You know how in Star Wars, there’s this little tiny Rebellion fighting against a big nasty Empire? And you know how a dozen little space ships destroy that big scary death star? Well, it doesn’t always happen that way – sometimes, the Empire strikes back.

Back in 1830, Poland and the other Baltic states rebelled against Russia. Russia sent a big army over and crushed the rebellion, subjugated the people, and maintained its control over that region. And Chopin was maaaaaaaaaaddddd …

He poured his emotions into music – his Revolutionary Etude is a force to be reckoned with. This is a great piece for getting rage and fury off your chest – the only problem is, you have to be an amazing pianist to play it, even at a slow speed. Take that, Imperial scum!

On this day in 1851, Moby Dick was published in the US. It is one of the greatest books ever written – highly recommended reading! First, you learn that all sailors are lunatics. Then, you’ll learn all sorts of useless whale facts as you crawl through chapters of classification and lore. Lastly, you get to endure tens of thousands of words devoted to the slow mental deterioration of an already bonkers-crazy ship captain. (Joking aside, it is a truly marvelous work.)

George Crumb is an American composer whom I deeply admire for his ability to be avant-garde without being off-the-deep-end. He uses all sorts of unorthodox instruments (e.g. toy pianos, tape loops, electronic effects) and extended techniques (i.e. using an instrument in a non-traditional way, like singing into a flute or bowing on the wrong side of a violin bridge) in his music. Many composers have done this, but most fail at making music, and instead make something more akin to organized noise (if you like organized noise, that’s fine. I don’t. When I want to listen to organized noise, I turn on my washing machine.) Crumb, on the other hand, makes music – it is otherworldly, but often astoundingly beautiful.

Among his more famous works is Vox Balaenae, or voice of the whale. On one hand, it’s exactly what you might think – weird underwater “moos” like Dory does in Finding Nemo. But once you get past that, it’s oddly pleasing, calming, and brilliant. The entire work lasts 20 minutes, and is for masked performers (seriously) playing flute, cello, and piano. This video is the beginning of the piece, a flute solo with a little piano to set the mood – both using a lot of extended techniques!

And, unlike Moby Dick, you don’t have to invest hours into it before deciding you don’t like it and quitting. (Joking aside, it is a truly marvelous work.)

Let’s rewind to the 1930’s. There was a group of American composers who were working to create a “truly American” sound in Art Music composition. This group included Aaron Copland (he was the unofficial leader), Samuel Barber, William Grant Still, Walter Piston, and many others. They were nearly all taught by the greatest 20th century teacher of composition, Nadia Boulanger. They were continuing the work of Charles Ives, Amy Beach, and even William Billings, in the search for an American musical identity.

This non-exhaustive group includes women, men, blacks, whites, Jews, Christians, gays, straights, and the disabled. What could be more American as Chester, Appalachian Spring, or the Afro-American Symphony?

The Un-American Activities Committee was formed in 1938, and ultimately led to the Red Scare of the 50’s. Copland and Bernstein were among those who were under investigation for Communist activities. So … Make America Great Again? If we had eliminated Copland and Bernstein for their leftist leaning, would we have been great? If we suppressed Beach for being a woman, Still for being black, or Barber for being gay, would we have been great? If we deported Schoenberg, Hindemith, Yi, or so many others for being refugees, would we have been great?

So today I present American composer Roy Harris‘ Third Symphony, his most famous work and considered the most “American” (whatever that means). His story is the quintessential “rags to riches” American tale – an Oklahoma farmboy rises to the top of the music world. He wrote a piece for the American bicentennial, which was panned because it mentioned slavery (how Un-American, to mention a major part of American history!)

So, the unsure future we’re facing isn’t new; even so, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stand up against it.