The Music and Cultures of America, Part II: American Music in the Nineteenth Century with Professor Stephen Siek (3-Class Series)

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Part II of a three-part exploration surveying the history of American music examines America’s quest for its own voice—a voice no longer overshadowed by British dominance. The musical views of the New England Transcendentalists, including Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau are discussed, and works from the so-called “New England School” of composition will be heard, including the symphonic masterpieces of John Knowles Paine and Amy Marcy Cheney (Mrs. H. H. A. Beach). The more popular songs of Stephen Foster and Henry Clay Work will be examined in detail, as well as the “cause” songs that tackled every issue from Temperance to the Civil War. In addition, we’ll take a close look at America’s first classical music “celebrities” such as the brilliant pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and the stunning Swedish soprano Jenny Lind—who was aggressively promoted by P. T. Barnum. We’ll also hear the works of three American geniuses: Edward MacDowell, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, and Charles Ives. 


Stephen Siek, PhD, the current Director of the Emeritus College Academy, is also a Faculty Associate at ASU, and serves on the advisory board for . A professor emeritus at Wittenberg University in Ohio, he served for many years as a professor of piano and musicology and has published widely in the field of American music. In addition, he has received recognition as a pianist, and his recording of The Philadelphia Sonatas by American composer Alexander Reinagle (c.1750-1809) has been widely praised. He is the author of a highly acclaimed reference work, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), and the second edition of his definitive biography of Britain’s greatest piano teacher, , was published by the H. L. Marston Press in December of 2020. In May of 2019, at a ceremony at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was made an Honorary Associate of the RAM.