, one at a time, to give the listener a chance to hear each one enter.
In the score, I put the name of each one I had learned, to make it clear that even if these
old melodies were technically in the Public Domain, they were still part of a culture to
which I had been invited to participate in and that I was hoping to honor by including
these songs and thanking the people who had taught me them, rather than stealing them.
In the original program notes, I also thanked every person who helped me with the score.
When you receive a musical gift, it better to say thank you and acknowledge that gift
rather than steal it. Even though it might be classified as being in the public domain, I
was taught to always thank anyone and everyone who gives you any gift. I was happy to
do that. And I always advise any and every musician as well as every composer to do the
same.
Liam Clancy, Peter O'Malley, Malachy McCourt and Mick Maloney were among those
whom I thanked in my original program notes. Without them, the Celtic rondo never
would have been born.
The second movement, The Blues, is based on the traditional twelve-bar blues pattern,
but I used all kinds of extended harmonies, which the master jazz artists have done since
the very early days of Jazz.
The Delta Blues giants, and legends like Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson paved the way
for virtuoso instrumentalists like Art Tatum, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and
Thelonious Monk to take the blues to new places and help transform 20th Century music.
Each of these artists, along with hundreds of others, extended the blues harmonically,
showing the world of the infinite possibilities of this timeless form of expression.
I hoped that perhaps my Blues movement would be a further extension of what Stuff
Smith, Stefan Grapelli, Joe Venuti and Ray Nance had done to bring the violin to new
places.
87
All four took the violin and made it into a jazz instrument.
These are all violinists who played the classics of European music and introduced the
world to the blues from a violinist’s point of view. This is what I did in the second
movement of the concerto, so that the violinist would be using the basis of the blues in a
classical context, in order to have the movement be symphonic and classical. Not pop
music and not written out jazz, but using the timeless idiom of the blues in the same way
that Borodin and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Aaron Copland, Dvorak and Bartok all used
folkloric elements on occasion as the basis for extended pieces where they were giving
homage some of the beauty that touched their lives
I always sensed that they were travel guides through music, creating beautifully
structured works which were written in a way that gave other people a sense of what it
was like to be in those countries they came from (many of which that are no longer on the
map).
These master composers make you feel what it was like to be there. When you hear the
Steps of Central Asia by Borodin, you are instantly there, even if represents a world that
is not even there anymore.
When you hear Tchaikovsky’s 4th
Symphony, the last movement contains the famous
Russian folk song about the Oak Tree as one of the principal themes.
It wasn’t written as elevator music, or as a cheap way to lull people into buying some
commercial product, slapping a bunch of string players together to try to create a piece of
junk music to sell junk products.
The use of the familiar and the vernacular that these composers included reflects the
music that surrounded them in their lives that they loved to hear and wanted to share with
the world.
Bach used drinking songs and a hunting song at the end of his Goldberg Variations and
Mozart and Beethoven both used Turkish Marches that they used to hear when the
Turkish bands would parade down the street on special occasions.
In the 40’s and 50’s, even in the 60’s, the classical music establishment thought that
anything in the folk area was either nationalistic or hopelessly old fashioned. The idea of
melody, harmony and counterpoint, and the sonata form, were considered by many to be
hopelessly passé.
I always respectfully begged to differ, and never felt that I had to consciously abandon
the age-old concept of having a beginning, a middle and end and tell a personal story
creating something that has its own form, and its own emotional curve.
88
And these age-old fundamentals are what I have always felt are the cornerstone of all
great music built to last.
That is why to me, the relationship of jazz and global folkloric music to symphony music
is obvious.
All forms of great music share
#1 purity of intent and...
#2 an exquisite choice of notes.
And like a poet, painter or any other creative artist, the composer should tell their own
story.
I think that every person has their own story and message and their own song, their own
poem, their own dance and their own way of speaking.
As we grow older, all this gradually gets stomped out of us as we enter into the peer
culture, and are told that it is wrong.
