Marion Bauer

Entry 2

Though not well known today, in the 1920s Marion Bauer was part of a small but growing community of female composers in America. Most notably, she was the first American student of the great pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Bauer, in turn, taught Ruth Crawford. She was also friends with Amy Beach and Miriam Gideon. Her career included jobs that would not have been attained by women in previous generations. She was a prominent author, writing numerous articles in Musical Quarterly and Musical Leader. She was also a well-respected educator, holding a position as a music professor at NYU for twenty-five years from 1926 to 1951. She was also on the executive board of several composer's societies like the Society for Publications of American Music and the American Composer's Alliance. Unlike previous women composers to gain fame, though, Bauer was not widely known as a performer, but she certainly kept a busy schedule as a teacher, author, executive and lecturer. Despite this, she still found time to write some wonderful music.

The selections of her work that I listened to for this entry are the American Youth Concerto, op. 36 and the Symphonic Suite for Strings, op. 33. Though Bauer was a proponent of twentieth century music (even composing a few twelve tone works), these two pieces clearly illustrate her close ties to tradition. Both are written in a basically tonal style, though the harmonies are advanced and chromatic. Both are also in three movement Classical forms. Yet her music does not sound old, her style is imbued with modern techniques in orchestration, harmony, instrumentation, melody, and especially the use of folk and popular style.

The American Youth Concerto is unique in several regards. It was written in 1943 for the High School of Music and Art in New York City. Despite being written for younger musicians, Bauer did not write a simple piece—my high school never performed a piece as complex as this. Upon first listening one may wonder what instrument is the soloist in this concerto. The first movement clearly features the piano in the soloist role, including a cadenza. But the cadenza is exceptionally melodic and not virtuosic. It acts more as a solo recapitulation than a spot for the soloist to show off. The second movement, though, shows off the beauty of Bauer's orchestrations. Winds and strings carry the bulk of the melody in lush, full orchestrations. The pianist adds frequent comments on and embellishments to the orchestral textures, but the part does not have the featured soloist quality of a Classical or Romantic concerto.

The last movement is the most American sounding of the three. It is a melting pot of dance style accompaniments. In the opening, the piano and orchestra trade lightly swinging ragtime-like phrases, but this is soon interrupted by a jazzy saxophone soloist that finds the orchestra playing an accompaniment figure reminiscent of a Jewish bulgar—a nod to both Bauer's Jewish heritage and the folk dance that was popular at the time. The use of the saxophone is a very unique feature of this work. Even today, this instrument is rarely used in the context of an orchestra, but here it is treated as an equal with the piano. Soon after this first saxophone feature, the instrument reappears with an even longer solo, this time accompanied only by the piano. This duet evokes the spirit of jazz that was in the air in New York in the 1930s and 40s. The saxophone player bends and smears pitches while playing a melody evocative of a Negro spiritual. This melody is then fleshed out in a dramatic chorale-type orchestration, utilizing all of the sections of the orchestra to bring out the emotional quality of the tune. This ABA movement is then rounded out by a recapitulation of the opening ragtime feel. Overall, it is a varied and emotional trip through the cultural stew of America, and specifically New York, in the beginning of the twentieth century.

The other piece that I listened to was the Symphonic Suite for Strings, op. 33. This work does not have the variety of sound and texture that the Concerto has. One reason for this rests in the instrumentation. The string orchestra is blessed with one of the most homogeneous sounds of any ensemble, due to the fact that all of the instruments are made of the same materials and have similar proportions. Orchestrationally, though, this means that the ensemble cannot produce as large a range of instrumental timbres that a full orchestra could. This puts much more importance on the melody, harmony, and rhythm of the work to provide interest. This work falls short in these aspects, though.

The piece shows the influence of older forms on Bauer's composing. Dance suites had been around since the Baroque era. Her suite is in three movements: Prelude: Andante, Interlude: Commodo, and Finale-Fugue: Allegro ma non troppo. In a break with tradition, though, none of these titles suggest a specific dance. Even though these types of concert suites were never intended to actually accompany dance, composers usually took some type of dance as a jumping off point for each movement. Bauer does not use these affectations and gives the pieces only generic names. The first two movements are tonal and homophonic. These movements are filled with a sense of melancholy and feature modern sounding melodies and harmonies, but the lack of sonic variety in the string orchestra becomes tiresome. The third movement most strongly ties Bauer to the past. It is in the form of a fugue and shows that she was intimately familiar with the music of J.S. Bach. The four-voice fugue maintains all of Bach contrapuntal ideas and textures, but adds a great deal of chromaticism to the harmonic language. Once again, though, the work is limited by a lack of color.

This work does not deserve to be added to the Classical Canon. It is a well put together piece of music and it could certainly appeal to a great deal of listeners, but it is not essential listening. Repeated listening to the work does not reveal extra depth or subtlety in the work. It is just like many other work in the genre.

American Youth Concerto, on the other hand, definitely deserves to be added to the standard repertoire for young groups. Few works written for this type of ensemble are worth real musical value. My experience with high school music has shown a great deal of dullness and repetitiveness. This work is varied and interesting—showcasing a wide variety of musical styles, colors, and textures. It would be a worthwhile experience for a group of talented young musicians to perform this work.