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PODCAST

Hearing The Pulitzers

hearingthepulitzers

Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.

music music history

All Episodes

29:17

Episode 29 - 1971: Mario Davidovsky, Synchronisms No. 6

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/05/11

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first episode they have a personal connection to as Andrew has performed Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms No. 6. How does Dave react to the third music winner to incorporate electronic sounds, and how do those sounds hold up 50 years later? If you'd like more information about Davidovsky, we recommend: Wesley True's lecture “Men, Music, and Machines. Some Thoughts Generated by the Practice and Performance of Mario Davidovsky’s Synchronisms #6 for

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29:23

Episode 28 - 1970: Charles Wuorinen, Time’s Encomium

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/04/16

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first fully electronic work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize, even though it was the only electronic work its composer ever wrote. Did Charles Wuorinen set a new standard for Pulitzer-winning music or was electronic music a flash in the pan? If you're interested in learning more about Wuorinen, we recommend: Charles Wuorinen's extensive website Elliott Schwartz's article "Electronic Music: A Thirty-Year Retrospective" in Music Educators Journal, Vol. 64,

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28:18

Episode 27 - 1969: Karel Husa, String Quartet No. 3

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/03/29

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer renowned today for his works for wind band, but celebrated during his lifetime for music that was, in Nicolas Slonimsky's famous phrase, "oxygenated by humanistic romanticism." Join us as we try and tease out exactly what Slonimsky meant by exploring Husa's String Quartet No. 3. If you'd like more information about Husa, we recommend: Lawrence W. Hartzell's "Karel Husa: The Man and the Music" in The Musical Quarterly Vol. 62, No. 1 (Jan., 1976),

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27:23

Episode 26 - 1968: George Crumb, Echoes of Time and...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/03/14

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore an early work by a composer who transformed American music with his singular vision. But how did a composer who concocted a personal aesthetic reflecting a fascination with "life, death, love, the smell of the earth, the sounds of the wind and the sea" impact artists like David Bowie and directors like William Friedkin (who used Crumb's music in The Exorcist)? If you'd like more information about George Crumb, we recommend: George Crumb's New York Times

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28:34

Episode 25 - 1967: Leon Kirchner, Third String Quartet

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/03/01

We're back with Season 2 of "Hearing The Pulitzers!" In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first music winner to incorporate electronics, Leon Kirchner. Kirchner wanted to expand human capabilities by combining live performance with recorded electronic sounds. Although he did not focus his music on electronics after the 3rd Quartet, Kirchner's award ultimately set a trend for the Pulitzer the next few years, as the jury became more and more accepting of new sounds and timbres. If you'd

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26:40

Episode 24 - 1966: Leslie Bassett, Variations for...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/11/01

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first music winner in three years, Leslie Bassett. After two decades of honoring fairly conservative, European-derived pieces and two years of not honoring any pieces of music, what direction will the Pulitzer go in the late 1960s? If you'd like more information about Leslie Bassett, we recommend: Leslie Bassett's homepage Ellen S. Johnson's Leslie Bassett: a Bio-Bibliography, published in 1994 by Greenwood Press Stephanie Brunelli's

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27:18

Episode 23 - 1965: No Prize (the Pulitzer Hat Trick)

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/09/18

In this episode, Dave and Andrew cover the third year the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a music prize. The 1964 decision not to award a prize might have been shocking, but nothing could have prepared the Pulitzer Board from the fallout of their decision in 1965. Music jury members resigned, the press had a field day, and the trajectory of music winners changed dramatically. We'll chart all the intrigue, including what Duke Ellington had to do with this scandal.

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14:20

Episode 22 - 1964: No Prize (again)

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/08/28

In this episode, Andrew and Dave discuss the second time the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a music prize. In fact, in 1964, they did not give awards in the categories of drama, music, and fiction. It was the first time since the Pulitzer Prizes began in 1917 that three separate categories did not have an awardee. To deepen the intrigue, the music board was split, and at least one member wanted to give a music award (and wasn't happy with the other members). We discuss all the drama! What

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25:12

Episode 21 - 1963: Samuel Barber, Piano Concerto No. 1

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/08/13

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the third person to win two Pulitzers, Samuel Barber. Barber's prize-winning opera Vanessa was a qualified hit in Episode 16, but how does his Piano Concerto stack up? (Photo of Pianist John Browning, 1966) If you'd like more information about Samuel Barber or his Piano Concerto No. 1, we recommend: Emily Lu's 1986 dissertation from the University of Wisconsin, "The Piano Concerto of Samuel Barber" Jonathan Blumhofer's fascinating discussion of the piece

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29:19

Episode 20 - 1962: Robert Ward, The Crucible

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/06/20

In this episode, Dave and Andrew turn to the fifth opera to win a Pulitzer Prize, Robert Ward's The Crucible. The opera is based on Arthur Miller's award-winning play that even today is considered an American classic. Does the opera hold up as well? If you're interested in more information about Robert Ward or The Crucible, we recommend: Robert Kolt's book Robert Ward's The Crucible: Creating an American Musical Nationalism. Robert Kolt's article "The Devil Made Me Do It! History to Play to Opera:

