American classical music refers to music written in the United States but in the European classical music tradition. In many cases, beginning in the 18th century, it has been influenced by American folk music styles; and from the 20th century to the present day it has often been influenced by folk, jazz, blues, and pop styles. This article discusses the culture of the United States; for customs and way of life, see Culture of the United States. ... Americas unmistakable contribution to architecture has been the skyscraper, whose bold, thrusting lines have made it the symbol of capitalist energy. ... American comic books are typically small magazines containing fictional stories in the artistic medium of comics. ... The cuisine of the United States is characterized by the broad diversity of foods, driven by the tendency of the country as a whole to integrate widely divergent ingredients and styles of cooking. ... Closely related to the development of American music in the early 20th century was the emergence of a new, and distinctively American, art form -- modern dance. ... The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is the folk tradition which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. ... The literature of the United States may be considered as belonging to English literature or as a distinct body of literature. ... The cinema of the United States, sometimes simply called—correctly or not—Hollywood, can perhaps be summed up by the title American film critic Pauline Kael gave a 1968 collection of her reviews: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Emily Dickinson, one of the best known American poets. ... American Sculpture came of age in the 1960s with David Smith providing large formats metal sculptures. ... Theater of the United States is based in the Western tradition, mostly borrowed from the performance styles prevalent in Europe. ... Americas first well-known school of painting—the Hudson River School—appeared in 1820. ... The music of the United States includes a number of kinds of distinct folk and popular music, including some of the most widely-recognized styles in the world. ... The United States is a large and diverse country, with a long history of producing many styles of folk, popular and classical music. ... Categories: Timelines of music | Periods of American music ... The influence of the music of African-Americans has most set the United States apart from that of Western Europe. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Native Americans Main article: Native American music Modern Native American pow-wows arose around the turn of the 20th century. ... There are hundreds of tribes of Native Americans (called the First Nations in Canada), each with diverse musical practices, spread across the United States and Canada (excluding Hawaiian music). ... The Inuit live across the northern sections of Canada, especially in Yukon, Nunavat and Northwest Territories, as well as in Alaska and Greenland. ... Hawaiian music refers to the musical style native to the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. ... Many musical styles flourished and combined in the 1940s and 1950s, most likely because of the influence of radio had in creating a mass market for music. ... Latin music has long influenced American popular music, jazz, rhythm and blues and even country music. ... Tejano is also the name given to Texans of Mexican or Spanish origin. ... The 1960s was a tumultuous period for the United States, with the Cold War, Vietnam War and Civil Rights causing massive public unrest. ... The music of Louisiana, like other cultural aspects of the state, can be divided in to three general regions. ... The 1980s saw New Wave entering the year as the single biggest mainstream market, with heavy metal, punk rock and hardcore punk, and hip hop achieving increased crossover success. ... The vast majority of the inhabitants of the United States are immigrants or descendents of immigrants. ... Irish and Scottish music have long been a major part of American music, at least as far back as the 19th century. ... Roots music Download sample of Leadbellys Where Did You Sleep Last Night Download sample of Robert Johnsons Crossroads Blues Download recording - “Pues vuestros santos favores” a cappella alabado hymn sung at vigils in honor of St. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement encompassing four forms of expression: graffiti art, breakdancing, DJing and rapping. ... 