And in a society where we are told over and over again, you’re inferior, you’re ugly,
you’re hopeless, but you’re less revolting if you buy this product until we are all
merchandised out of feeling that anything we have to offer could possibility have any
value, we become disenfranchised from our own culture or cultures and once you lose
that sense of self, you can’t appreciate anybody else.
When Miles Davis recorded Birth of the Cool in 1949-50, I remember being so moved by
the incredible combination of counterpoint, melody, harmony and wonderful tonal colors.
Everything except for the solos was written out, and the solos were so good and the
composing so good that you couldn’t tell what was written and what was played.
I realized that there was life beyond twelve tone music.
And then when I listened to Harold in Italy and Mahler Symphonies, and Charles Ives,
and George Gershwin, and Puccini, all of whom I was told were “old hat,” out of touch
with the modern happenings, I said “Well, I’m sure glad I’m in touch with these old
hats.”
And that’s not to say that I think that everybody should do what they did or what I do, but
I think that everybody should do what they feel they would like to do. I think that’s the
whole idea of being a composer.
89
To tell your story, and provide a really well constructed MapQuest to give musical artists
a guide for them to take a journey into unknown territories where they can express
themselves from the feelings that what we have written for them inspires them to new
heights.
My hope is that with my music getting more appreciated than ever, I can encourage
composers and artists of all genres to follow their hearts and try and figure what they can
contribute. And the reason I say that is all of those composers who inspired me to dare to
write something did that for me.
When you are fortunate enough to get the chance to conduct, you have the best seat in the
house.
After rehearsal you say, “Wow! No wonder that Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony is so
popular.” You can hear it two hundred times and it’s always a thrill, and a lot of other
classical works are as well.
Not because the composers have marquee names, or because a particular piece is
currently part of the standard repertoire, but because so many of these musical gems are
just so good.
You know they say that a thing of beauty is a joy forever, so the fact that there are high
standards to live up to is not an impediment to being creative, or for doing something
new. Works of lasting value are an inspiration because they inspire you to do something
better than you ever dreamed that you could. Scarcely an original thought, but one you
don’t hear often enough.
LT: When you collaborated with Charles Castleman in writing the concerto, did he edit
or give any input?
DA: At the very end of the last movement, I had written what I thought was a fiery and
triumphal ending.
After Charlie had practiced this short passage, he said, “David, it’s a good idea, but I’m
going to be sawing away and no one’s going to hear a note I play. Just put it up an
octave.”
These are little things that are technical, but having a good collaborative relationship with
all musicians is essential
People who have devoted their entire lives to mastering an instrument which you may
love to hear and compose for but which you don’t know how to play, can obviously teach
you things if you humble yourself enough to pay respectful attention to them
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The composers greatest ally is the musician whom they are with at the moment.
When the piece was finally completed, it was hard for Charlie to find a conductor and an
orchestra to do it, and when we finally did, we ended up having the best luck possible
because Leonard Slatkin saw the score and liked it, loved Charlie’s playing and decided
to do it with the St Louis Symphony.
LT: The premiere was in 1981, what was the completion date? It was published in 1974.
DA: I had finished by then, we had a slow seven year wait until we were lucky enough to
get it played.
LT: You finished it in 1974?
DA: Yes. In 1973 I was coming to the home stretch, and I played in a little place right by
Harvard Square, a coffee house called Passims. I was performing different kinds of music
from around the world, and playing different instruments and having people come up and
play with me. Most of the audience were college kids.
I saw two people as old as me in the audience, and I said “Wow some grown-ups showed
up.” And they sat there through both sets and I thought that’s incredible because I was
really surprised to see two adults stay for the whole night and seemed to be enjoying what
was a pretty unusual evening.
As I was packing up, they come up and spoke to me, and I said thank you so much for
coming, and the gentleman said, “I’m Dr. Castleman, Charlie’s father, when are you
finishing the last movement of the Concerto?”
I realized that his reason for coming to Passims and sitting there all night was to check up
on the composer of his son’s piece.
