American Repertoire
American orchestral music has been a continuing focus of David Hattner’s programming, ranging from major works of the American canon to neglected repertoire, commissions, premieres, and collaborations with living composers.
“It was a real pleasure ... to find a student orchestra exercising greater responsibility than most of the majors.”
— Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune, 2014
David Hattner with soloist David Shifrin and composer James Stephenson, at the West Coast Premiere of his Clarinet Concerto: Liquid Melancholy
Rediscovering American Repertoire
Hattner has regularly sought out substantial American orchestral works that have remained outside the standard concert repertoire.
This has included music by composers such as Marion Bauer, Amy Beach, Ernest Bloch, Henry Cowell, Charles Griffes, Howard Hanson, Walter Piston, Wallingford Riegger, William Grant Still, and Tomáš Svoboda.
Czech-American composer Tomáš Svoboda with David Hattner
David Hattner with composer and conductor Jacob Avshalomov.
Selected American Repertoire
The following selection represents some of the breadth of Hattner’s American repertoire.
Samuel Barber — Symphony No. 1
Marion Bauer — Sun Splendor
Amy Beach — Gaelic Symphony
Leonard Bernstein — Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
William Bergsma — Chameleon Variations
Ernest Bloch — Four Episodes for Chamber Orchestra
Kenji Bunch — Supermaximum
Aaron Copland — Appalachian Spring Suite
Aaron Copland — El Salón México
Henry Cowell — Persian Set
David Diamond — Rounds for String Orchestra
Charles Griffes — The White Peacock
Howard Hanson — Symphony No. 3
Jennifer Higdon — blue cathedral
Walter Piston — Symphony No. 2
Wallingford Riegger — New Dance
William Grant Still — Symphony No. 2, “Song of a New Race”
Tomáš Svoboda — Symphony No. 2
Deems Taylor — The Portrait of a Lady
Christopher Theofanidis — Visions and Miracles
American Music as a Living Repertoire
Collaboration with living American composers has been an integral part of Hattner’s work, often beginning in rehearsal and continuing through premieres and subsequent performances.
These relationships have brought new orchestral works from score to performance and, in many cases, into PYP’s continuing repertoire.
David Hattner and composer Kenji Bunch preparing the orchestral version of Supermaximum.
David Hattner with composer Polina Nazaykinskaya and musicians following a performance of Site Specific Dances in New York City, 2023.