1950s Covers: Early 50s Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, rhythm and blues music had been gaining a stronger beat and a wilder style, with artists such as Fats Domino and Johnny Otis speeding up the tempos and increasing the backbeat to great popularity on the juke-joint circuit. ... Depending on context, pop music is either an abbreviation of popular music or, more recently, a term for a sub_genre of it. ... American roots music is a broad category of music including country music, bluegrass, gospel, ragtime, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Tejano and Cajun and Native American music. ... The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, and the... The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... A music festival is a festival that presents a number of musical performances usually tied together through a theme or genre. ... The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. ... Official logo Lollapalooza is an American traveling music festival featuring alternative rock, rap, and punk rock bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. ... Lilith Fair was a tour that featured female musicians that ran from 1997 to 1999. ... Ozzfest is an annual tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal groups. ... Woodstock redirects here. ... Spin is a music magazine. ... Rolling Stone is a music and music industry magazine. ... VIBE is a popular African-American magazine owned by Quincy Jones. ... The downbeat is the first beat of a measure in music. ... ‹The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... VH1 (which originally stood for Video Hits 1) is an American cable television channel that was created in 1985. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a countrys government as their states official national song. ... Nicholson took the copy Key gave him to a printer, where it was published as a broadside on September 17 under the title The Defence of Fort McHenry, with an explanatory note explaining the circumstances of its writing. ... Each state in the United States (except New Jersey) has a state song, selected by the state legislature as a symbol of the state. ... Alaska is a state of the United States. ... Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. ... Arkansas is a Southern state of the United States. ... The Samoas are a Polynesian island chain, currently divided between the independent state of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) and an American territory called American Samoa. ... Arizonas musical history has been heavily influenced by Mexican immigrants. ... In the United States, California is commonly associated with the film, music, and arts industries; there are numerous world-famous Californian musicians. ... Colorado is a state of the United States. ... Connecticut is a state of the United States, in the New England region. ... The music of Washington D.C. is known for two primary scenes, hardcore and associated derivatives and a hip hop-dance music hybrid called go go. ... Delaware is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. ... Floridas ethnic diversity has led to a myriad of musical styles from punk rock to salsa and heavy metal being popular in various parts of the state. ... The Sacred Harp, first published in 1844, was compiled and produced by Georgians Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King. ... Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States. ... Hawaiian music refers to the musical style native to the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. ... Music of Iowa Notable musicians from Iowa include Bix Beiderbecke and Greg Brown. ... Idaho has produced a number of musicians, including pop star Paul Revere and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. ... Illinois, which includes Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, has a wide musical heritage. ... The music of Indiana was strongly influenced by a large number of German and Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1830s. ... For many years, Kansas has had a vibrant country and bluegrass scene. ... Music of Kentucky is heavily centered around Appalachian folk music; that genre of music—and its associated descendents, especially bluegrass music in the 1940s—has largely developed in Eastern Kentucky. ... The music of Louisiana, like other cultural aspects of the state, can be divided in to three general regions. ... Massachusetts is a U.S. state in New England. ... Famous musicians from Maryland include Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner and pop punksters Good Charlotte, from Waldorf. ... Maine is a state of the United States, located in New England. ... In Michigan, the city of Detroit has remained the capital of musical innovation for many years. ... Minnesota, and its largest city Minneapolis, are known for the multi-platinum soul singer Prince, as well as cult favorites The Replacements and Hüsker Dü and a large, vibrant