jmc's classics
After the assassination of President Kennedy there were many tributes to the slain president. One of them was the "Kennedy" piano sonata by Roger Sessions (1896-1985). It was completed in 1965. I have never heard this work. The final movement is an elegy to Kennedy. The climax is three sharp notes which is said to mimic the gun shots. An elegy is a sad or mournful musical composition or poem. Especially in lament for the deceased.
It has been said that his music is the type that you have to acquire a taste for. I do like his music. I am listening to his String Quartet as I write this. He wrote nine symphonies as well as chamber music as well as operas. He wrote 30 major works. His music is not played too much at concerts He started out as in the neo-classical school when he was young. He moved into the atonal school. Some of his music is said to be "gnarly". It can be emotional also. I have never heard any of his music played at 4th of July concerts or Memorial Day events. John Philip Sousa, Howard Hanson and John Williams come to mind when you think of American patriotic music. He descended from an old eastern family. He was a descendent of Samuel Huntington (1731-1796) who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Sessions studied music at Harvard and taught at Princeton University and the University of California Berkley. He wrote music well in to his 80's. There are only one or two recordings each of most of his works. This is the type of music that has to have an acquired taste for. I do enjoy listening to his music. I hope that will be appreciated and listened to in the future.
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