George Whitefield Chadwick (November 13, 1854 – April 4, 1931) was an American composer.
Born in a rural part of Lowell, Massachusetts, Chadwick received some early musical training from organ lessons given by his older brother. Dropping out of high school in 1871, Chadwick assisted briefly in his father's insurance business. The experience enabled him to travel to Boston and other cities, where he attended concerts and cultural events that might have initiated his lifelong interest in the arts.
Chadwick entered New England Conservatory (NEC) as a "special student" in 1872, so that he could study with the faculty without satisfying the rigorous entrance or degree requirements. However, he approached his studies seriously and took advantage of what NEC offered.
In 1876, Chadwick accepted a faculty position in the music program at Olivet College.
Realizing that his musical career in the U.S. would be limited without further studies in Europe, in 1877 Chadwick headed to Germany like many other composers of his generation. He studied in Leipzig at the Royal Conservatory of Music under Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn.
Chadwick resumed his compositional studies with Josef Rheinberger at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. Rheinberger was known as a skilled musical craftsman who incorporated polyphony with creativity and clarity. Thus Chadwick benefited from Rheinberger's extensive knowledge of the classics, both instrumental and choral.
Chadwick returned to Boston in March 1880 and soon began establishing a career in the U.S. In addition to his compositional activities, Chadwick was a performing organist and avid conductor. In 1897, Chadwick was appointed Director of New England Conservatory. Chadwick implemented features that resembled those of the German conservatories of his experience. He established a variety of performing ensembles, and students were required to take more music theory and history classes.
He invited members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra as private teachers to the students, along with being an inspiring teacher himself.
Chadwick composed in almost every genre, including opera, chamber music, choral works, and songs, though he had a particular affinity for orchestral music. His music can be categorized into four style periods.
The Formative Period, 1879–1894: During this time, Chadwick utilized his training as a student in Leipzig, favoring sonata form, diatonic harmony, and regular phrasing and rhythms.
His important early overtures are Rip Van Winkle, Melpomene, and Thalia. Among his chamber works, the First String Quartet and Second String Quartet demonstrate a solid knowledge of developmental procedures as well as inventiveness, while the Third String Quartet (1882-1886) displays more mastery in instrumentation.
Chadwick's first work for the theatre was The Peer and the Pauper, an imitation of Gilbert and Sullivan operas. His burlesque opera Tabasco was an outlet for his own wry wit, featuring a humorous plot, comically named characters, and popular-style music.
The Americanism/Modernism Period, 1895–1909: Here Chadwick is asserting his own musical style more than previously, as in the concert overture Adonais. It includes multiple sections, muted strings, and harps to generate an ethereal quality, unconventional rhythms, and occasional chromaticism. Chadwick further delved into the symphonic genre with his Symphonic Sketches, Sinfonietta, and Suite Symphonique. In those works, he created a gossamer atmosphere with humorous themes, programmaticism, modality (pentatonic melodies), and Impressionism. The orchestration contains unexpected elements such as bass clarinet cadenzas, saxophone solos, extended brass solos, and large percussion batteries. Chadwick composed more stage works, notably Judith, based on the tale from the Apocrypha.
The Dramatic Period, 1910–1918: During this period, Chadwick shifted from overtures and symphonies to a more dramatic and programmatic style. At this point, he was more interested in musical effects than in form and construction.
His two representative works are the tone poems Aphrodite and Tam O'Shanter. The compositions are both highly episodic, programmatic and well-orchestrated.
Chadwick's most important stage work from this period is The Padrone, based on the realistic plight of Italian immigrants in the North End of Boston.
The Reflective Years, 1919-1931: By this time, Chadwick was a highly regarded elder musician who was no longer writing as the energetically creative artist. is output significantly declined during these years, and he was more of a musical administrator and socialite among the elite Bostonians. He remained well respected until his death, after which his works became more obscure but considered important contributions to the American music repertoire.
The image before (and after) the music is Lane Lovell And His Dog (1913-1914) by Cecilia Beaux, chosen for this video by D.T.
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