Composing american Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Composing the Statesn - Essay ExampleThe United States had recently entered into world political theater and literally revolutionized the outcome of WWI. America was no longer a small colonial settlement that once broke away from its European control it was a nation in its own right that was now as powerful, if not more so, than the traditional Western powers. As a result, the distinct attributes of the nation spilled over into the arts and the American composers of the thunder 1920s ushered in an era that revolutionized the existing pattern to a more modern phase.One of the manifestations of this phenomenon was George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue in 1924 which revealed the break away from the traditional composition and demonstrated the influence of a new era.Alternating between the traditional and the Modern, Gershwin introduced himself as a peer amongst the American composers of his beat (Oja 646). As a self-proclaimed man without traditions, a statement on which Copland later agr eed, Gershwins work established asymphonic jazz masterpiece that endures far beyond the mixed perspective of critics of the time (649). The creation of a distinct profile while still connected to Western Europe expansion was a diversionary attack from the norm that was too much for standard critical acclaim (648). Though not entirely negative, the reaction was one that spawned much debate and elevated Gershwin to a level of prolific discussion, both good and bad, amongst the make-up communities of the world.Contrary to what some of the critics thought, Rhapsody in Blue became an instant success and enjoyed a degree of fame that eluded other draw a bead on modernists. Rhapsody in Blue became so popular that it was performed with the Whitemans Orchestra eighty four times in the firstborn year and sales of the disc totaled some one million copies. (Deena Rosenberg, 1991) It was the most opportune time or period when Rhapsody in Blue was