Carl Ruggles: Sun-treader; Schuman: Violin Concerto; Piston: Symphony No. 2

On this CD:

1. Sun-Treader for orchestra
Composed by Carl Sprague Ruggles
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

2. Violin Concerto
Composed by William Schuman
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

3. Symphony No. 2
Composed by Walter Piston
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

Customer Reviews:

Unparalleled performances of 20th century masterworks.......2005-04-12

Why write a review about a CD that's no longer in print? A couple reasons come to mind: to remind us of what we've lost; and to talk about the way the music industry changes.

In recent years, Peter Quint has recorded the Schuman concerto for Naxos and Gerard Schwarz conducted the Seattle Symphony in a recording of the Piston Symphony 2, also on Naxos. Both recordings received plentiful critical acclaim.

However, neither is up to the standard set on this recording, in my opinion. The Penguin Guide continues to show this recording as a "key" recording in both conductor's listings while praising the newer recordings.

In particular, the comparisons between MTT's Boston recording of the Piston and Schwarz's Seattle version are essentially the difference between black & white and color TV, or analog and digital recording. The older recording features a better orchestra, better playing, a more dramatic approach and, oddly, a better recording. The trenchant Boston makes the Seattle recording sound white by comparison.

When it comes to the Schuman concerto, Quint plays the 1950 premiere version very well on the Naxos disk. Paul Zukofsky recorded the 1959 version in 1970 with MTT and the Boston Symphony. Zukofsky's reading of the concerto is spikier, more dramatic and, in my opinion, more attuned to 20th century American music than the more suave version of Quint and the Bournemouth Symphony.

Why are there differences musically? Could be my imagination or it could be the version Zukofsky recorded was different than the one Quint recorded 30 years later. There is a lot written about William Schuman that discusses his revisions of the concerto.

The addition of Carl Ruggles' dramatic and rarely recorded "Suntreader" gives a big edge to the now, unfortuntely, out of print issue. This made it one of the best full price CDs available with rarely recorded 20th century masterworks.

I owned the LP of the Schuman and Piston when it came out in 1970 and still give it an occasional spin on the turntable. What changed most between the LP and CD verions? I think the sound on the LP was more vibrant and had a better frequency response than the CD. In addition, the notes and packaging to the issue were quite a bit different.

Back in 1970 Michael Tilson Thomas was still a relative newbie in classical music. He was a rising young star whose reputation ate up almost all the space in the notes to the LP release, which talked about how he came to prominence replacing Leonard Bernstein one night. Bernstein was one of the world's hottest musical properties in 1970, of course, making the appearance by this ingenue something very important indeed.

In addition, the front cover featured a photo of young MTT conducting the Boston Symphony and Zukofsky playing the concerto during rehearsal (I assume it was rehearsal since they were dressed casually) with microphones all over the place.

I think if DG had released this with the same packaging as in 1970 it may have created a bit more interest. The copy I have has a gold cover with nothing more than a line listing of the three pieces. Hell, I made a better cover than that at home when I made a CD of my old record!

Music Review:

Music Review

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