ABSTRACT
Composers writing for the organ in twentieth-century America are as stylistically diverse as the ever-expanding landscape of American society. Whereas a precise description of what makes an American organ work American is impossible, one may draw many parallels between a representative selection of organ works and certain enduring American ideals, such as individual freedom manifested in individualistic creative expression. There are a number of well-known composers who have written one or two important works for organ, but who did not continue to compose for the instrument—Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, and Howard Hanson are examples. Moreover, a significant number of composers produced works primarily for liturgical purposes. I have organized this chapter in two distinct if somewhat arbitrary periods, before and after 1945. They have written difficult, comprehensive, and large-scale organ compositions, or have otherwise contributed a unique voice in organ composition in the United States.
