College of the Pacific In 1916, Hanson was hired for his first full-time position as a music theory and composition teacher at the
College of the Pacific in California. Only three years later, the college appointed him Dean of the Conservatory of Fine Arts in 1919. In 1920, Hanson composed
The California Forest Play, his earliest work to receive national attention. Hanson also wrote a number of orchestral and chamber works during his years in California, including
Concerto da Camera,
Symphonic Legend,
Symphonic Rhapsody, various solo piano works, such as
Two Yuletide Pieces, and the
Scandinavian Suite, which celebrated his
Lutheran and
Scandinavian heritage.
American Academy in Rome In 1921 Hanson was the first winner of the
American Academy in Rome's "
Rome Prize" in musical composition, awarded for both
The California Forest Play and his symphonic poem
Before the Dawn. Thanks to the award, Hanson lived in
Italy for three years. During his time in Italy, Hanson wrote a
Quartet in One Movement,
Lux Aeterna,
The Lament for Beowulf (orchestration
Bernhard Kaun), and his
Symphony No. 1, "Nordic", the premiere of which he conducted with the Augusteo Orchestra on May 30, 1923. The three years Hanson spent on his Fellowship at the American Academy were, he considered, the formative years of his life, as he was free to compose, conduct without the distraction of teaching—he could devote himself solely to his art. (It has been incorrectly stated that Hanson studied composition and/or orchestration with
Ottorino Respighi, who in turn had studied orchestration with
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Hanson's unpublished autobiography refutes the statement, attributed to
Ruth Watanabe, that he had studied with Respighi.). Citing several sources in 1998, however, the librarian scholar John A. Dobnicki at
CUNY York College documented that, "taking up fellowship residence in Rome for three years, Hanson studied orchestration under Ottorino Respighi and devoted himself to composition, writing his Symphony No. 1 (“Nordic,” 1922) and two symphonic poems, and began work on his major choral work, The Lament for Beowulf, which was completed in the United States in 1925.) While Hanson may not have pursued formal studies with Respighi while in Rome, he apparently did receive advice from him. In addition, Respighi invited Hanson to attend rehearsals and performances of his orchestral concerts. As a result of these interactions, Hanson credited Respighi as a significant influence on his use of orchestral textures and instrumentation. In addition, he cited the works of several other composers as being influential while studying in Rome including:
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
Gustav Holst,
Giovanni Palestrina and
Richard Wagner.
University of Rochester - Eastman School of Music Upon returning from Rome, Hanson's conducting career expanded. He made his premiere conducting the
New York Symphony Orchestra in his tone poem
North and West. In
Rochester,
New York in 1924, he conducted his
Symphony No. 1. This performance brought him to the attention of
George Eastman. –
University of Rochester – general view In 1924, Eastman chose Hanson to be director of the
Eastman School of Music. Eastman, inventor of the
Kodak camera and roll film, was also a major philanthropist, and used some of his great wealth to endow the Eastman School of Music at the
University of Rochester. Hanson held the position of director for forty years, during which he created one of the most prestigious music schools in America. Also, he balanced the school's faculty between American and European teachers, even when this meant passing up composer
Béla Bartók. Hanson offered a position to Bartók teaching composition at Eastman, but Bartók declined as he did not believe that one could teach composition. Instead, Bartók wanted to teach piano at the Eastman School, but Hanson already had a full staff of piano instructors. Here is how the noted conductor
Kenneth Woods described the incident: Since emigrating from Hungary to the US in 1940, Bartók had endured a period of terrible neglect, poverty and homesickness. Howard Hanson, the reactionary and xenophobic president of the Eastman School of Music, had turned away Bartók’s application for a teaching position in spite of his reputation as possibly the most important living composer and ethnomusicologist of his day. In 1925, Hanson established the American Composers Orchestral Concerts. He followed that in 1931 by establishing the annual Festivals of American Music. These week long concerts were free to the public and featured established works by American composers as well as premiers of new compositions. They included performances of: orchestral works, chamber music, band and wind ensemble music, vocal and chamber music, opera and ballet. The festival concerts were eagerly anticipated by audiences in Rochester until 1971 and were also broadcast regularly over national radio networks from the Eastman Theater. Critics have often observed that over the course of four decades "more music has been played at these concerts than in all the rest of the United States put together." The music author Joseph Machlis also observed that "It is no exaggeration to say that during the 1920s and 1930s no one did more for the cause of American music than Howard Hanson". Hanson's interest in educating the general public through innovative means became apparent as early as 1938. At this time he engaged the talents of student ensembles at the Eastman School to present
Milestones in the History of Music on the radio. This weekly series of programs presented a sweeping survey of the history of Western music which was broadcast locally in Rochester, New York on
WHAM and nationally on the
NBC Red Network. In recognition of these efforts, the
Peabody Award for outstanding service to music was awarded to Hanson, the Eastman School and WHAM in 1946. Hanson also engaged his student ensembles to present a similar series for the
CBS radio network which he entitled
