By the middle of the twentieth century, American universities had evolved into powerful institutions with aggressive cultural agendas. Renewed interest in the arts provided a platform for composers employed by these universities to grow into powerful civic leaders. This article investigates the contributions of four modernist composers—Walter Piston, Roger Sessions, William Schuman, and David Diamond,—who held academic and administrative posts at Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Juilliard School of Music. During this period, these four composers used their academic positions to shape American classical music culture—not through their compositions—but by overhauling music departments, authoring textbooks, and extending the reach of universities and conservatories far beyond the campus walls. This project relies on primary and secondary sources, weaving together academic records, administrative reports, and composer correspondence into a narrative of educational reform, cultural patronage, and even urban renewal. This article endeavors to widen the historiographic focus on postwar composers like the Four to reconsider their relevance as music educators, cultural authorities, and practitioners of modernism outside of the concert hall.

中文翻译：

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重新思考战后美国的作曲家和教育家

到 20 世纪中叶，美国大学已经发展成为具有激进文化议程的强大机构。对艺术的新兴趣为这些大学雇用的作曲家成长为强大的公民领袖提供了一个平台。本文调查了四位现代主义作曲家——沃尔特·皮斯顿、罗杰·塞申斯、威廉·舒曼和大卫·戴蒙德——他们在哈佛大学、普林斯顿大学、加州大学伯克利分校和茱莉亚音乐学院担任学术和行政职务的贡献. 在此期间，这四位作曲家利用他们的学术地位塑造了美国古典音乐文化——不是通过他们的作品——而是通过改革音乐系、编写教科书以及将大学和音乐学院的影响范围扩大到校园之外。该项目依托一手和二手资料，将学术记录、行政报告和作曲家信件编织在一起，形成教育改革、文化赞助甚至城市更新的叙事。本文试图扩大对战后作曲家（如四人组）的史学关注，以重新考虑他们作为音乐教育家、文化权威和音乐厅外现代主义实践者的相关性。