"Festival Bulletin Commemorating The Tenth Anniversary of The Eastman School
American Composers' Concerts, 1935." This booklet is a valuable resource in
giving just a glimpse of what Howard Hanson was partially responsible for in
the promotion of contemporary American Music and the music of William Grant
Still. Besides the four days of performances there is a list of works
performed during the ten years of American Composer's Concerts and Festivals.
It is impressive, even staggering.
William Grant Still is well represented.
He had eight works premiered at these concerts. Darker America 1927-28,
and re-performed the following season, 1928-29, his suite From the Journal
of the Wanderer in the 1928-29 season was performed as well. During the
1930-31 season Hanson conducted Still's suite Africa and the choral
ballet Sahdji. Still's most popular work, the Afro-American
Symphony was premiered during the 1931-32 season. The ballet La
Guiablesse and the suite From the Black Belt were performed during
the 1932-33 season and From the Black Belt was repeated during the
1933-34 season. The tenth anniversary season saw the premiere of excerpts from
his opera Blue Steel, which the composer later discarded, and his suite
Africa, from which the movement "Land of Superstition" had its world
premiere.
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