The American Double

The American Double is a violin-piano duo dedicated to championing composers of quality, both American and foreign, who, having composed in an easy to listen musical language, have undeservedly been pushed into obscurity. (Click here for performer bios.)

The music establishment, over the years, has identified a limited number of works that are to be performed on a regular basis. These works are the undisputed champions of the musical realm, such as Brahms' Symphony No. 4, Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony and other similarly familiar pieces. There are many reasons these works are deemed "standards" the obvious one being that they are the best. With few exceptions, this is true. They are in essence, the works that set the standard; hence the name. However, there are other reasons they are played often: orchestras are comfortable with them, so it requires less rehearsal time to pull them off and audiences fill the halls to hear works they are familiar with.

Under these circumstances, it is very difficult for non-standard repertoire to get heard. I am not talking about new, contemporary works either. I'm talking about works that, for one reason or another, have gotten caught between the historical cracks. Often this occurs when music is changing styles significantly. For instance, the French composer Vincent d'Indy wrote his violin sonata in 1904 and its language is thoroughly Romantic. However, in 1904, the times were a-changing: as early as 1893, Debussy had written the groundbreaking Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun. Very soon after this, Schoenberg began to publish his first atonal vocal works. Thus, D'Indy was deemed too conservative and was forgotten to future generations of audiences. This is a great tragedy because his music pleases the ear, not just the composer and a small circle of sycophants. Consider another composer who was also considered old fashioned until he was rediscovered one hundred years after his death: Johann Sebastian Bach.

Am I saying that there are tons of Bachs out there just waiting to be discovered? No; I am saying rather that worthy composers are often overlooked who could play a vital role in the revitalization of music. How? The standards, great as they are, have become too overplayed and recorded. Sometimes, familiarity can breed contempt. Audiences would rather stay at home and listen to it for free or just don't want to hear another performance of it, live or otherwise. What's the solution? Revive works that are easy to listen to and yet have an air of freshness because of their infrequent performance. Some say these works of which I speak are justly forgotten because they aren't any good. When compared to the perfection of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, there is nothing that can be as good. However, if our criteria for performing a work is whether it is perfect or not, what a bore that is! There just aren't too many pieces like that and they've all been overplayed and recorded.

The American Double aims to help in this revitalization by playing pieces that are well written and easy to listen to, but not played often. We realize that there are many composers of quality who, for one reason or another, have been unjustly forgotten. We realize how utterly ridiculous it is that some works have been recorded hundreds of times while others remain out-of-print and unrecorded. For, as great as the standards are, they do not deserve to have our total attention when there are other works that have been effectively relegated to obscurity. It is our hope that through the performance and recording of music written by quality composers writing in an easy to listen to tonal environment, the repertoire will be greatly enriched.

Unknown Masterworks

If these "unknown masterworks" are such good music, why aren't they being played now? It is because there is a sense that only the pinacles of musical achievement are deemed to be worthy to listen to. To that, I say "what a bore"! We live in a world where literally hundreds of thousands of agreeable, well crafted musical works exist, the kind that every reasonable, casual listener would want to hear, but they are presented with maybe sixty to eighty (at most). While this is to take nothing away from these masterworks that are certainly deserving of the title, is it fair that worthy,well crafted alternatives should be subjugated to complete obscurity?

One prime example of this is George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", an acknowleged masterwork of the genre. But has anyone ever heard of John Alden Carpenter's work of the same genre: Krazy Kat? Is Carpenter's work of the same sublime quality as Gershwin's? Perhaps not. But is it so bad that it deserves complete and utter obscurity while "Rhapsody" is played literally hundreds of times a year? Certainly a composer such as Carpenter, who was awarded five honorary degrees (one from Harvard) and a gold medal for distinguished achievement in music of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1947), wouldn't compose trash, would he? No, he wouldn't. But Gershwin is what fills the seats, and people shy away from the unknown, even if it is better. Can we blame them? Orchestras can't take the chance that people won't attend their concerts. So how are audiences ever going to hear works by quality composers whose works have slipped into oblivion? Private recitals. It is the only venue that has such a low overhead to combat the inevitable skepticism associated with unfamiliarity.

I'm here to offer a persuasive alternative; an enriched repertoire that includes not only the great works, but others that have unfairly been pushed into obscurity by the whims of the commercial culture. To this end is dedicated the American Double.