This past summer, in honor of our nation’s 250th birthday, Ed Jacobs led MOSL in an outdoor concert series celebrating American music. As that celebration continues today with iconic works by Aaron Copland and George Gershwin, a symphony by Danish composer Carl Nielsen might seem out of place. Yet, looking back far beyond 1776—and having just observed Indigenous Peoples' Day—it is worth remembering that Christopher Columbus never set foot on the North American mainland. In fact, the first European language heard on these shores was Old Norse, not Spanish. In 1021, Scandinavian explorer Leif Erikson visited Newfoundland and may have ventured as far south as New England. Erikson arrived via Greenland, a Danish territory frequently in the headlines today. A later Dane, Vitus Bering, surveyed the Alaskan coast before most of the Founding Fathers were even born. In this wider view of North American history, we salute our neighboring Danes and Greenland’s thriving Inuit majority.
Nielsen’s vibrant symphony, composed in 1902, draws inspiration from antiquity: the Four Temperaments described by Hippocrates. Rooted in the belief that four bodily humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—shape human nature, these temperaments also correspond to both the four ancient elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and the changing seasons. Though medieval in concept, we still recognize these four personality archetypes today: the choleric, the phlegmatic, the melancholic, and the sanguine. This ancient framework later influenced psychologists like Carl Jung, ultimately paving the way for the modern Myers-Briggs personality types. Nielsen recognized that categorizing the human psyche was a timeless pursuit, providing fertile ground for his symphony.
The opening movement exudes expansiveness and drive, capturing the choleric disposition. A lilting, waltz-like movement follows, sketching the quiet phlegmatic who remains content—perhaps too content—with the world. The third movement plunges into the melancholic realm, shrouded in dark minor harmonies, anguish and resignation. The symphony’s Allegro sanguineo finale breaks through with an almost manic sense of optimism. While a brief, introspective Adagio momentarily suspends this momentum, the work ultimately culminates in a rousing march reminiscent of Elgar. Nielsen shattered structural conventions by ending the symphony in a completely different key than it began—a bold harmonic technique that Gustav Mahler and others would later embrace.
Copland’s Our Town is a ten-minute suite drawn from his score for the 1940 film adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s legendary play. Wistful and nostalgic, the music evokes a pre-war America that celebrates the quiet, everyday joys of life rather than grand cultural or technological currents. A simple G major triad predominates, its incessant repetition foreshadowing the later minimalism of Philip Glass and Terry Riley. Though set in the fictional village of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, Our Town represents any community—and today, it is dedicated to our town, St. Louis.
Arguably no symphonic work captures the spirit of the nation as quintessentially as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, Gershwin was initially hesitant to accept the project. Yet, as he later recalled, “It was on a train... that I suddenly heard—and even saw on paper—the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America—of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston, I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.”
Gershwin's original orchestration was scored for a 23-piece ensemble—specifically Whiteman’s jazz band. The work was later expanded for full orchestra by composer Ferde Grofé. We are thrilled to welcome our soloist, Melanie Lina, in her debut appearance with MOSL.
Roger Kaza