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29:15

Episode 19 - 1961: Walter Piston, Symphony No. 7

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/05/24

In this episode, Dave and Andrew return to Walter Piston, who first won the Pulitzer in 1948 for his Third Symphony. In 1961, not even a year into his retirement, Piston won again for his Seventh Symphony. Although Piston's music isn't performed much today, Carol Oja has argued that "From the perspective of the early 21st century, the music of Walter Piston sounds mighty appealing." Will Dave and Andrew agree? If you're interested in more information about Walter Piston's teaching, we

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35:25

Episode 18 - 1960: Elliott Carter, Second String Quartet

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/04/26

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first Pulitzer winner of the 1960s, Elliott Carter for his Second String Quartet. Carter's work has been frequently performed, widely celebrated, and heavily analyzed, but will it be a hit or a miss for our hosts? If you're interested in learning more about Carter or his Second String Quartet, we recommend: David Thurmaier's "'A Disturbing Lack of Musical and Stylistic Continuity'? Elliott Carter, Charles Ives, and Musical Borrowing" Current

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29:03

Episode 17 - 1959: John La Montaine, Piano Concerto...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/03/27

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss John La Montaine's first piano concerto, a work that made a splash in the late 1950s only to disappear from the repertoire. Similarly, La Montaine has faded from view, so what made this work catch the Pulitzer committee's attention? If you'd like to learn more about John La Montaine, we recommend: Frank Oteri's 2003 interview "Rediscovering John La Montaine" Bruce Duffie's 1989 interview with John La Montaine Erica Beth Weintraub's article “John La

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34:58

Episode 16 - 1958: Samuel Barber, Vanessa

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/03/12

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the fourth opera to win the Pulitzer Prize in the 1950s, Samuel Barber's Vanessa. In the mid-20th century United States, Samuel Barber was one of the most performed American composers, known especially for his beautiful vocal music that closely mirrored European models. But with the Pulitzer traditionally awarding works that are more "American" in sound, does Vanessa represent a departure from convention for Barber or the Pulitzer board? If you'd like more

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25:42

Episode 15 - 1957: Norman Dello Joio, Meditations on...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/02/26

Norman Dello Joio is one of those composers you might know depending on your background. Sing choral music? You might know him from A Jubilant Song. Play in band? You might have performed his Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn. He was accomplished and prolific composer, but we did not know his Pulitzer winning Meditations on Ecclesiastes before this episode. Join Dave and Andrew as they explore if it fits into the list of winners in the 1950s or is an outlier. If you want to know more about Dello Joio,

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29:46

Episode 14 - 1956: Ernst Toch, Symphony No. 3

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/02/13

Like Gian Carlo Menotti before him, Ernst Toch was a European composer who won an American prize. Unlike Menotti, Toch did not have the same success in the United States that he had in Europe and never fully identified as an "American" composer. Join us as we find out how his third symphony, inspired by his experience as a Jew fleeing the Nazis in the 1930s, might tell us something about Toch's place in American musical history. If you'd like to learn more about Ernst Toch, we recommend: This

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37:08

Episode 13 - 1955:Gian Carlo Menotti, The Saint of...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/01/29

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first repeat winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music. We covered Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul in Episode 8 and now he's back again with The Saint of Bleecker Street. We were generally favorable toward The Consul, finding it an effective, if derivative opera. Will Menotti score another hit with this story of a young woman who displays the stigmata? If you're interested in The Saint of Bleecker Street, we recommend: The original Broadway cast recording

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23:03

Episode 12 - 1954: Quincy Porter, Concerto for Two...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2021/01/13

Quincy Porter bridges many of the themes we've seen so far in the podcast: he was the last student of nineteenth-century American composer Horatio Parker (who also taught 1947 prize winner Charles Ives), he taught composition at an Ivy League school (Yale, in this case) for many years, and he was celebrated for his orchestral music during his lifetime, but is virtually forgotten today. From that list, and from our previous episodes on Howard Hanson, Walter Piston, and Douglas Moore, you might

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14:32

EPISODE 11 - 1953: No Prize

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2020/11/10

It might surprise you to learn that over the past 80 years, there have been a few years when the Pulitzer Board has elected not to award a prize, even when the music committee had a recommendation. In this episode we explore the first of these "no prize" years, discuss what pieces were considered, and make a guess as to why the Pulitzer Board chose to not award a winner.

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24:57

EPISODE 10 - 1952: Gail Kubik, Symphony Concertante

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2020/09/08

As we move further into the 1950s, we're entering the doldrums of the Pulitzer Prizes, where few winners have entered the repertoire. Gail Kubik was a phenomenon in his day, writing equally well for the concert hall and the movie theatre. His Symphony Concertante began life as a film score before he extracted themes to craft this work featuring viola, trumpet, and piano. So why have you never heard of the work or, most likely its creator? If you'd like to learn more about Kubik, we recommend: His

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