American Symphonietta

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Big Shoulders (Edward Knight)

2. IIkarus (Benedikt Brydern)

3. Nebulae (Paul Shin)

4. Magic City (Dorothy Hindman)

5. A Stirring in the Heavenlies (Andrew March)

Disc: 2

1. Symphony for Orchestra (Ethan Haimo)

2. Shalott (Marcela Pavia)

3. Diversions Overture (Jack Gallagher)

4. Golden Oldie (Bruce Polay)

5. In the Quad at Noon (David Gray Porter)

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
The SEVENth volume in the landmark CD series "MASTERWORKS OF THE NEW ERA" by ERM Media.

"MASTERWORKS OF THE NEW ERA" focuses on the award-winning music of living composers. The series is a fabulous addition to all those interested in progressive, dynamic music literature - not the same old thing!

Conducted by Robert Ian Winstin with the Kiev Philharmonic.

Tracks:

I.
II.
III.
IV.
I.
II.
III.

Album Description

Marin Alsop • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Philip Glass (b.1937): Symphonies nos. 2 & 3

Though he prefers not to be labeled a 'minimalist' composer, that is the style with which Philip Glass is most associated. His compositions, however, though bearing certain tradmarks, employ a great range of techniques. This adaptive ability contributes to his success as a composer of music ranging from string quartets to largescale orchestral works and mammoth film scores. Marin Alsop conducts her Bournemouth symphony orchestra in these amazing performances of the Second and Third symphonies of legendary American composer Philip Glass. The grand Second Symphony was comissioned by the Brooklyn Acadamy of Music and premiered there in 1994 by Dennis Russell Davies. Also a commissioned work, the Third Symphony is composed for chamber orchestra, and thus bears an intimacy that is brilliantly suited to a smaller ensemble. In both the epically-proportioned Second Symphony and the smaller-scale Third Symphony, Glass returns, in his own way, to his roots at the Juilliard School, writing polyharmonies, rousing finales, and fully-formed symphonic paragraphs. They are true symphonies in scope, structure and seriousness of purpose. Marin Alsop comments on this recording: "Conducting and recording the music of Philip Glass is the completion of a circle for me. I first met Philip Glass in the late 1970s when I started playing violin on some of his recording projects. The new music scene in Manhattan was one of my major inspirations at that time, so working closely with Philip and his ensemble was a dream come true. I had not seen Philip since the mid 1980s until he attended an all Glass concert that I conducted in London. Like his music, it felt like the contuniation of an old friendship, only changed in a simple but profound way."

Customer Reviews:

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......2007-07-11

placing this disc under the genre of classical is like puting kenny g's discs in the jazz section. if the music on this disc represents modern classical, we as a country have set our sights too low. granted, it's moody and pretty, but that's what new age music is (and that's what this is at best). the lines between classical, soundtrack, and new age have become too blurred. classical music is SERIOUS music with INTERESTING NON REPETETIVE HARMONY and COUNTERPOINT. this sounds like some dude jamming on a synthesizer doing bong hits.

Very engrossing.......2005-08-08

I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to sections 1 through 4 of symphony #3 several times in the day since I got this CD. These tracks are very engrossing and makes one think of the soundtrack from an adventure saga where there is a continuous rhythm of travel.

Symphony number 2 is less interesting to me but for the price the symphony #3 tracks are great.

Glass Deepens With Two Dramatically Resonant Pieces.......2005-04-23

Along with his colleague John Adams, Philip Glass is the most familiar of the modern minimalists. Yet like Adams, Glass seems to be building a greater communicative sense with each new work I hear. These two symphonies were composed in the early nineties, and Naxos is now providing a 2003 recording of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra led by the insightful Marin Alsop. This is the same group of artists that played the wonderful version of Adams' "Shaker Loops" this past year, and this recording of Glass' works equals that one for dramatic insight and virtuosic preciseness.