I hoped that when he saw all the things I was playing at this crazy little coffee house, he
wouldn't think that I was deranged.
I explained to him and his wife that when play with and for so many different people
when I go home and am sitting in a room all by myself, I can think of some good notes to
add to what I have already composed.
Playing music of all genres and improvising keeps your sensibility tuned into the music
you are composing and enables you to make choices emotionally as well as logically.
Being surrounded by beauty and excellence helps you write better music.
Mostly of the process for me when composing formal music is hard work. It's like
building a boat inside of a bottle. When you go to a display of boats built inside of bottles
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and you see a beautiful schooner inside a bottle you say, “look at the mast, look at those
sails, look at all those little tiny figures who look like people working on a whaling boat,
Isn't it incredible that someone created all that inside of a bottle, and made it appear so
effortless.”
What we don’t see is the months of work by the person who created the boat, slaving
away with tweezers for weeks, making everything a treat for the viewer to see, and not
breaking the bottle.
Like Bach's organ music, the bottle builder knew how to do a near perfect job.
When Michelangelo was hired to do an interior decorator's job of redoing the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, he didn't show up with a crew and hand over the assignment to a sheet
rocker and a he spackler.
Instead of just slapping something up, he spent years creating something that gives the
world joy every day. He spent all that time creating a master piece that exceeded the
demands of the job.
That’s what composers do, and what anybody does who does something beautiful. We all
try to make whatever we do five times better than it’s supposed to be. And hopefully
make it appear to be effortless. I don’t think that art is supposed be a lexicon of mental
torture or a survey of the inequities of society.
If you want to be depressed, you can watch the network news, or reality television, and
be really depressed by foul behavior. There’s no shortness of that in society. I believe our
job is to uplift, not to bring down.
LT: So when you are composing, you write exactly what you want from the performer,
and take care to notate accurately
DA: My music copyist for the last 50 years, God bless him, is wonderful. He recently
said, “David you’re a control freak.” And I said, “no I’m not, I want what I put on paper
to be clear so that the players won’t have to say, ‘I wonder what he or she meant by
that.’” And he said, “you don’t trust the musicians,” and I said, “of course I do, that’s
why I try to notate every detail. Once the performer figures out what it’s supposed to be,
the more freedom they have to make it their own.”
In Mahler’s Adagietto, almost every single note has something over it.
Many feel that since Mahler was supposed to be such a fantastic conductor, he wrote
everything out so clearly that if the conductor didn’t show up, or was great at funding
raising but didn’t have much musical experience, the players could still play the heck out
of it because everything was notated.
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I remember doing a piece where the second half of the first movement was marked alla
breve, which meant it had to be played twice as fast. But that was impossible, unless the
firsts half was played so slowly that you could play the second half twice as fast but the
first half would be so slow that it didn't make any sense.
And there were no metronome markings.
The composer showed up just before the concert, I said, "Thank heavens you are here.
The second part of the first movement, marked alla breve can’t possibly be twice as fast,
unless the beginning part is so slow that the piece would die. What should I do?"
And he said, “well, you’ll feel it.”
I figured out what seemed to be the most musical thing to do and after the concert was
over, when he came back, I said, I really enjoyed working on your piece. I hope the alla
breve made sense and flowed from the slow part to the fast part, how was the tempo?”
and he said, “It was too slow.”
I wanted to say, “Well if you had put in a metronome marking, piu mosso, and then a
metronome marking, quarter or eighth note equals so and so, you would have made it a
lot easier.”
But instead of saying it, I realized that I had better make everything I compose as specific
as possible.
Bartok has pieces where he actually puts the timing to the second for how long a certain
section of the piece should be. So I think that you’re supposed to make it clear, like a
MapQuest, so that you know that your destination is 1.3 miles, after you make that right
turn by the red barn on your left.
With really clear directions you’ll always know what is in store, and when and where
you’re supposed to make the turn. And then you can enjoy the ride.
Many of Bartok's pieces are spelled out in this way. I think the composer’s job is making
a kind of a musical MapQuest, so that the people performing the music you composed
can express themselves.
