''America, an Epic Rhapsody'' (often shortened to ''America'') is an orchestral work composed between 1926 and 1927 by Swiss-born Ernest Bloch, as a tribute to the country to which he had emigrated in 1916. The work consists of three movements, covering the history of the United States and entitled '1620', '1861-1865' and '1926'. It was first performed in New York. According to Bloch, the idea for ''America'' first came to him as he arrived in the United States in 1916. This idea reoccurred to him as he studied some works of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

in 1925, and the following year he composed the rhapsody's anthem while in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. In a 1927 contest sponsored by ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online magazine, online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. ...

'', the rhapsody won the $3000 prize for the best symphonic work on an American theme by an American composer, beating ninety-one other entries to gain the unanimous vote of the judges. On 21 December 1928, following this success, ''America'' was performed simultaneously in five American cities:

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, New York,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

External links

References

Compositions by Ernest Bloch Rhapsodies American patriotic songs 1927 compositions {{classical-composition-stub