Howard Swanson (1907-1978) studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and went on to study at Fontainebleau with Nadia Boulanger. He was close with poet Langston Hughes and his settings of Hughes' texts are considered definitive. Swanson has a unique sound, which makes his music well-suited for more mature musicians, but is still very accessible for an audience.
Recordings featured in this episode, performed by Donovan Elliot Smith, tenor, Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano, and Ellen Rissinger, pianist:
We also mentioned his settings of Langston Hughes texts, many of which are performed on
this episode of Song of America radio series.
UPDATE: We updated this episode to include a clip from a performance of
Swanson's The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Nicolas Newton, bass-baritone, and Blair Salter, pianist, from the archives of Cincinnati Song Initiative!
Recorded at the Carnegie Mellon School of Music Recording Studio in Pittsburgh, PA, and
Morningstar Studios in Norristown, PA.
You can follow
Donovan Elliot Smith on his
YouTube page.
For information on Nicolas Newton, see his
website.
For information on Blair Salter, see her
website.