Washington, D.C. native and legendary bandmaster John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) wrote a dozen operettas, six full-length operas, and over 100 marches, earning the title “March King”. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at an early age and went on to become the conductor of the President’s Own United States Marine Band at age 26. In 1892 he formed “Sousa and his Band”, which toured the United States and the world under his directorship for the next forty years to great acclaim. Not only was Sousa’s band hugely popular, but it also exposed audiences all over the world to the latest, cutting-edge music, bringing excerpts of Wagner’s Parsifal to New York a decade before the Metropolitan Opera staged it, and introducing ragtime to Europe, helping to spark many a composer’s interest in American music.
The scholarly authority on John Philip Sousa is Paul Bierley, who had this to say about Manhattan Beach in his book The Works of John Philip Sousa (links added by me):
Following in the footsteps of Patrick Gilmore, Sousa became a popular figure at Manhattan Beach, the famous New York summer resort. One of his most lavish medals was presented to him in 1894 by the proprietor, Austin Corbin, and other shareholders. The previous season, Sousa had dedicated this march to Corbin, and one of his manuscripts is inscribed to him.
Sousa once told a reporter that the march had been derived from an earlier composition, probably “The Phoenix March” (1875): “I wrote ‘Manhattan Beach’ while playing a summer engagement at that once-popular resort, using as the basis an old march I had composed when I was with Milton Nobles.”
“Manhattan Beach” became a staple of bands all over the world, but the Sousa Band performed it differently by playing the trio and last section as a short descriptive piece. In this interpretation, soft clarinet arpeggios suggest the rolling ocean waves as one strolls along the beach. A band is heard in the distance. It grows louder and then fades away as the stroller continues along the beach.
Hear the US Marine Band play Manhattan Beach:
This march is available from the US Marine Band for free as part of their The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa series. There is more information about Manhattan Beach at Wikipedia, the Wind Repertory Project, and IMSLP.