Royal Scottish National Orchestra to Release Album of World Premiere Recordings by William Grant Still
This unique conductor/daughter and violinist/mother collaboration is particularly fitting as Still cherished family and his music is deeply personal.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 17, 2022
On Friday, May 27, 2022, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will release their new album, William Grant Still, on Naxos. This album, the most recent addition to Naxos' American Classics series, includes world premiere recordings of 13 works by 20th-century composer William Grant Still and features solo violinist Zina Schiff with maestro Avlana Eisenberg leading the orchestra.
This unique conductor/daughter and violinist/mother collaboration is particularly fitting as Still cherished family and his music is deeply personal. Known as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers," Still hoped "that my music may serve a purpose larger than mere music. If it will help in some way to bring about better interracial understanding in America and in other countries, then I will feel that the work is justified." May 11, 2022, will mark Still's 127th birthday.
Opening the album is Can't You Line 'Em (1940), based on a folk ballad collected and compiled by the Lomax Brothers. It captures the rhythm and spirit of the construction gangs "tie-shuffling," or lining up railroad tracks.
Still's 3 Visions - No. 2. Summerland (1936) was originally composed as the second movement of 3 Visions for solo piano, and Summerland is Still's delicate depiction of the serenity and purity of Heaven.
Quit Dat Fool'nish (1935) is another work originally composed for solo piano, which conjures up a jazzy romp with Still's mischievous dog, Shep.
In the composer's words, Pastorela (1946) is "a tone picture of a California landscape, peaceful but exciting, arousing feelings of languor in some of its aspects and of animation in others, presenting an overall effect of unity in its variety." Still wrote this work honoring his adopted state at the request from his friend, violinist Louis Kaufman.
Still's first symphonic work, American Suite (c. 1918), was composed while he was attending Wilberforce University in Ohio. This Suite's three contrasting movements display the composer's characteristically broad emotional range, beginning with a lyrical love song, followed by a spritely dance movement, and finally, a lament, reflective and nostalgic, yet tinged with hope.
Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron (1945) resonates with the pride, courage, and patriotic resolve of the Tuskegee Airmen, 992 pilots who served in World War II. On April 3, 1939, Appropriations Bill Public Law 18 passed, containing an amendment designating money to train African American airmen. Leopold Stokowski and the Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron at the Hollywood Bowl on July 22, 1945, in commemoration of the end of the war and the valiant service of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Serenade (1957) was originally intended as a cello concerto proposed by Still's friend, Gregor Piatigorsky. Instead, it became a commission by the Great Falls, Montana, High School Orchestra, with its lush cello writing hinting at its conception.
The Violin Suite (1943), dedicated to Louis and Annette Kaufman, is a musical impression of three works of art: African Dancer, a bronze statue by Richmond Barthé displayed at the Whitney Museum in New York; Mother and Child, a colored lithograph by Sargent Johnson housed at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art; and Gamin, a bronze bust by Augusta Savage at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Inspired by the artwork of his contemporaries, Still translated them into music.
Concluding the album is Threnody: In Memory of Jean Sibelius (1965), commissioned by Maestro Fabien Sevitzky for a concert in memory of Jean Sibelius, on the 100th anniversary of his birth. It premiered in a performance by the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra. Still's tribute is a haunting farewell, channeling the spirit of Sibelius.
About Zina Schiff
California-born violinist Zina Schiff, a Heifetz protégée, has performed, recorded, and given masterclasses on five continents. In the United States, she has soloed with such orchestras as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Rochester, Brooklyn, San Antonio, Nashville, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Her first recording was the solo violin score for MGM's The Fixer, composed by Academy Award winner Maurice Jarre. Her début CDs, Bach/Vivaldi and Lark Ascending, were as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Four MSR recordings include Sibelius/Barber/Ben-Haim conducted by Avlana Eisenberg. Four 4-Tay recordings include Here's One, featuring William Grant Still. Previous NAXOS releases are award-winning albums: Cecil Burleigh: Music for Violin and Piano and Ernest Bloch Concerto and Suites with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Zina's honors include the Young Musicians Foundation Début Award, the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Award, and a grant from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music. While at Curtis Institute, she won both the Junior and Senior Auditions of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Glamour Magazine Top Ten College Winner while at UC Berkeley, she was selected an Outstanding Young Artist by Musical America. In 2021, Zina lectured on William Grant Still at the American String Teachers Association National Convention.
About Avlana Eisenberg
Avlana Eisenberg, Music Director of the Boston Chamber Symphony, has conducted orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Her discography includes CD recordings with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MAV, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and forthcoming with Salzburg Chamber Soloists. She has led ensembles at noted summer festivals including Edinburgh Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and Festival at Sandpoint, and at such venues as Mozarteum, Hungarian Radio Hall, and Granada Theater. Recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to work at the Paris National Opera, Avlana graduated from Yale University, where she received the V. Browne Irish Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts and was named a Top Ten College Winner by Glamour Magazine. She earned graduate degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan and the Peabody Institute.
In 2021, Avlana and the Boston Chamber Symphony released the debut video of their "Sounds of America" series - a multimedia performance of "Can't You Line 'Em" by William Grant Still.
About the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Founded in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is one of Europe's leading symphony orchestras. Many renowned conductors have contributed to its success, including Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Alexander Gibson and Neeme Järvi. Thomas Søndergård has been the orchestra's music director since 2018. The RSNO performs across Scotland and appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms in addition to international tours. With a widely acclaimed discography, the RSNO has previously appeared on BIS in a cycle of Rachmaninov's symphonies as well as in programmes of music by James MacMillan, Ge Gan-ru and Sally Beamish.
William Grant Still Track List
1. Can't You Line 'Em (1940) [4:01]
2. 3 Visions - No. 2. Summerland (1936) [4:40]
3. Quit Dat Fool'nish (1935) [1:40]
4. Pastorela (1946) [11.56]
American Suite (c. 1918) [7:45]
5. I. Indian Love Song [2:30]
6. II. Danse [1:40]
7. III. Lament [3:35]
8. Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron (1945) [0:51]
9. Serenade (1957) [5:58]
Violin Suite (1943) [16:58]
10. I. African Dancer [5:42]
11. II. Mother and Child [8:41]
12. III. Gamin [2:35]
13. Threnody: In Memory of Jean Sibelius (1965) [6:13]
Total Time: 60:03
Recorded: August 16-17, 2018 at the RSNO Centre, Glasgow, UK
Producer: Michael Ponder
Engineer: Phil Hardman
Editors: Richard Scott, Adaq Khan, Bill Siegmund (Digital Island Studios)
Booklet notes: Zina Schiff, Avlana Eisenberg
Publisher: William Grant Still Music
Cover photograph courtesy of William Grant Still Music
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