It's a common trope in film and television that athletics and the arts are two completely different worlds that rarely cross paths but to butt heads. Artistic characters tend to care little for whatever sportsball event is going on, while the popular jocks reinforce their status by beating up the band kids.
But I think we all know that's not actually the way it is in real life. It makes for easy, simplistic storytelling, but most humans are more complex than that. A person may find their community as a player on or fan of a particular team, but that doesn't mean their musical vocabulary doesn't stretch well beyond their team's fight songs. And a person might not know or care about the difference between a tailback and a tight end, but that doesn't mean they don't appreciate the amazing things the human body can do, and see beautiful rhythm in the tension and release of a baseball game.
Composers have many times been inspired in their art by the drama, surprise, triumph, and disappointment to be found in sports, and of course there's always the satisfaction that comes from seeing a David defeat a Goliath, whether that is on the athletic field or the opera
stage. So this month we're offering up a collection of tunes inspired by athletics, what we might call, in the spirit of the creative personality, Anthems for the Underdogs.
To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section,
and select the Playlist of the Month folder under the Themed Playlists
tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to
access it if you
CLICK HERE.
1. Jack Norworth, Albert Von Tilzer
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Jacqueline Schwab, piano
Nonesuch - 075597934069
2.Alan Courtney, Ben Homer
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio
Les Brown Orchestra
Nonesuch - 075597934069
3. Leonard Bernstein
Wonderful Town: Pass the Football
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Simon Rattle
Warner - 5099996713655
4.Cy Coleman
City of Angels, Act I: The Tennis Song
James Naughton; Peter Davis; Gary Kahn; Amy Jane London
Sony Classical - 074644606720
5. James Horner
Cocoon, The Return: Basketball Swing
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; James Horner
Varese Saraband - VSD-5208
6. John Williams
Call of the Champions
United States Air Force Band; Larry H. Lang
Naxos - 8.573405
7. William Schuman
The Mighty Casey, Scene 2: Oh, somewhere
Juilliard Opera Center and Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz
Delos - DE1030
8. Dmitry Shostakovich
The Golden Age, Act II Scene 4: Football March
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; José Serebrier
Naxos - 8.570217-18
9. Bohuslav Martinů
Half-Time
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra; Petr Vronský
Supraphon - SU3058-2
10. Sergey Prokofiev
4 Marches: No. 1 Athletic Festival March
President's Own United States Marine Band; Albert F. Schoepper
Altissimo - 75442261982
11. Harvey J. Woods
The Golf Girl
United States Navy School of Music Faculty Band; Ronald Van Hoose
Altissimo - 75442203572
12. Thierry Darnis
Paralympic Movement: Anthem of the Future
Slovak State Philharmonic; Peter Breiner
Marco Polo - 8.225360
13. Charles Ives
Yale-Princeton Football Game
Malmö Symphony Orchestra; James Sinclair
Naxos - 8.559370
14. Arthur Honegger
Rugby: Allegro
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Takuo Yuasa
Naxos - 8.555974
15. Alfred Schnittke
Sport, Sport, Sport Suite: VI. Der moderne Sport
Berlin Radio Symphony; Frank Strobel
Capriccio - C5002
16. Annie Gosfield
Brooklyn, October 5, 1941
Lisa Moore; Annie Gosfield
CA-21061
17. Bob Chilcott
The Modern Man I Sing: The Runner
Tenebrae; Nigel Short
Signum - SIGCD904
18. John Weinzweig
Hockey Night in Canada
Opera in Concert; Robert Cooper
Centrediscs - FMDC4602-2
19. Traditional
Radnage Cricket Song
Cantabile
Signum - SIGCD217
20. Elizabeth R. Austin
To Begin: II. Ballgame
Constitution Brass
Ravello Records - RR7838
21. Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Frosoblomster, Book 1: No. 3 Lawn Tennis
Christian Bergqvist; Mats Bergstrom
Swedish Society - SCD1067
22. Clark Gessner
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown: T.E.A.M. - The Baseball Game
Kristin Chenoweth; Anthony Rapp; Roger Bart; Kimberly Grigsby
RCA - 090266338429
23. Woodrow Buddy Johnson
Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?
Natalie Cole; Jim Hughart; Terry Trotter; Harold Jones
Nonesuch - 075597934069
24. Anonymous
Baseball: Eulogy for Jackie Robinson - Steal Away
Jesse Jackson; Jacqueline Schwab
Nonesuch - 075597934069
Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our
subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 2 million tracks
can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing
music that is available to you. Let it kickstart discovery!
