Howard Hanson

Howard Hanson 1896-1981, American composer, teacher, and conductor, b. Wahoo, Nebr. In 1921, Hanson won the Prix de Rome, becoming the first composer to enter the American Academy there. From 1924-64 he was director of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y.; in 1964 he became director of the Institute of American Music at the Univ. of Rochester. Among his works are the Romantic Symphony (Symphony No. 2., 1930) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning Fourth Symphony (1944). Hanson's opera Merry Mount, based on a tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne, appeared in 1934. His works for chorus and orchestra include The Lament for Beowulf (1925), the Hymn to the Pioneers (1938), the Cherubic Hymn (1950), and The Song of Democracy (1957). Hanson's music was strongly romantic. His influence as a teacher was profound.

Hanson, Howard (Harold) (b Wahoo, Nebraska, 1896; d Rochester, NY, 1981). Amer. composer and educator, of Swed. descent. First Amer. to win Prix de Rome, 1921, spending 3 years at Amer. Acad. in Rome. In 1924 became dir. of Eastman Sch. of Mus., holding this post for 40 years. Est. Amer. fests. at Rochester in 1925 at which hundreds of works by Amer. composers have received f.ps. Dir. of Inst. of Amer. Mus., Rochester Univ., from 1964. Known as ‘the American Sibelius’, his mus. reflects a similar romantic outlook firmly rooted in tonality, His book Harmonic Materials of Modern Music (NY 1960) shows his grasp of contemporary technical devices. His opera Merry Mount was cond. by Serafin at NY Met in 1934. Prin. works:OPERAS: Californian Forest Play (1919); Merry Mount (1933); Nymph and Satyr (1978).ORCH.: syms., No.1 (Nordic) (1921), No.2 (Romantic) (1930), No.3 (1938), No.4 (Requiem) (1943), No.5 (Sinfonia Sacra) (1955), No.6 (1968), No.7 (Sea), with ch. (1977); Lux aeterna, sym.-poem with va. obbl. (1923); org. conc. (1926); Pan and the Priest, sym.-poem with pf. obbl. (1926); Merry Mount Suite (1937); pf. conc. (1948); Mosaics (1958); Summer Seascape (1958); Summer Seascape II (1966); Bold Island Suite (1961); Dies Natalis I (1967); Young Composer's Guide to the 6-Tone Scale (1971–2).CHORAL: Lament for Beowulf, ch., orch. (1923–5); Heroic Elegy, ch., orch. (1927); 3 Songs from Drum Taps, vv., orch. (1935); Song of Democracy, soloists, ch., orch. (1956); Song of Human Rights, cantata (1963); Streams in the Desert, ch., orch. (1969); New Land, New Covenant, oratorio (1976); Prayer for the Middle Ages, unacc. ch. (1976).CHAMBER MUSIC: pf. quintet (1916); str. qt. (1923). Also works for pf. and songs.