Frederick Grant Gleason
Encyclopedia
Frederick Grant Gleason was a composer
.
Gleason's father was a banker. Like many another well-to-do gentlemen, Gleason senior was an amateur flautist
. He considered music a pleasant pastime but not a serious occupation. He wanted his son to enter the ministry - a good old New England tradition. But the son insisted on becoming a composer, and the father yielded. Young Gleason studied with another Connecticut Yankee who had gone musical: Dudley Buck
. He then made the inevitable pilgrimage to Europe, studying with a long list of musicians in Germany. After six years in Europe he returned to America, and in 1877 went to Chicago, where he was active as teacher and music critic. In 1897 he became president of an organization called the "American Patriotic Musical League".
Gleason's compositions include a Processional of the Holy Grail written for the Chicago World's Fair
; a symphonic Poem
, Edris, based on a novel by Marie Corelli
; the tone poem Song of Life; a Piano Concerto
; a cantata
with orchestra,The Culprit Fay; and two opera
s: Otho Visconti and Montezuma. The former was produced at Chicago in 1907. He left other scores in manuscript, with instructions that they were not to publicly performed until fifty years after his death.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Gleason's father was a banker. Like many another well-to-do gentlemen, Gleason senior was an amateur flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
. He considered music a pleasant pastime but not a serious occupation. He wanted his son to enter the ministry - a good old New England tradition. But the son insisted on becoming a composer, and the father yielded. Young Gleason studied with another Connecticut Yankee who had gone musical: Dudley Buck
Dudley Buck
Dudley Buck was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the Dictionary of Musical Terms and Influence of the Organ in History, which was published in New York in 1882. He is best known today for his organ composition, Concert Variations on the...
. He then made the inevitable pilgrimage to Europe, studying with a long list of musicians in Germany. After six years in Europe he returned to America, and in 1877 went to Chicago, where he was active as teacher and music critic. In 1897 he became president of an organization called the "American Patriotic Musical League".
Gleason's compositions include a Processional of the Holy Grail written for the Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair may refer to:*World's Columbian Exposition of 1893*Century of Progress Exposition of 1933...
; a symphonic Poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
, Edris, based on a novel by Marie Corelli
Marie Corelli
Marie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...
; the tone poem Song of Life; a Piano Concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
; a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
with orchestra,The Culprit Fay; and two opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s: Otho Visconti and Montezuma. The former was produced at Chicago in 1907. He left other scores in manuscript, with instructions that they were not to publicly performed until fifty years after his death.
External links
- Frederic Grant Gleason Papers at Newberry LibraryNewberry LibraryThe Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...