American Minuet, for orchestra

• Date: 1939
• Composer: Harold Arlen
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

American Minuet was commissioned by Meredith Wilson, who had his own radio program and liked to air new works by young composers. He often asked popular songwriters if they would like to compose serious pieces and had aired works by Duke Ellington, Morton Gould, Sigmund Romberg, Vernon Duke, and others. Harold Arlen wrote American Minuet for his wife Anya. She had been studying ballet, and was regularly being asked to perform in public, so he thought that a minuet form would be entirely appropriate. It was something she used in a program. The piece premiered in December 1939 on Wilson's Good News radio program. ~ Rita Laurance, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Harold Arlen: Hooray For Love	2005

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