polka community, fueled by immigration. ... St. ... The Northern Mariana Islands are an island chain dependency of the United States. ... Mississippi is best-known as the home of the blues, which developed among the freed African Americans in the latter half of the 19th century. ... Montana is a state of the United States. ... Most influentially, North Carolina country musicians like the North Carolina Ramblers helped solidify the sound of country in the late 1920s. ... The Music of North Dakota has followed general American trends over much of its history, beginning with ragtime and folk music, moving into Big Band and Jazz. ... Among the most famous Nebraskan artists are Little Joe & the Ramrods, a rock band, and Dickey Lee, a Nashville songwriter. ... New Hampshire is a state of the United States, located in the New England region. ... New Mexico is a state of the Southwest United States. ... For most outsiders, Nevadan music is probably most closely associated with lounge singers like Wayne Newton playing in Las Vegas. ... The biggest superstar from New Jersey is probably Bruce Springsteen, who became a 1980s icon with complex lyrical stories about teens growing up in Freehold and other economically depressed areas of New Jersey. ... In the United States, New York City has long been a musical hub and, in some ways, the musical capital of the country. ... The most famous musicians from Ohio are probably Marilyn Manson, Dean Martin and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders; the 19th century composer Daniel Emmett, born in Ohio to a Virginian family, wrote many of the most popular songs in his era, including some that remain well-known. ... Music of Oklahoma is of necessity, brief. ... Oregons musical contributions to American culture is centered around Portland, a center of hardcore punk and disco music, among other genres. ... The most famous musical innovaters to come out of Pennsylvania are perhaps the Philly sound in 1970s soul music, Gamble & Huff, The OJays, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin and The Delphonics, as well as jazz legends like Nina Simone and John Coltrane. ... The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by African and European (especially Spanish) forms, and has become popular across the Caribbean and in some communities worldwide. ... Rhode Island is a state of the United States, located in the New England region. ... South Carolina is one of the Southern United States, and has produced a number of renowned performers of country, bluegrass and other styles. ... The United States state of South Dakota has an official state song, Hail! South Dakota, written by DeeCort Hammitt. ... Tennessees most famous contribution to American culture is surely the status of Nashville as the long-time capital of country music. ... Texas has long been a center for musical innovation. ... Utah music has long been dominated culturally by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons), although other groups have also played an important role. ... Virginias musical contribution to American culture has been diverse, and includes Piedmont blues musicians and later rock and roll bands, many centered around college towns like Blacksburg, Charlottesville (home of Dave Matthews Band) and Richmond. ... The Virgin Islands are partially controlled by the United Kingdom and the United States, and have had long-standing cultural ties to the island nations to the south as well as to various European colonialists. ... Vermont is a state in the United States. ... The U.S. state of Washington includes several major hotbeds of musical innovation. ... Perhaps the most influential musical output of Wisconsin came from Port Washington, Ozaukee County during the 1920s, when Paramount Records released a series of blues and jazz recordings. ... West Virginias folk heritage is a part of the Appalachian folk music tradition, and includes styles of fiddling and other techniques reminiscent of Scotch-Irish music. ... The first music of Wyoming was played by various Native Americans tribes in the present-day U.S. state of Wyoming. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, particularly between 1000 and 1900. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Folk can refer to a number of different things: It can be short for folk music, or, for folksong, or, for folklore; it may be a word for a specific people, tribe, or nation, especially one of the Germanic peoples; it might even be a calque on the related German... Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. ... For the emotional state, see Depression (mood). ... This article mainly describes pop as used in its more recent sense, as a subgenre of popular music. ...