Milestones in American Music. This series presented orchestral, choral and chamber music composed by eighty two American composers from the mid 19th century to modern times. As Hanson himself indicated this was "the first attempt at a rather complete presentation of the American picture in music." For thirty years from 1939 to 1969 Hanson made over one hundred recordings for
RCA Victor,
Mercury Records and
Columbia Records with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, not only of his own works, but also those of other American composers such as:
Charles Ives,
Wayne Barlow,
John Alden Carpenter,
Charles Tomlinson Griffes,
Alan Hovhaness,
Homer Keller,
John Knowles Paine,
Burrill Phillips,
Walter Piston,
Bernard Rogers,
Roger Sessions,
Leo Sowerby and
William Grant Still. Hanson estimated that more than 2000 works by over 500 American composers were premiered during his tenure at the Eastman School. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Hanson's
Symphony No. 2, the "Romantic", and premiered it on November 28, 1930. This work was to become Hanson's best known. One of its themes is performed at the conclusion of all concerts at the
Interlochen Center for the Arts. Now known as the "Interlochen Theme", it is conducted by a student concertmaster after the featured conductor has left the stage. Traditionally, no applause follows its performance. It is also widely known for its use in the final scene and end credits of the 1979
Ridley Scott film
Alien. In some ways Hanson's opera
Merry Mount (1934) may be considered the first fully American opera. It was written by an American composer and an American librettist on an American story, and was premiered with a mostly American cast at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1934. The Opera received fifty curtain calls at its Met premiere, a record that still stands. In 1935, he wrote "Three Songs from Drum Taps", based on the poem by
Walt Whitman.
Frederick Fennell, conductor of the
Eastman Wind Ensemble, described Hanson's first band composition, the 1954
Chorale and Alleluia as "the most awaited piece of music to be written for the wind band in my twenty years as a conductor in this field".
Chorale and Alleluia is still a required competition piece for high school bands in the New York State School Music Association's repertoire list. In 1955, he conducted the
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series.
"Song of Democracy" By 1957, Hanson was inspired once again by the poetry of Walt Whitman and completed his
Song of Democracy to mark the hundredth anniversary of the National Education Association and the fiftieth anniversary of the Music Educator's National Conference. Hanson conducted its official premier with the
National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. before an audience of 23,000. This followed an unofficial performance in 1957 for President Eisenhower by
Howard University's African-American Chorus which subsequently performed the work in
Constitution Hall a month later. By synthesizing his own musical idealism with Whitman's robust optimism, Hanson composed a work which reflects the boundless possibilities of youthful creativity. The work incorporates a clear signature motto to his "Romantic" Symphony during the orchestral prelude as well as a largely harmonic setting for the chorus which culminates in a fervent hymn. This panel consisted of leading composers and academics who evaluated candidates for the Department of State's Cultural Presentations program. Musicians who were accepted into this program represented America's
cultural diplomacy initiatives in concert venues throughout the world during the Cold War. Later in the 1960s, he also hosted and conducted the
Los Angeles Philharmonic in several series of young peoples concerts for school children in the Los Angeles area. Though not an example of integral music theory, it contained fruitful ideas and analytic algorithms which were incorporated in later theories such as
set theory of
Allen Forte. The idea of 'modal modulation' (Hanson's term) echoed in the
Yuri Kholopov's 'variable mode' doctrine.
Institute for American Music Following his retirement as Director of the Eastman School of Music in 1964, Hanson was appointed as the first director of the newly established Institute for American Music at the
University of Rochester. In this new role, Hanson continued his efforts to foster a widespread understanding and appreciation of American music through performances, publications and recordings. Operating funds for the institute were largely derived from royalties generated from compositions and recordings which were executed by Hanson during his tenure at the Eastman School. Following his death in 1981, Hanson's wife Peggy assumed his responsibilities at the institute until her death in 1996. It has been observed that nearly every American composer since World War I is indebted in some degree to Howard Hanson for his efforts to educate the public and future generations of professional musicians about American music.
Orchestras During the course of his career Hanson also served as a guest conductor for several leading orchestras including: the
New York Philharmonic, the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the
NBC Symphony Orchestra. He was also a frequent conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the
Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York. In addition, he was the founder of the Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra at the Eastman School of Music. Under Hanson's leadership, it was selected to participate in the United States Department of State's international cultural exchange program during the 1961–1962 season. Hanson took the Eastman Philharmonia on a European tour which passed through Paris, Cairo, Moscow, and Vienna, among other cities. The tour showcased the growth of serious American music for Europe and the Middle East. Hanson's performances with the orchestra received critical acclaim in thirty four cities and sixteen countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and Russia. ==Marriage==