Albany Symphony Orchestra, Julius Hegyi
George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931) and Horatio Parker (1863-1919) were members of the first real school of composers in the United States, a group that included John Knowles Paine, Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, Amy Beach, and later Charles Martin Loeffler, Frederick Shepherd Converse, and Henry F. Gilbert. This assembly of American composers is often labeled "the second New England school" (the "first" school was an informal group of independent singing-school masters and composers during and after the American Revolution whose best-known member was William Billings).
The second New England school appeared at a time when Germany held cultural hegemony over European and American musical life. Lack of familiarity with much of their music has prevented us from recognizing the personal styles of each of these American composers, whose significance has never been adequately celebrated. They deserve at least the laurels accorded to their counterparts in European countries as pioneers in a native musical life and as worthy composers in their own right.
Chadwick's music is characterized by warmhearted melodies, spirited rhythms, and brilliant orchestral writing that gives something worth playing to every member of the ensemble. The European composer closest in style is probably Dvořák. The comparison is not frivolous; many hearing Chadwick's Second Symphony for the first time have thought of Dvořák's New World Symphony, often cited a work that taught American composers how to write American music. It is a useful corrective to note that Chadwick composed his Second Symphony 1883 and 1886, nearly a decade before Dvořák's American visit.
Chadwick's first composition student in Boston was Horatio Parker, then in his late teens. The two composers quickly passed beyond the teacher-pupil relationship and became lifelong friends. Parker was especially active as a choral composer; his oratorio Hora novissima was once the most famous and widely performed of all American choral works. In general, Parker was less overtly nationalistic than Chadwick, generally avoiding American subjects. His style was more abstract as well. His love of contrapuntal elaboration (a useful skill for a choral composer) is apparent even in a purely orchestral work like A Northern Ballad, which he completed on March 11, 1899.
Parker: A Northern Ballad/Chadwick: Symphony No. 2
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Track Listing
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A Northern Ballad
Horatio W. Parker
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Symphony No. 2 in B flat, Op. 21: I. Andante non troppo; Allegro con brio
George W. Chadwick
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Symphony No. 2 in B flat, Op. 21: II. Allegretto scherzando
George W. Chadwick
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Symphony No. 2 in B flat, Op. 21: III. Largo e maestoso
George W. Chadwick
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Symphony No. 2 in B flat, Op. 21: IV. Allegro molto animato
George W. Chadwick
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