Beginnings

If "classical" can be taken to mean what it often in fact means, "serious", then the earliest American classical music consists of part-songs used in religious services during Colonial times. The first music of this type in America were the psalm books, such as the Ainsworth Psalter, brought over from Europe by the settlers of the Massachussetts Bay Colony. The first music publication in English-speaking North America — indeed the first publication of any kind — was the Bay Psalm Book of 1640. Classical music is music considered classical, as sophisticated and refined, in a regional tradition. ... Religion, sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called by the name Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was the direct predecessor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and then the state of Massachusetts. ... The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in British North America. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ...

Many American composers of this period worked (like Benjamin West and the young Samuel Morse in painting) exclusively with European models, while others, such as William Billings, Supply Belcher, Daniel Read, Oliver Holden, and Justin Morgan, also known as the First New England School, developed a native style almost entirely independently of European models. Many of these composers were amateurs, and many were singers: they developed new forms of sacred music, such as the fuging tune, suitable for performance by amateurs, and often using harmonic methods which would have been considered bizarre by contemporary European standards. Some of the most unusual innovators were composers such as Anthony Philip Heinrich, who received some formal instrumental training but were entirely self-taught in composition. Heinrich traveled extensively throughout the interior of the young United States in the early 19th century, recording his experiences with colorful orchestral and chamber music which had almost nothing in common with the music being composed in Europe. Heinrich was the first American composer to write for symphony orchestra, as well as the first to conduct a Beethoven symphony in the United States (in Lexington, Kentucky in 1817). Composers are people who write music. ... Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738_ March 11, 1820) was an American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the Revolution. ... Portrait of Samuel F. B. Morse by Mathew Brady, between 1855 and 1865 Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor, and painter of portraits and historic scenes; he is most famous for inventing the electric telegraph and Morse code. ... William Billings (October 7, 1746 - September 26, 1800), American choral composer, is regarded as the father of American choral music and hymnody. ... Supply Belcher (March 29, 1751 – June 9, 1836) was an American composer, singer, and compiler of tune books. ... Daniel Read (November 16, 1757 – December 4, 1836) was an American composer of the First New England School, and one of the primary figures in early American classical music. ... Justin Morgan (1747 - 1798) was a U.S. horse breeder and composer. ... The fuging tune is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. ... Anthony Philip Heinrich was an immigrant American composer. ... City nickname: Horse Capital of the World Location in the state of Kentucky County Fayette Mayor Teresa Isaac Area  - Land  - Water 285. ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Second New England School

During the mid to late 19th century, a vigorous tradition of home-grown classical music developed, especially in New England. The composers of the Second New England School included such figures as George Whitefield Chadwick, Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell, and Horatio Parker, who was the teacher of Charles Ives. Many of these composers went to Europe — especially Germany — to study, but returned to the United States to compose, perform, and acquire students. Their intellectual and stylistic descendants, such as Howard Hanson, Walter Piston, and Roger Sessions, and have remained through the 20th and into the 21st centuries in the major universities in the cities of the northeast and elsewhere. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... While the states marked in red show the core of New England, the regions cultural influence may cover a greater or lesser area than shown. ... George Whitefield Chadwick (November 13, 1854–April 4, 1931) was an American composer. ... Amy Marcy Beach (September 5, 1867 _ December 27, 1944), was a American pianist and composer of classical music. ... Categories: People stubs | 1860 births | 1908 deaths | American composers ... Horatio Parker (September 15, 1863–December 18, 1919) was an American composer and teacher. ... This photo from around 1913 shows Ives in his day job: he was the director of a successful insurance agency. ... Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981) was a composer, conductor and educator from the United States of America. ... Walter Hamor Piston Jr. ... Roger Sessions (28 December 1896 – 16 March 1985) was an American composer, critic and teacher of music. ...

Joplin

African-American composer Scott Joplin was one of the most significant self-defined classical composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although first revived after the end of the Jim Crow era by William Bolcolm as the inventor of the popular genre ragtime, it is clear from Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag and his opera Treemonisha, that he intended to join a classical tradition. Scott Joplin (ca. ... A depiction of T.D. Rices Jim Crow In the United States, the so-called Jim Crow laws were made to enforce racial segregation, and included laws that would prevent African Americans from doing things that a white person could do. ... Ragtime is an American musical genre, enjoying its peak popularity around the years 1900–1918. ...

A "popular" song maintains consistency, but the Maple Leaf rag explores tonality and pacing, and Treemonisha set itself to a serious subject, which for Joplin was the betterment of his people as a nation. Tonality is the character of music written with hierarchical relationships of pitches, rhythms, and chords to a center or tonic. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

20th century

In the early 20th century, George Gershwin was greatly influenced by African American music; however, this was during an era of legally enforced "Jim Crow" segregation during which his music perhaps enjoyed undue fame owing to the refusal of white listeners to listen to music that formed Gershwin's sources. On the other hand, he created a convincing synthesis of music from several traditions once considered to be irreconcilable, and which continues to enjoy enormous popularity. George Gershwin photograph by Edward Steichen in 1927. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Segregation means separation. ...

