WILLIAM GRANT STILL (1937-49) Set of 4 photos

Np, 1937-1949. Set of four vintage original black-and-white photos, of which two are 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) and two are 5 x 7″ (13 x 18 cm). All photos date stamped, and three of them have printed text on verso, overall near fine.

“William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, and more than thirty choral works, art songs, chamber music, and solo works. Born in Mississippi and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Still attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music as a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and then as a student of Edgard Varèse. Because of his close association and collaboration with prominent African-American literary and cultural figures, Still is considered to be part of the Harlem Renaissance.

“Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera [one of these photos has text on verso referring to the premiere of that opera, Trouble Island, about Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti]. He is known primarily for his first symphony, Afro-American Symphony (1930), which, until 1950, was the most widely performed symphony composed by an American. Still often is referred to as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers”. He was able to become a leading figure in the field of American classical music as the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, have an opera performed by a major opera company, and have an opera performed on national television.” (Wikipedia)

Still’s music is now more regularly programmed by symphony orchestras than ever before, and he is finally being recognized for his part in American music history.