LT: Did any other violin concertos influence your concerto?
DA: I tried to turn them all off, because I love them so much. When I heard the Bartok
Concerto, recorded and later played live by Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein and the
New York Philharmonic, and the concertos by Prokofiev, they were all so gorgeous, I
knew that if I ever listened to them again while I was writing the concerto, I’ll never be
able to write it.
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In 1970, I wrote a one movement piece, called Elegy for Violin and Orchestra. And I
hoped that it would be a contribution to the repertoire. After David Zinmann recorded it
with the Rochester Symphony, it became better known.
But I always wanted to write a three movement concerto and Charlie gave me the chance
to do it.
The Brahms Concerto was always a favorite of mine as well.
When the Philadelphia Orchestra played it, oboe players would come from hundreds of
miles, just to hear Marcel Tabiteau play the oboe solo in the 2nd
movement.
And I ended up writing a piece in his memory for the Philadelphia Orchestra, called
Trail of Beauty for oboe, mezzo soprano and orchestra, based on Native American texts.
But it was hearing him play his solo in the second movement of the Brahms Violin
Concerto that inspired me to do it.
Of course I always loved the Mozart A Major Concerto. People who play the French horn
like myself, are all ready to call up a Doctor or a defense attorney, just before the horns
have to come in on some of those high notes.
Much as I love this concerto it’s so scary if you are a horn player that it’s always hard for
me to enjoy the concerto until they get through this part because I get panicked just
thinking and remembering how hard it is.
We all have associations with pieces that we love, and I think everything influences you.
I am grateful that Charlie gave me the freedom to be able to write something that hadn’t
already been done fifty times better before.
LT: The concerto is unique, and I don’t know any other like it.
DA: That’s my hope, I never thought that unique meant that you had to see if you could
humiliate the musicians and antagonize the audience more than anyone else in history in
order to prove some profound point of American foreign policy or geologic destruction of
the planet or any of that stuff. Maybe the composer’s job is just to try and write some
really good music.
That's essentially what Leonard Bernstein told me when he chose me as the first
composer in residence of the NY Philharmonic.
He said, “David your job as composer is not only to please yourself, but try to contribute
something to the repertoire.”
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Dmitri Mitropoulos said to me when I was twenty three years old, “Every piece of music
is a stone in the mountain of music.”
Dizzy Gillespie told me "We’re all here for a while and each of us is supposed to put
something into that pot, into that New Orleans conception of Gumbo, where the
nutritious value of the whole world of music is enhanced by the little bit that we
contribute."
All my mentors taught me that we are put here to be servants of the music, and being
servants of a higher power is different than being servile, because it’s all about trying to
make a contribution.
This is what everybody tries to do and what everybody can do. If you look at it that way,
then you can concentrate on trying to do a good job.
LT: What are the sources for the folk tunes in the third movement, did they come from
learning the tunes from the performers?
DA: As I mentioned earlier, I learned them from all these different players who would
come in to this wonderful bar called the Bells of Hell, run by Malachy McCourt who was
the owner and a good friend. Malachy's brother was Frank McCourt. Frank was a high
school teacher so he would always leave early since he had to get up in the morning to
teach school, twenty years before he wrote Angela’s Ashes.
His other book called Teacher Man describes his years as a public school teacher and is
incredible. Like so many other great writers and composers, Frank would draw from his
life experiences and use them as a foundation for creating fiction, or works of an
autobiographical nature.
This is what Berlioz did in his Harold in Italy making a kind of musical biography of
Lord Byron. It’s a terrific piece because it takes you on journey. And I love Berlioz for
that reason. Interestingly enough, Berlioz wasn’t even a pianist, he was a guitar player
and he traveled with an orchestra for a year playing in the percussion section so that he
could hang out with all of the musicians in the pit and watch them playing and ask them
questions. And any good musician when they see you are sincere will always give you a
crash course in anything.
