"Afro-American Symphony" is
African American composer
William Grant Still's best-known
work. It was composed in
1930, shortly after the onset of
the great depression. The
tonic center of the piece is a
blues theme which is introduced in the first movement and then reappears in various forms in the three later movements. Still also used a
tenor banjo as part of the
orchestra, symbolizing an
African
American character.
Still later commented on the timeliness is which the piece was released: "It was not until the depression struck that I was jobless long enough to let the symphony take place."
Source: Music: An Appreciation by Roger Kamien