Gould: American Salute

American Salute

Morton Gould

(1913-1998)

Morton Gould is perhaps the finest example of a composer of the sort of music which all too often is given little attention or critical respect: “light music,” music written in a direct and unabashed popular idiom, aiming to reach a wide audience. At the same time Gould was an artist of integrity, creating works of elegance and fastidious craftsmanship. A New Yorker, he began at an early age to work as a conductor and arranger in the world of radio----today it is hard to remember that before the television age network radio (and even some independent radio stations) maintained performing ensembles and staffs of professional musicians, producing a rich variety of excellent music (heard in live broadcasts), today rarely to be encountered. This provided Gould with his training as a composer, leading to work in the theatre, films and later television. Increasingly he was in demand for concert and stage works, including the acclaimed ballet, “Fall River Legend” (1947), his American Symphonettes, Symphony of Spirituals---even a “Tap Dance Concerto.” The “American Salute” (1947) is probably his best-known composition, being a rousing orchestral arrangement of the American folksong, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

GPYO concert