As long as you remember to always say please and thank you, you can continue learning
your whole life… And knowing about music is a lifetime lesson, and continues to be. …
LT: Many of your classical compositions involve the use of jazz rhythms and harmonies
or melodic style similar to improvisation. Does the challenge of redirecting the skills of a
classically trained performer excite you?
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DA: Oh sure, my hope is I can bring them into that basement apartment in Washington
DC in 1952 where I was living when Charlie Parker came down to visit and we played
together. And where I first met Dizzy Gillespie in 1951, as a kid trying to play jazz on the
French Horn and he spent hours with me to make me feel welcome in a world I never
knew about until I met him.
Playing with Dizzy and jamming with Thelonious Monk and Lionel Hampton and all of
these great innovators like Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown and Kenny Dorham and
working in the bands of Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford., and so many other fantastic
musicians, exposed me to an endless wealth of creativity, sophistication, nuance, and
spectacular sense of harmony which was supposed to have disappeared by the 1930’s.
So my hope was and still is that I could make people in the classical world feel welcome
to include this as part of their vocabulary.
Brahms used all of those treasures of Hungarian gypsy music, which was the somewhat
neglected side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was really as Hungarian as it was
Austrian.
In a sense Austria was viewed as the pure part culturally and the Hungarian part was
always kind of diminished in the way that jazz and the blues were neglected by the
cultural establishment of the USA in the first half of the 20th century.
But when you see what so many great composers have done throughout history, by
daring to tell THEIR story, I didn't feel frightened that if I used elements of the jazz
vocabulary...a large part of my life's story, that I would be committing a crime.
So it was not an either or, saying that because I included jazz inspired elements in some
of my pieces that everyone else has to do the same thing.
It’s just that everybody should have the opportunity to become cognizant of it, and if you
do, after hearing and playing jazz and Latin music, you can go back and hear Mozart and
Beethoven and Bach with a fresher ear. And hear what they did and how they did it as
you are hearing for the first time.
I always thought the idea of modern music being its own deal, separated from the past ten
thousand years of music making all over the world. Bach when he died in 1750,
Palestrina and Machaut, all those incredible composers way before Bach, I don’t see the
point in ever throwing that stuff out. But thinking about the “schlop” horror TV garbage
swill is supposed to replace Shakespeare, nothing should have to replace anything, I think
it should enhance the world by creating something with value to it.
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And of course in the age of the internet, everybody today has the option of doing what I
call a lifetime parole in the penitentiary of bad taste. About what the albatross of the
entertainment industry in general is doing to us, and gradually deteriorating, and is like
the Titanic, too big, too fast, and too poorly administered. And sinking and all those
people in the lifeboats and never did that in the first place.
And now you can go on the internet and you can see Toscanini conducting, seeing all
those old videos of Jasha Heifetz, the great jazz masters, Blues masters, music from Asia
and Africa and them some twelve year old genius reading a poem or playing up a storm,
playing Zigeunerweisen. There’s all this terrific stuff out there, and turn off the computer
and found out there are a lot of young people aware that we have the option and there are
standards and a lot of good stuff out there so you don’t have to give up. And that world of
swill that was dumped upon us. And now there’s an option for them, by being able to do
some research to find things that are even more valuable. That never happened before,
this is a thrilling time, we actually have a choice and the possibility of getting more
civilized, it’s a thrilling time to see that.
LT: You’re very forward thinking.
DA: Oh yeah.
LT: How did you meet Charles Castleman?
DA: We were at the Marlboro Music Festival. In 1961, I was hired by Rudolf Serkin to
be the composer in residence there. It was kind of an oasis for chamber musicians, and
these people were so terrific and could play. And I saw that they had the same loving care,
the way there were sitting and playing one page of a Mozart String Quartet and spent the
whole day working on that, or one phrase over and over and over. And then getting
together when they were done and playing something else, just for fun. And I said these
are just like jazz or folk players just love to get out and play with one and other.
Rudolf Serkin was there too, one of the top five concert pianists in the world and on par
with Rubinstein who was one the top five people. In the summertime he had this music
camp that he called “The Republic of Equals.”
