Talk:William Grant Still

This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Composers This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Composers, a group of editors writing and developing biographical articles about composers of all eras and styles. The project discussion page is the place to talk about technical and editorial issues and exchange ideas. New members are welcome!ComposersWikipedia:WikiProject ComposersTemplate:WikiProject ComposersComposers articles United States: Arkansas / Mississippi / Ohio Low‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States articles Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by WikiProject Arkansas. This article is supported by WikiProject Mississippi. This article is supported by WikiProject Ohio. Classical music African diaspora This article is within the scope of WikiProject African diaspora, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of African diaspora on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.African diasporaWikipedia:WikiProject African diasporaTemplate:WikiProject African diasporaAfrican diaspora articles ??? This article has not yet received a rating on the project's importance scale. Biography: Musicians This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians.

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on May 11, 2022 and May 11, 2023.

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Amala5, Kiplutu.

Above undated message substituted from

I think it unfortunate that Copland has somehow got the title "The Dean Of American Composers", since I am certain that Still held the title for many years, and that Copland would gladly give the nod to Still. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.215.115.31 (talk) 16:30, 1 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Definitely not. Copland and Still did not get along. Copland while admitting Still had a natural facility for composing, called his music saccharine. Still inturn denounced Copland as a racist communist. Leveeland (talk) 23:41, 6 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Is the G minor his 2nd symphony as I seem to recall? When was his (just published?) Sunday Symphony (Symphony #3) composed? Schissel | Sound the Note! 22:36, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

pur  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:644:8000:ABF0:136:B2C2:9FAA:29BC (talk) 18:11, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply] 

He was a composer. What his nationality or race was, is hardly relevant, except perhaps for a brief mention in passing. One notes that, for example, Debussy was French. Then the point is dropped. This is the norm, except when speaking of those of black or African ancestry. Why is that? Enough, already. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MarvinLuse (talk • contribs) 15:50, 6 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with you. And the lack of entry footnotes flaws the text. 127W111 (talk) 05:14, 30 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed one assertion from the lead which is patently false: "Still was the first American born composer to have an opera produced by a major opera company." This refers to his opera, Troubled Island, premiered at New York City Opera in 1949. Note that The Pipe of Desire by the American-born composer Frederick Converse was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910.[1] There is a reliable source for Still being the first African-American composer to have an opera premiered by a major company, i.e. Troubled Island, and I have added an inline citation for that which also supports the other "firsts" in the sentence. I don't think the list of "firsts" in the lead is particularly racist. They are arguably his claim to fame and much has been written about African-Americans' role in US classical music, the barriers they faced, the pioneers in the field, etc. I completely agree about the lack of inline citations, though. Voceditenore (talk) 07:40, 30 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Other operas by American-born composers which premiered at the Met long before Still's 1949 opera were

The Canterbury Pilgrims in 1917 [3], Charles Wakefield Cadman's Shanewis in 1918 [4], etc., etc. Voceditenore (talk) 07:56, 30 October 2016 (UTC)[reply

]

@ Voceditenore (talk)- Sorry I had put this in :"Still was the first American born composer to have an opera produced by a major opera company." The source is Catherine Parsons Smith's biography of William Grant Still (page 68): " Produced in 1949 by the New York City Opera, Troubled Island was the first opera by a U.S.–born composer of any race to be produced by a major company, and the first by a black composer to be produced in the United States." Unfortunately google books doesn't show this page, but you can see it here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=first+opera+by+a+U.S-+born+composer#hl=en&tbm=bks&q=first+opera+by+a+U.S-+born+composer+of+any+race+to+be+to+be+produced+by

The source normally would be considered credible, but Smith is either here just mistaken or, she defines "produced" in a certain way. What is however clear is that Troubled Island was the first American Opera produced by the New York City Opera. So'll amend it to say that. Further, I'm not too keen on highlighting Still's race too much. While significant, Still ought to be known for his composition abilities (I think he's one of the finest), not for his race- which is significant because that was a defining aspect of his career and music Leveeland (talk) 23:03, 6 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

He said, "I am a firm believer in God, and I certainly have every reason to be so. I am thankful that He has suffered me to go through a troublous period. It was what I needed. Spiritual development is necessary to one who would compose. Through suffering the ego is overcome; one learns the lesson of humility; when one is humble he can hear the voice of God, and he can learn the lessons that will profit him most.

I have now but one great desire. That is to serve humanity. It matters not if I fail to amass money or to win great esteem. But it does matter if I fail to help others."

You can find this quote (notable perhaps for being excerpted by Fred Childs on the Performance Today program, 12/26/2023) and other autobiographical material here: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:UxEJx43PaIAJ:https://california.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1525/california/9780520215429.001.0001/upso-9780520215429-chapter-10&sca_esv=593812750&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0

which is an archived cache of https://academic.oup.com/california-scholarship-online/book/14892/chapter-abstract/169207642?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Physicsjock (talk) 19:01, 26 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on William Grant Still. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210211/http://www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.shtml to http://www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.shtml

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018.

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 07:20, 10 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There is a wonderful new source on Still's operas that could be helpful with this article. The source provides the opera's historical context, a brief synopsis, dramatic and musical needs (personnel), and more.

Soll, Beverly. I dream a world: the operas of William Grant Still. Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 2005

Kosenrufu2030 (talk) 04:08, 29 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 17 January 2023 and 9 May 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): AGDickson (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by AGDickson (talk) 07:10, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

some of WGS's music sounds like Gershwin. Did Gershwin copy his style or orchestration?

Does WSG have any connection to William Still, the Underground Railroad conductor? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vasa2 (talk • contribs) 19:42, 13 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]