During his long life, Gould was celebrated as a composer for Broadway, film, and television, as well as the concert hall. He was commissioned to write for symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, chamber music groups, and the Library of Congress. He received accolades up through his final years, including the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 1994, bestowed by President Bill Clinton, and the Pulitzer Prize in Music the following year, for his thirty-minute work Stringmusic. American Salute, written during World War II, is a fine example of both Gould’s sophisticated writing for the orchestra and his instinct for achieving broad appeal. The piece is based on the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” originally written during the Civil War by Patrick Gilmore and subsequently securing a strong position within American popular culture. American Salute has become Gould’s most popular work; the composer attended a performance of the piece, given by the United States Military Academy Concert Band, on the last evening of his life.