Mr. Serkin would say, “My dear we must play chamber music together.”
He would always find a person who looked like maybe they were out of it or, and invite
them to do something.
Everybody was there. Before they built that beautiful concert hall, they would have a
chance to play a concert for their colleagues and so Charles Castleman did a little concert
once, and I said, “Wow that was unbelievable,” and he said, “Well I like Jazz and I know
you do that too, so can we do some of that?” So we sat in a room and played, and he was
a natural, think about it he had never done it before, and I said “Charlie, you go the whole
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picture.” He actually studied with John Blake, in Philadelphia, a jazz violinist who
sounds like a Blues singer or a saxophone player, but he’s a classical player. And when
Castleman played part of the Blues variation, it was so beautiful, and I said “Charlie,
that’s so beautiful, some of your reflection is so classical” and he said, “Well I studied
with John Blake.” And he could play.
One of the things I loved about Marlboro was that they stressed the Russian style, the
Italian style, the French style, all of the different things, that those great violinists, Szigeti
and Fritz Kreisler as well as Heifetz, Francescotti, Nathan Milstein, Elman, all those old-
time greats. Each of them when you heard them you knew that was them. They had their
own sense of melody, and that’s something that Marlboro stressed.
And here were these great European masters who because of World War Two had to
come to this country to survive, bringing an aural tradition with them. And they would do
the Brahms Horn Trio, the horn player said, “Rudy (Rudolf Serkin) it’s an honor of a
lifetime to be playing with you, but I think the tempos are a little too fast.” And I was
there at the rehearsal to hear this because I love the Brahms Horn Trio, I had played it
two hundred times myself, and to hear someone else play it great, and to just sit back and
listen to it. Serkin said, “No, no when I was a little boy, at the turn of the century, my
teacher was a very old man who knew Brahms, and he told me that’s the way Brahms
liked it.” Wow!
One thing I did do in the violin concerto, Leonard Slatkin who’s fabulous, he said,
“David, I can see this whole piece the way it’s laid out clear, and I only have one
suggestion,” he said, “I think that the first movement is gorgeous, but it’s the wrong
tempo, let me try it the tempo that the music tells you and see what you think.” We did
and it was perfect. And I said, “Leonard… thank you.”
LT: And that’s the tempo on the CD?
DA: Yup. That’s the tempo that everybody usually plays it, and it’s just the right tempo.
The tempo I thought of made me feel good when I was studying it at home, but had
nothing to do with the reality of what it was.
LT: And that’s the metronome markings that are published.
DA: Exactly, yes. Conversely, as accurate as I might be, people are going to find things
that they can do, and then the trick of the composer it to stay out of the way. And Carol
Wincenc who is playing my flute piece, she does some stuff that is so beautiful, and I say
“Wow!” Just some little phrasing things, and I say, “my God, thank god there isn’t ‘No,
no just play it straight!’” She could do anything, for that matter, just shut up, which I did.
And thank everybody because I feel like someone building a perfect house, having a big
house warming party, and everybody’s in the house enjoying it, and you say wait a
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minute we have to redesign this and that and what it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be
a home in which people can live in.
The other thing, the man who designed the Verrazano Bridge, you know we are going to
have this big honorary, and the president’s going to be there and he said “no, no, I just
want to sit here, when all the hoopla (that was his phrase) is done, I just want to sit here
on the bank of the river and see the traffic going over the bridge, the people walking the
bridge at sunset and eat a sandwich and drink a glass of wine and watch the sun go down
and look at that. And I can just sit there and say ‘that’s my bridge.’” Just to be in the
shadow. Jack Kerouac always used to say “the artist should always be in the shadow.”
