Americans in Paris

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

Among the enduring souvenirs of the Paris World Exposition of 1889 was an impressive steel tower designed by Gustave Eiffel. Originally blasted as a grotesque eyesore by leading French artists — including the opera composer Charles Gounod — it was a smash hit with those attending the 1889 Exposition.

Another great hit with attendees, including the impressionable French composer Claude Debussy, was the chance to hear exotic music from Java, Siam, and Egypt. Audiences at an orchestra concert at the Exposition’s Trocadero Palace on today’s date in 1889 could have heard — for them — exotic music by several composers from the United States as well. It was something of a milestone in the history of American music.

George Whitefield Chadwick’s tone poem Melpomene was one of the works performed in Paris, along with orchestral pieces by Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, Dudley Buck, and John Paine. A perceptive French critic noted at the time there seemed to be a veritable “young American school” of composers, obviously influenced by German models ranging from Mendelssohn to Wagner.

“Except for the lack of originality,” concluded the French critic, “the workmanship is serious, correct, solid, and always practical. And these young Americans appeared blessed with much energy.”

Music Played in Today's Program

George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931): Melpomene Overture; Detroit Symphony; Neeme Jarvi, conductor; Chandos 9439