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Ballets for Martha Graham
Coolidge and her foundation were pioneers in commissioning dance. The 1944 festival, billed in honor of Coolidge's eightieth birthday, devoted an entire program to new works composed for choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991). Graham called the commissions a "first" not only for her, but for American dance. The featured pieces were Darius Milhaud's Jeux de Printemps (Graham's Imagined Wing), Paul Hindemith's Hérodiade (Graham's Mirror Before Me), and, undoubtedly the best-known Coolidge commission, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring.
The sometimes tricky negotiations between composer and choreographer were facilitated by Harold Spivacke (1923–1984), who became Music Division chief in 1937. Under Spivacke's direction, two additional dance commissions went to Graham: Dark Meadow, also from 1944, with music by Carlos Chavez; and Night Journey in 1947, with music by William Schumann. |