In a certain sense, part of the job of being a composer is like being a parent, and when
your kid graduates high school, or goes to a dance class or a baseball game or does
anything, you don’t start pumping your chest even if you feel like it because you’re so
proud and get a big bullhorn and start screaming, “that’s my child who’s brilliant because
of what I did to make them, equivalent to me, me, me, I ,I , me.” It’s not like there’s the
option of letting all of that stuff go and just appreciating the gift of another life of its own,
it has something to do to make possible which in itself is its own reward. Thankfully it’s
you can’t make a victim out of that, cause then you’re getting into fake, new age, what I
call Burger King-ization of ancient religions and cultures that people know nothing about,
they try to mercenize to become spiritual guides by forcing someone to join some bunch
of rip-off artists, blasphemous thieves. So I try to avoid any talk about spirituality, or
comment of myself which is not my domain, and is pretentious and misleading. But is
something I try and think of in my own conduct, and figure how to walk that walk that I
talk, by trying to do that myself. It’s a daily struggle. The only thing more destructive to
people in the culture than neglect is acceptance. Because once you get accepted, then
you’re suddenly told by people who wouldn’t even answer your phone call that you’re
very talented, but you have to move to the next level. And their concept of the next level
is to abandon everything that you’ve done, and become something that you wouldn’t
want to be in the first place. And fortunately I have had enough people to look up to who
had a different approach, they didn’t think about building a career, they thought about
creating a life, and making a contribution.
LT: And that’s one thing you do, is stay honest to yourself.
DA: Well I try, and every day is a struggle. It’s a daily struggle not to become a mega-
maniacal, disrespectful, nasty, ego-maniac, abusive, creep. But that’s an over-crowded
field, in the industry. It has to go the other way and hope for the best.
LT: In the piano reduction, in the distant howls section you wrote, “LA-YAH-H-H O-O-
O.” Please tell me about that indication.
DA: That’s what you would hear, the French horns and the strings are playing them.
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LT: Is that a certain instruction to the pianist?
DA: That’s so when the pianist is playing can have an idea of what to think about,
because that’s what it’s supposed to be in the orchestral version. So then they can see
that’s the music copyist saying what are you putting that in for, otherwise it’s just two
chromatic notes, and they don’t know what the heck it is, they are not going to read the
score.
DA: I’m glad I put that in, I forgot how I did that. That’s a real effective part. A little of
that stuff goes a long way though. Like that Hiroshima piece, for five minutes you really
think it’s terrific, like you hear the big bomb, and then after about twenty five minutes
you say wait a minute, I don’t even think the bomb went on that long. Otherwise kill
everybody just listening to it. He’s a wonderful composer too. I think that became one of
his hit pieces because it was one of the horrors, one of the humanity horrors of all time.
You know unfortunately, it was instigated by our behavior at that time. But that’s nothing
we can do about the past.
LT: Do you have any plans to write another violin concerto?
DA: Well, right now I am writing, it’s going to become an orchestral piece for saxophone
and strings. For a saxophonist named, Ken Radnofsky, who I wrote a saxophone concerto
for in 1981, called Ode to Lord Buckley, and I think they are going to finally issue a
recording made, a phenomenal recording made seven years ago, and get a way to pay the
musicians as the records gradually sold. It was such a good live recording, it was done by
Ken, and the conductor Bruce Hangen who did the premiere in 1981 for the 25th
Anniversary in 2006, they did a terrific 25th
Anniversary of it. And they’re both really,
really… Ken plays in the Boston Symphony, and Bruce is Associate Conductor of Boston
Pops, wonderful. And they are very particular, and it was one of those live performances
that you could never do better in a recording studio, it was just so warm and spontaneous
and beautiful playing, Ken played unbelievable. And that recording will finally come out,
probably next year. So it will be 2013, 32 years after it was first done. And as they say in
New York, in the vernacular, “What’s the rush?”
