''American Gothic'' is an orchestral composition by the American composer

Michael Daugherty Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic book-inspired ''Metropolis Sym ...

. The approximately 20-minute work is composed in three movements inspired by the paintings of the Iowan artist

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...

(1891-1942). Daugherty is a native of

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, where the piece premiered on May 4, 2013, at Cedar Rapids'

Paramount Theatre Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to: Canada * Scotiabank Theatre or Paramount Theatre, a chain of theatres owned by Cineplex Entertainment ** Scotiabank Theatre Toronto or Paramount Theatre Toronto China * Paramount (Shanghai) o ...

, with Timothy Hankewich, conductor.

Instrumentation

'January' by Grant Wood, 1940-41, Cleveland Museum of Art

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

, 2 flutes, 2 oboes,

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

, 2

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (3 players),

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, piano, and strings.

Movements

# ''On a Roll'' # ''Winter Dreams'' # ''Pitchfork''

Reception

The world premiere of ''American Gothic'' received a strongly favorable review, noting the 1,000+ listeners in attendance and the enthusiastic reception of Daugherty's groundbreaking foray into ''orchestral bluegrass'' in the third movement.

Discography

* Michael Daugherty -- ''American Gothic'' (2014)Orchestra Iowa and Timothy Hankewich

Notes

References

* Artist's Page, Bill Holab Music. * * * * Orchestra Iowa and Timothy Hankewich. ''Michael Daugherty: American Gothic.'' (2014) Copyright—Orchestra Iowa/Iowa Arts Media (735885407223)

External links

Michael Daugherty website
{{Michael Daugherty Compositions by Michael Daugherty 2013 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra 20th-century classical music Grant Wood