Frederick Shepherd Converse (January 5, 1871 – June 8, 1940), was an American composer of classical music, whose works include four operas and five symphonies.

Life and career

Converse was born in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

, the son of Edmund Winchester and Charlotte Augusta (Shepherd) Converse. His father was a successful merchant, and president of the National Tube Works and the Conanicut Mills. Frederick Converse's higher education was at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, where he came under the influence of the composer John K. Paine. Converse had already received instruction in piano playing, and the study of musical theory was a most important part of his college course. Upon his graduation in 1893, his violin sonata (op. 1) was performed and won him highest honors in music. After six months of business life, for which his father had intended him, he returned to the study of composing,

Carl Baermann Carl Baermann (24 October 1810 – 23 May 1885) was a clarinetist and composer from Munich, Germany. Life and career He was the son of noted clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann and Helene Harlas. As a child he was taught the clarinet and the b ...

being his teacher in piano, and George W. Chadwick in composition. He then spent two years at the Royal Academy of Music in Munich, where he studied with Joseph Rheinberger, completing the course in 1898. His Symphony in D minor had its first performance on the occasion of his graduation. During 1899–1902, Converse taught harmony at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

in Boston. He then joined the faculty of Harvard University as instructor in music, and was appointed assistant professor in 1905. Two years later he resigned, and afterwards devoted himself exclusively to composition. Among Converse's notable students were

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an United States, American-Armenians, Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscr ...

(1911–2000),

Florence Price Florence Beatrice Price (née Smith; April 9, 1887 – June 3, 1953) was an American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, and was acti ...

(1888–1953), and Hisato Ohzawa (1907-1953). He died in

Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West D ...

Family

He married, 6 June 1894, Emma Tudor, daughter of Frederic Tudor of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and ...

. They had seven children, including five daughters.

Compositions

Even though he was firmly committed to composing in the late

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

idiom of his

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an contemporaries, his works often dealt with American subjects. The lush

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l scoring of his

program music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program note ...

has been compared to the early style of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...

. In 1910, Converse's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

'' The Pipe of Desire'' became the first American work ever to be performed at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Today, Converse is best known for his

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

'' The Mystic Trumpeter'' (1904), based on the poem of the same name from

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

's iconic anthology, ''

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting ''Leaves of Grass'', revising it multiple times until his death. T ...

''.

With opus number

* Sonata for violin and piano, Op. 1 (pub. 1900) * Suite for piano Op. 2 * String quartet No. 1, Op. 3 * Waltzes for piano 4-hands Op. 4 * ''Valzer poetici'', Op.5, for piano 4-hands (1896) * ''Youth'', Op. 6, concert overture for orchestra * Symphony in D minor, Op. 7 (not counted by Converse with his later symphonies) * ''Festival of Pan'', Op. 9 (first performed by the Boston Symphony Orch., 1899, and by the Queen's Hall Orch. in London, England, 1905.) * ''Endymion's Narrative'', Op. 10 * ''Night'' and ''Day'', Op. 11, two poems for piano and orchestra, suggested by verses by Whitman * ''La Belle Dame sans Merci'', Op. 12, ballad for baritone and orchestra (words by

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosi ...

) * Violin concerto, Op. 13 * ''Euphrosyne'', concert overture for orchestra, Op. 16 * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 18 (1905), dedicated to the Kneisel Quartet * ''The Mystic Trumpeter'', Op. 19, orchestral fantasy after Whitman (1904) * ''Iolan or The Pipe of Desire'', Op. 21, romantic opera in one act, text by George Edward Barton.Barton, George Edward (1905)
''The Pipe of Desire and other plays''
. Boston: The Merrymount Press. It has a legendary subject, of Celtic origin, based upon the mingling of the old pagan nature worship and the incoming Christian morality. The story rests upon the principle that man may force the way of his desires against the divine order but that he pays the penalty. The work is an avowed fantasy. First produced January 31, 1906, Jordan Hall, Boston, Massachusetts in 1906, and in 1909 was the first opera by an American composer to be presented at the 'old' Metropolitan Opera House. * ''Laudate Domine'', Op. 22, motet for male chorus, organ, and brasses * ''Jeanne d'Arc'' Op. 23, overture, entr'actes and incidental music to

Percy MacKaye Percy MacKaye (1875–1956) was an American dramatist and poet. Biography MacKaye was born in New York City into a theatrical family. His father, Steele MacKaye, was a popular actor, playwright, and producer, while his mother, Mary, wrote a d ...

's play * ''Job'', Op. 24, a dramatic poem for solo voices, chorus and orchestra * ''Serenade'', Op. 25, for soprano solo, male chorus, and small orchestra * ''Hagar in der Wüste'', Op. 26, dramatic narrative for contralto and orchestra * ''The Sacrifice'', Op. 27, opera in three acts (1910), book by Converse, lyrics by

John Albert Macy John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

after ''Los Gringos, or an Interior View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chile, and Polynesia'' by Lieutenant Henry Augustus Wise, writing as "Harry Gringo". The scene is laid in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

at the time of the Mexican War, and the characters, some of whom are Americans, enact a modern tragedy. * Three songs for medium voice, Op. 28 * ''Melody'' for violin and piano, Op. 29 * ''Ormazd'', Op. 30, symphonic poem for full orchestra Converse stopped numbering his works after Op. 30 except for the arrangement for band of ''Laudate Domine'' (Op. 32), My wish (Op. 61), and ''Haul Away, Joe!'', Op. 91.

Without opus number

* Symphony in C minor (written 1919) * Symphony in E minor (fp 1923) * Symphony in F major (written 1934) * Symphony in F minor (completed March 1940) ——— * Sonata for cello & piano * ''Silent Noon'', reverie for cello and piano (1906) * ''Beauty and the Beast, or Sinbad the Sailor, His Adventures with Beauty and the Peacock Lady in the Castle of the Forty Thieves'', opera, libretto by Percy MacKaye (1913) (unperformed) * ''The Immigrants'', opera, libretto by Percy MacKaye (composed 1914) (Planned for the

Boston Opera Company The Boston Opera Company (BOC) was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from 1909 to 1915. History The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Rus ...

's 1914-15 season but unperformed because of the collapse of the company) * ''Song of the World Adventurers'', words by

, chorus for mixed voices (part of the Music for the Masque of St. Louis (pub. 1914) * ''The Peace Pipe'', cantata for baritone solo, chorus and orchestra, words from ''

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accou ...

'' by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tra ...

(1915) * '' Flivver Ten Million'' (A Joyous Epic Inspired by the Familiar Legend "The Ten Millionth Ford is Now Serving Its Owner"), tone poem for orchestra (1927) * American Sketches, for orchestra :: Manhattan - The Father of Waters - Chicken Reel - Bright Angel Trail * Tone poem Prophecy, biblical symphony commissioned by

Serge Koussevitsky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

, written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Russian soprano Beata Malkin and dedicated to her (1932). * Piano Sonata No. 1 (1937) * Rhapsody for clarinet and orchestra (1938)

References

;Citations ;Sources * * Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages, *

External links

* *
Liner Notes for Naxos CD 8.559116

{{DEFAULTSORT:Converse, Frederick 1871 births 1940 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American Romantic composers Harvard College alumni University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni Musicians from Newton, Massachusetts Pupils of George Whitefield Chadwick Pupils of John Knowles Paine Pupils of Josef Rheinberger 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American male musicians 19th-century American male musicians Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters