John Powell, an American pianist and composer active in the early to mid-20th century, was a figure whose work sits at the complex intersection of music, nationalism, and race. He was an alum of the University of Virginia, contributing to the university’s musical reputation, and hailed from the city of Richmond. My archival object is a group of John Powell's piano recital programs and posters from the 1920s. The first time I approached this material, a large red and green poster caught my attention, promoting a concert that took place in London. After further examination, I dove deeper into the concert programs themselves. These programs look much like you would expect them to: black lettering highlighting John Powell, the date and time at hand, and the songs that were played. It appears Powell, an American pianist, regularly performed throughout Europe. He had a pretty consistent list of tunes, which included his own work and the works of other notable composers at the time. Powell's concerts and compositions contributed to the musical modernist movement by combining German Post-Romantic music with the folk music of the American South (Gleason, 1993).

The Post-Romantic era in music was a transitional period that blended late Romantic and early modernist styles, using traditional forms with advanced harmony. The Post-Romantic era lasted from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century (Taruskin, 2005). Folk music is typically defined as the music of the common people, or a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques. By examining Powell’s programs through the lenses of German PostRomanticism and folk music, we gain insight into how Powell's musical pursuits were both a product of and a contributor to the cultural dynamics of his time.

An early Powell performance in Germany in April 1911 features work by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, and Brahms. While Beethoven is typically classified as a Classical composer, Powell’s programming choices still leaned heavily into Romanticism. Powell’s works often exhibit characteristics reminiscent of the late Romantic era, particularly in their harmonic complexity and thematic development. For instance, Powell’s use of extended chords and nonfunctional harmonies in his piano works reflects his admiration for Brahms’ dense, intricate harmonic structures. A notable example is his "Sonata Virginianesque," which employs lush harmonies and complex modulations reminiscent of Brahms’ late piano works (Crawford, 2001). The late Romantic era was known for its expansive treatment of themes, where short musical ideas would be transformed and developed throughout the work, often with complex variations and emotional depth. Powell’s compositions reflect this through his use of recurring motifs and thematic transformation. His use of leitmotifs (a technique often associated with Wagner) is also evident, where short motifs are developed, repeated, and varied across movements to tie the work together thematically.

Powell’s programming of these composers speaks to his perspective on musical modernism and America's role in the evolution of classical music. By centering on European composers, he aligned himself with a tradition that viewed European classical music as the pinnacle of artistic achievement. His emphasis on Brahms, Liszt, and Chopin suggests a reluctance to fully embrace contemporary modernist experimentation. Rather than engaging with more avant-garde movements that were emerging in the early 20th century, Powell reinforced a conservative vision of progress that extended Romantic ideals into American music.

Furthermore, Powell’s inclusion of Appalachian folk music alongside these European composers reflects his desire to situate American music within a white, Eurocentric framework. Unlike composers such as Charles Ives, who used American folk and popular music to challenge classical norms, Powell sought to integrate folk traditions in a way that maintained their alignment with European musical hierarchies. His programming choices thus reveal an ideological stance: rather than positioning America as a site of radical musical innovation, Powell viewed its role in classical music as one of selective inheritance, where certain folk traditions could be elevated while others, particularly Black musical influences, were systematically excluded.

Powell was deeply influenced by the folk music revival movement, which sought to elevate traditional music forms with contemporary strategy. He was specifically fixated on the elements of American music found in the traditions of the Appalachian region. In 1931, Powell founded the White Top Folk Festival alongside folklorists Annabel Morris Buchanan and John Blakemore (Whisnant, 1983). The festival provided a platform for traditional musicians of the Appalachian Mountains and influenced Powell’s work, which he frequently featured in his concert programs. Works like "Sonata Virginianesque" and "In Old Virginia" reflect Appalachian melodies and themes. However, Powell's embrace of Appalachian folk music was deeply intertwined with his white supremacist ideology. His nationalist musical philosophy aimed to construct a racially exclusive narrative of American music, in stark contrast to contemporaries like Aaron Copland and George Gershwin, who embraced multicultural influences (Floyd, 1995).

Powell's programming choices further highlight his exclusionary vision of American music. While the early 20th century saw modernist composers experimenting with diverse musical traditions, Powell framed Appalachian folk music within a Eurocentric context, positioning it as a white, "pure" musical tradition. This directly aligns with his broader ideological agenda, which sought to exclude Black and other non-white musical influences from what he deemed "true" American music. The contradiction is stark: Powell appropriated elements of Black spiritual melodies in works such as "In Old Virginia" while simultaneously advocating for segregation and white supremacy (Murchison, 2007). His compositions attempted to create a shared Virginian identity rooted in white heritage, ignoring the fundamental role of Black musicians in shaping the region's musical landscape. These contradictions underscore the ideological tensions in Powell’s work. While he contributed to the musical modernist movement through his fusion of folk and Post-Romantic elements, his vision of modernism was rooted in exclusion. Unlike modernists who saw folk traditions as an avenue for cultural blending, Powell viewed them as a means to reinforce racial hierarchy. His concert programs thus serve as historical artifacts that reveal not only his musical influences but also his broader socio-political aims.

Ultimately, Powell’s legacy is riddled with complexity. His work represents a fascinating intersection of musical innovation and cultural ideology, blending the harmonic sophistication of Brahms with the folk traditions of the American South. Yet, his embrace of Southern folk music was not a celebration of diversity but a reinforcement of segregationist ideology. By analyzing his concert programs and compositions, we gain insight into how Powell’s legacy is both a product of his time and a reflection of the broader cultural dynamics of early 20th-century America. His music challenges us to consider the ways in which artistic expression can both reflect and perpetuate deeply problematic ideologies, forcing a critical reevaluation of his place in American musical history.

References:

Crawford, R. (2001). America's musical life: A history. W.W. Norton.

Floyd, S. (1995). The power of Black music: Interpreting its history from Africa to the United States. Oxford University Press.

Gleason, H. A. (1993). Modern music and after. Oxford University Press.

Murchison, G. (2007). African American music: An introduction. Routledge.

Taruskin, R. (2005). The Oxford history of Western music. Oxford University Press. Whisnant, D. E. (1983). All that is native and fine: The politics of culture in an American region. University of North Carolina Press.

Online Sources

American Music. (n.d.). How a white supremacist became famous for his Black music: John Powell and Rhapsodie Nègre. Scholarly Publishing Collective. Retrieved from https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org

Wikipedia. (n.d.). John Powell (musician). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Powell_(musician)

University of Virginia. (n.d.). ‘Not Negro tunes at all’? John Powell, music, and white supremacy in Virginia. Retrieved from https://segregation.virginia.edu