Grand Canyon Suite

Suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé

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The Grand Canyon Suite is a suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé, composed between 1929 and 1931. It was initially titled Five Pictures of the Grand Canyon.[1]

It consists of five movements, each an evocation in tone of a particular scene typical of the Grand Canyon. Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra gave the first public performance of the work, in concert at the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago on November 22, 1931.[2]

Grofe, in 1937, described the genesis of his piece: "Although I was born in New York City, I lost all consciousness of being a New Yorker at the age of five. From that age till a few years ago, I lived in California....In writing 'Grand Canyon Suite' I drew from ntoes I had made during my constant visits to the rim of the mighty work of nature. I had watched the Canyon in all seasons, in all its moods. And my findings were on paper, notes in hieroglyphics that were later transcribed into musical notes."[3]

## Structure[edit]

The movements of the suite are:

1. Sunrise
2. Painted Desert
3. On the Trail
4. Sunset
5. Cloudburst

## Influence[edit]

Grand Canyon is a 1958 short Walt Disney film in CinemaScope format directed by James Algar. It features color film footage of the Grand Canyon accompanied by the Grand Canyon Suite, though the order of the movements has been somewhat altered. In the manner of Fantasia, there is no story and no dialogue. The film won an Academy Award in 1959 for Best Short Subject.

On The Trail has been used as the soundtrack for the Grand Canyon Diorama on the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad in Disneyland since the diorama's 1958 debut.[4]

On The Trail was the theme music for commercials for Philip Morris cigarettes on US radio and television from 1934 until sometime in the 1960s, accompanied by the voice of Johnny Roventini calling "Call For Philip Morris" in the style of a hotel bellhop paging a customer. This movement is also used extensively in the Bob Clark film "A Christmas Story", with the Celesta solo providing the soundtrack music when Ralphie and his younger brother are seen sleeping and dreaming about Christmas morning.

## Recordings[edit]

Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra recorded the movements of the suite in three studio sessions on April 26, April 27, and April 28, 1932 for RCA Victor at their studios in Camden, New Jersey. The suite was released on eight 78 RPM record sides (eight single sided records/four two sided records) in 1932.[5] The movements recorded were "Sunrise", "Painted Desert", "On the Trail", "Sunset", and "Cloudburst".[6]

The work has been recorded many times since, with performances by American orchestras conducted by Arturo Toscanini, Eugene Ormandy, Andre Kostelanetz, Leonard Bernstein, Morton Gould, Arthur Fiedler, Maurice Abravanel, Erich Kunzel, Lorin Maazel, Felix Slatkin, Antal Dorati and Howard Hanson. Performances by non-American ensembles are much rarer, with a recording by the London Festival Orchestra under Stanley Black notable among them.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Moore, Edward. "Paul Whiteman Gets Big Hand for This Concert." Chicago Tribune, 23 November 1931, 21.
2. ^ "Chicago Hails Grofe Suite: Whiteman Presents Premiere of 'Grand Canyon Suite'." New York Times, 23 November 1931, 25.
3. ^ Grofe, Ferde. "My Own New York City: Grofe Reveals Secrets—Always Has Notes—Tribute to Gershwin." Cohoes (NY) American, 6 August 1937, 4.
4. ^ They Haven’t Gone to Yesterland. Yesterland.
5. ^ Victor 36000 Series.
6. ^ Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. Red Hot Jazz.

## External links[edit]

* Musical lesson on the suite

* v
* t
* e

Ferde Grofé

Suites|

* Death Valley Suite
* Grand Canyon Suite
* Mississippi Suite
* Niagara Falls Suite

Songs|

* "Wonderful One"

Category

* v
* t
* e

Grand Canyon

Facilities|

* Black Suspension Bridge
* Bridge Canyon Dam
* Grand Canyon Escalade
* Grand Canyon National Park
* Grand Canyon Skywalk
* Grand Canyon Village, Arizona
* Kolb Studio
* Marble Canyon Dam
* Maswik Lodge
* Phantom Ranch

Geology|

* Agave phillipsiana
* Bat Cave mine
* Cardenas Basalt
* Dox Formation
* Ericameria arizonica
* Esplanade Sandstone
* Grand Canyon Caverns
* Grand Canyon Forest Reserve
* Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument
* Grand Canyon Supergroup
* Chuar Group
* Nankoweap Formation
* Sixtymile Formation
* Unkar Group
* Bass Formation
* Shinumo Quartzite
* Grand Staircase
* Hakatai Shale
* Hermit Formation
* Hyaloclastite Dam
* Isis Temple
* Kanab Plateau
* Newton Butte
* Prospect Dam
* Redwall Limestone
* Tanner Graben
* Temple Butte
* Tonto Group
* Bright Angel Shale
* Toroweap Fault
* Uinkaret volcanic field
* Vasey's Paradise
* Vulcan's Throne

Bodies of water|

* Colorado River
* Deer Creek
* Havasu Creek
* Havasu Falls
* Kanab Creek
* Little Colorado River
* Bright Angel Creek

People|

* Harvey Butchart
* Colin Fletcher
* Kenton Grua
* John Hance

Tribes|

* Havasupai
* Hualapai

Events|

* Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869
* 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision
* Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6

Related|

* Grand Canyon Backcountry Camping
* List of trails in Grand Canyon National Park
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Canyon National Park
* Grand Canyon Conservancy
* Grand Canyon Suite
* Desert Wonderland
* Grand Canyon (1958 film)
* Grand Canyon (2017 children's book)
* The Man Who Walked Through Time
* Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
* A Bigger Grand Canyon
* Grand Canyon: A Different View
* Grand Canyon Escalade

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

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