Many of the major classical composers of the 20th century were influenced by folk traditions, none more quintessentially, perhaps, than Aaron Copland. Other composers adopted features of folk music, from the Appalachians, the plains and elsewhere, including Roy Harris, William Schuman, David Diamond, and others. Yet other early to mid-20th century composers continued in the more experimental traditions, including such figures as Charles Ives, George Antheil, and Henry Cowell. Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900–December 2, 1990) was an American composer of modern tonal music as well as film music. ... Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American classical composer who wrote much music on American subjects and is perhaps best known for his . ... William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910 - February 15, 1992) was an American composer. ... David Leo Diamond (July 9, 1915 – June 13, 2005) was an American composer of classical music. ... This photo from around 1913 shows Ives in his day job: he was the director of a successful insurance agency. ... George Antheil (June 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American composer and pianist of Polish descent. ... Henry Cowell (March 11, 1897 - December 10, 1965) was an American composer and teacher. ...

Glass

In the 1980s, after a period during which self-defined American "classical" composers like John Cage adopted atonal structures and thought of themselves less American than Modern composers, Philip Glass revived tonality and traditional genres, such as opera in works like Nixon in China. Glass re-created a semi-mass market for "classical" music, made in America because audiences outside of an avant-garde had simply refused to sit still for Modernist, atonal music, whether from America or Europe. John Cage John Milton Cage (September 5, 1912–August 12, 1992) was an American experimental music composer and writer. ... Philip Glass looks upon sheet music in a portrait taken by Annie Leibovitz. ... The phrase Nixon in China is a historical reference to US President Richard Nixons visit to see Chairman Mao Zedong, leader of the Peoples Republic of China in 1972. ... This article focuses on the cultural movement labeled modernism or the modern movement. See also: Modernism (Roman Catholicism) or Modernist Christianity; Modernismo for specific art movement(s) in Spain and Catalonia. ... Atonality in a general sense describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies that are said to characterized the sound of classical European music from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. ...

A pessimist model, shared by Aldous Huxley and Theodor Adorno, of the classical tradition in Europe was that it peaked with Beethoven. Aldous Huxley believed that subsequent classical music was vulgarized with the re-entry of the unsublimated erotic, and Adorno believed that commodification entered with Wagner. Pessimism, generally, describes a belief that things are bad, and tend to become worse; or that looks to the eventual triumph of evil over good; it contrasts with optimism, the contrary belief in the goodness and betterment of things generally. ... Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... Max Horkheimer (front left), Theodor Adorno (front right), and Jürgen Habermas in the background, right, in 1965 at Heidelberg Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund Adorno (September 11, 1903 – August 6, 1969) was a German sociologist, philosopher, musicologist and composer. ... Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use...

The problem for "American classical music" is that it flourished much after Beethoven and was informed by a declining tradition. Gershwin and Copland gave it new life in a similar fashion to the "national" classical composers of Europe like Sibelius and Bartok, by injecting folk themes. A bust of Jean Sibelius at the Sibelius-monumentti in Helsinki. ... B la Bart k (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a composer, pianist and collector of East European folk music. ...

But by Glass's time, American folk had ceased to be a viable option since the "folk" listened to electronically based music. Glass, in order to gain a mass audience, used a stratagem of "prettification" very similar to that of Igor Stravinsky, who while he adopted some Modernist practices, sugar-coated its severity. Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (Russian: ) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-American composer of modern classical music. ...

A Time magazine article of the 1980s describes "happy sighs" of the American audience during the first notes of a Glass concert, for in the 1980s it was no longer quite fashionable to be patient with atonality, and it had become fashionable in classical circles to demand more immediate gratification. // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

However, if it is accepted that real, American culture is primarily Afro-Caribbean, then the picture brightens considerably. The greatest American classical composer, Scott Joplin, explores both harmonies and rhythms that appeared in Beethoven (who may himself have been of African ancestry by way of the Turks). In Joplin, in fact, the stream of European classical music may have joined the rest of the world, leaving Glass isolated despite all the happy, contented, and Philistine sighs.

External links

• Art of the States

See also

• Music of the United States before 1900