Then I wrote some more music for him, and he wants me to write a piece and it’s going
to be played by twenty six different classical saxophonists all over the world, all on the
same day, which is kind of amazing. So what I am going to do, is I am going to make,
instead of making a piano reduction, I am going to make a piano part, and then
orchestrate it afterward for a small string orchestra. Because that is easier for a saxophone
player to get ten or fifteen string players, and possibly one percussionist, then it is to get a
whole orchestra. The reason being that generally speaking you don’t hire a saxophonist to
be a soloist ever, unless it’s the Ibert Concerto, and that might get played once every five
years. And I had the Lord Buckley that I’m real proud of, it’s a great orchestra piece, and
saxophone concerto. And I said this can almost be like a saxophone concerto in a reduced
way.
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And I would like to write something else for the violin, and I am sure that I will. Because
like everything else, things like that just seem to happen, and when they do, because the
nature of what I am doing, it’s always somebody I would really like to work with and
that’s a big inspiration. As soon as Charlie said that, “Wow! I’d like to do it,” even before
I wrote a note. And with Ken the minute he said that, it’s a big inspiration when you have
somebody to do something for. The hardest part about being a composer it to write the
piece anyway, then have to try and get it played. The Woodie Guthrie Symphony which is
something I’ll be conducting with the Colorado Symphony, and the recording, instead of
outsourcing it to one of the Iron curtain countries.
LT: You wrote the piano reduction for the violin concerto after you had written it for
orchestra?
DA: Yes. Now with Native American Portraits, I redid that and I made it the first
movement, the way that Bartok did in his piece for two pianos and percussion, the
orchestra version, I took that and I orchestrated that for a movement of a piece. It was
hard to orchestrate it because originally it was just for those three instruments (piano,
percussion and violin), fascinating to do it.
I think that that’s the challenge, and I was so excited to do that because I know Ken’s
playing and I love it, and since I wrote that piece in 1981, quite a few years ago, now
there’s an army of classical saxophone players, so I even wrote one piece for him, for
unaccompanied saxophone. So this way regardless of what the economic situation is,
there are all these great players out there, they’ll be able to play that if they can go to a
shopping mall, or a friend’s house, there will be some value in that, and that’s the one
thing I don’t think I would be able to do. I did write a piece for unaccompanied violin,
but without being unduly modest I don’t think it’s that good.
LT: Has that piece been published?
DA: No, I kind of bailed out on that because if I ever did that again I would have to start
from scratch, but when I heard Shlomo Minz play the Bach unaccompanied, I said “Man,
I did the right thing.”
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APPENDIX B. PERMISSION FOR INCLUSION OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Musical examples from Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by David Amram are
reprinted with permission by C.F. Peters Corporation:
©Copyright 1974, by C.F. Peters Corporation
©Copyright 1995, by C.F. Peters Corporation
102
APPENDIX C. IRB PERMISSION
103
APPENDIX D. PERMISSION FOR INCLUSION OF INTERVIEW
The interview excerpts and transcript are printed with permission by David
Amram:
©Copyright 2013, by David Amram
104
105
REFERENCES
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University, 1995.
——. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. New York: C.F. Peters, 1974.
——. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Piano Reduction by David Amram. New York:
C.F. Peters, 1995.
——. “David Amram Biography.” David Amram. http://david-amram.blogspot.com
(accessed November 1, 2011).
——. “David Amram: Poetry and All That Jazz.” All About Jazz (February 20, 2003).
http://allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=154#.UWG1s6KG02g (accessed April
7, 2013).
——. Elegy for Violin and Orchestra. New York: C.F. Peters, 1980.
——. Interview by author. New York, NY. September 7, 2012.
——. “Jack Kerouac and David Amram.” David Amram.
http://davidamram.com/kerouac.html (accessed November 23, 2012).
——. “Jazz and World Music.” David Amram. http://davidamram.com/kerouac.html
(accessed November 23, 2012).
——. “Music and Survival in the World Today.” Newsletter, Society of Composers, Iowa
City, IA, xxvi/2 (1996), 1.
——. Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002.
——. Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2008.
——. Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram. 3rd ed. Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers, 2010.
Amram, David, Jack Kerouac, and Christopher Felver. This Song's for You, Jack.
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Auslander, Philip. "Musical Personae." TDR: The Drama Review 50, no. 1 (Spring 2006):
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