Winners of the Olympics in Music Competitions?
A glimpse into the look of the art competitions of 1912-1948
AUGUST 8TH, 2021
As the 2020 Olympics in 2021 come to a close, we want to share a bit of Olympic history pertaining to music.
Music and many art forms were essential to the original plans of the Olympics, and Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was adamant about capturing the magic of the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece. The arts had an important place in the Ancient Olympics; though, whether it was in the form of competitions or exhibitions or just as support for the athletes was not clear.
However, the IOC thought it would be best to include the arts as competitions in the early years of the Olympics. They even won medals. The thought of having music in competition today can be seen as ridiculous. The arts are very subjective, so it’s difficult to see why the committee would try to standardize it for a contest.
Did these competitions work well?
The competitions only lasted from 1912 to 1948; three competitions were canceled during this time, one in 1916 due to WWI and two between 1936-1948 due to WWII, so we only have competitions in arts from seven Olympic Games to criticize. Additionally, judging was rough. If the music didn't meet artistic merit, the judges were content not to medal any piece submitted, so we don't have many samples from the competitions to consider how well these competitions worked. Finally, of those who won a medal, it's also quite challenging to find recordings of these pieces. Note to future Olympic committees: if you have music competitions, please keep records and samples of the works; it will help us greatly in the future with researching.
Since these music competitions only last for a few years, we can summarize that they did not go well. If you think about it, many didn't know these competitions existed, even with famous judges such as Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger, and Bela Bartok. After 1948, we have arts in the way we usually see them at the games, in exhibitions, as part of the opening ceremony, and part of the closing ceremony with each country reflecting and displaying the culture of their society through these art activities.
Today though, we will bring special attention to those elite composers who won medals in the category of music. There were various categories from choral to orchestra to chamber. We were hoping to make a top 12 list of Olympic medalists from the music competition. However, we found it quite difficult to find sample recordings on these works. In the future, we may come back to this idea and see if we can find samples or scores of these works to give our opinion on who's the best of these Olympic medalists.
The works we present will be ordered by year, not by any personal preference or thoughts on which might be the best according to our opinion. Not all medalists will be presented, just those we found a recording sample for you to hear.
You will find many composers below whose names you may not have heard. Those who won the competitions in art were not well known. We had many well-known and internationally acclaimed composers during these years, such as Stravinsky, Janacek, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Ravel, and many more. Why didn't many of these great composers enter? If they had taken part, it might have elevated the competition to a new level. We may still have art competitions if you had them as competitors.
Why didn't they take part? They might have thought it was a competition for amateurs. Since they already had fame, there was no need to compete for fame, or they didn't understand the spirit of competition. Whatever the answer was, they didn't compete, but they did sign up as judges.
The winners didn't leave a rather special note in history. However, they are still all considered Olympiads, so let's look at their works and see why they received a medal during the Olympics from 1912-1948.
1928 Amsterdam Olympics
Rudolph Simonsen Symphony No. 2 "Hellas" Bronze Medal
Though Rudolph Simonsen received a Bronze Medal in Compositions for Orchestra, he was the only one who received a medal during the 1928 Olympic Games. The judges found that many of the works submitted were not of great merit. Why did he not receive a gold medal if he was the only winner? It's not like racers who finish over a specific time don't receive a medal. Do you think he should have received gold since he was the only winner?
Whether he should have received gold or not, it is remarkable that of the 22 compositions, Simonsen's was the only one that placed for a medal. He was one of the few competitors that not only had a score that survived, but we even found a recording.
Symphony No. 2 "Hellas" is a three-movement work. It's tumultuous with clashing harmonies and dense textures. It has a feeling of tension that struggles to release. It can be lyrical with light moments in later movements to help balance the more tense sections in the beginning. And most importantly, it has heavy brass in its final movement, a finale fanfare that makes perfect sense for the Olympics, celebrating the spirit of competitions. This is only a tiny glimpse into the 20-minute work. It's worth taking a listen and deserving of its Olympic medal.
1932 Los Angeles Olympics
Joseph Suk "Into a new Life" Silver Medal
Again, only one competitor won a medal in music for their composition. However, this time he did receive a Silver medal. Joseph Šuk won the Silver medal in Compositions for Orchestra with his "Into a new life." On top of winning silver, he was the first composer of a well-known name who entered the competition. He was also a disciple of Dvořák, a pretty good teacher to have if we had to remark.
The work is a march, with a beautiful opening from the trumpets. If you still don't know, we have a heavy bias regarding brass and trumpets. It's difficult not to enjoy a work that kicks off with that beautiful nectary sound from the trumpet. This is a fun simple little piece that lasts six minutes and features orchestra with choir. As a march goes, it's straightforward, and there's not much more we can say about it. Take a listen and enjoy that sweet, sweet trumpet fanfare.
1948 London Olympics
Jean Weinzweig Divertimenti for Solo Flute and Strings Silver Medal
In the final years of the music games, we have more works to choose from and feature. There were six winners, and of those six, we could find recordings for two of them. It’s still not a lot, but we will work with what we have.
Why did we find more winners in 1948? It could be the fact that the requirement for the work relating to sports was dropped. It could be the after-effects from war, which gave composers a lot to write about. It could have been the multiple genres that you could win a medal. Whatever the case, we're glad we were at least able to find two recordings to share with you.
We will start with Jean Weinzweig, who won the silver medal in the category of instrumental and chamber with his Divertimenti for Solo Flute and Strings. Disclaimer on recording: it is not the best recording, but at least we found one. Weinzweig is a Canadian composer who was known for combining folk tunes with 12-note composition techniques. This technique creates a quirky (and ominous at times) effect that you'll hear in his work, but it's still pleasant and worth a listen. He writes brilliantly for flute, utilizing its entire range and displaying its dexterity.
Zbigniew Turski Olympic Symphony Gold Medal
The first gold medalist on our list, Zbigniew Turski, won a medal for his Olympic Symphony. In our first listen, it was the piece out of the four we found that had the most mature sound, which could have many meanings: a delicate and balanced orchestration, a clear, focused harmonic language, and a balanced structure.
Turski was a Polish composer who had a few words recorded in his name, though many were destroyed. The Olympic Symphony is beautiful and ominous, with a haunting ambiance that persists throughout the work. It has a particular rushing drama that is quickly searching for resolution, but whether it finds it is subjective to the listener. The movements blend from one to the next, so don't expect any break from the music until its end. Its final movement is a quirky, odd little march. At the same time, it does find a bright, conclusive end (though quick and appearing by surprise); one can only wonder if this is a proper resolution or if there is a more profound message behind its pleasant final chord. Why this work won gold is evident, and we hope you can hear why it so deserves to.
Unfortunately, we only found recordings for the ones above. We hope to uncover the remainder and create the ultimate competition between the Olympic medalists to see who comes out on top. Who will win in a top 12 list? Do you think one of the works presented today would win? Let us know your thoughts in the comment. Also, if you have access to recordings of the Olympic works or scores, please let us know. The next Olympics aren't too far off.