A strings-only piece, Symphony #3 (23:58) has four conventional movements which build in drama and texture. It contains many of Glass' signature sounds with mono-tonal melodies that spiral in larger and larger circles and chords that feel like they are beating down an urban thunderstorm of clandestine activity - jabbing, throbbing, chugging - as they do in the second movement. Yet the music reflects some of his most gentle work especially in the first and third movements. There is an unexpectedly beautiful violin solo in the middle of the third movement that runs initially counter to his quietly driving sequential style until they eventually meld together. The drama turns fiery in the last movement as it broadens into an exciting albeit measured gallop, at the same time not sacrificing the virtuosity of the expert playing by the Bournemouth string section.

Symphony #2 (43:14) is a larger scale piece that makes dramatic sense to be played after the third, as it is a more ambitious work. It slowly builds in intensity with very broad strokes that deepen and darken when it comes to the bass-lines and the repetitive use of contrasting woodwinds. There is a vividly harrowing sense of adventure to the first movement that this section would not be inappropriate to be used as background movie music for a daring escape aboard a hot air balloon crossing the Alps. There is more of an orchestral sense to the second movement and an increasing ambiguity in tone that heightens the drama considerably with yet a new set of pronounced textures. The finale has almost a battle-cry exuberance but with a swooping, sinuous dramatic power with the addition of brass and even bells to the strings and woodwinds. The last movement truly feels like the culmination of what Glass has presented before in both symphonies.

Beautifully recorded at "The Concert Hall, Lighthouse, Poole" in Dorset, UK, this recording verifies that Glass' oeuvre is more than his famous operas often in collaboration with Robert Wilson. Producer-engineer Tim Handley has done an excellent job of keeping the impeccable sound in check throughout. And like the Adams recording, this one sells for the ridiculously bargain basement price of $6.98. Strongly recommended.

Defies the theory that Glass's orchestral works are weak.......2004-12-26

I bought this CD simply on impulse (it was on sale for $5.99) but it turned out to be a rewarding purchase. I have always thought of Glass's great works to be his operas and smaller pieces (Glassworks etc.) but the pairing of these two powerful orchestral works makes you wonder if his symphonies are underrated (and certainly underperformed). Alsop creates a unified structure that makes a more compelling case than the previous recording of the 3rd (I don't have any comparison for the 2nd). Bournemouth, as everybody knows, is a fine orchestra, but really shines when Alsop asks them to provide a little more 'oomphh' than is usually called for in Glass works. No serious contemporary collector should miss this set, and at the price I'd buy one for a friend.

Gottschalk: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Escenas Campestres Cubanas; Célèbre Tarantelle

Average customer rating:

Gottschalk: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Escenas Campestres Cubanas; Célèbre Tarantelle

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Julius Röntgen: Symphony No. 3; Suite "Aus Jotunheim"

ASIN: B000Q7ZKIO
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Tracks:

Andante - Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra
Presto-Maestoso - Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra
Tempo Di Tarentelle - Michael Gurt
Tempo De Danza: Moderato - Darryl Taylor
Piu Lento - Darryl Taylor
Danza - Darryl Taylor
Tempo De Danza: Moderato - Darryl Taylor
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I. Noche En Los Tropicos - Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra
II. Festa Criolla - Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra

Average customer rating:

Go overseas to get the best of America
Don't pass this one up!
Rorem's Stunning, Cinematic-Sounding Symphonies Produce Transcendent Moments of Beauty
Great Recording, Good Music
Rorem's art

Rorem: Three Symphonies

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Virgil Thomson: Symphony No 1-3

ASIN: B0000ACY0V
Release Date: 2003-08-19

Tracks:

Passacaglia
Allegro Molto Vivace
Largo
Andante
Allegro Molto
Maestoso
Andantino
Largo
Allegro
Broad, Moderate
Tranquillo
Allegro

Album Description

Universally recognized as a great master of modern song-writing, Rorem has always continued composing orchestral music but has received few performances, writing, as he has, in a tonal idiom alien to the atonal and experimental practices of the day. When Leonard Bernstein gave the first performance of Rorem's Third Symphony with the New York Philharmonic in 1959, it signaled a significant triumph for his orchestral music, but the path ahead would remain thorny. When the now famous diaries were published, it brought Rorem a great deal of notoriety and controversy, but it did not translate into performances of his orchestral music. Respected and admired by colleagues, Rorem has continued writing the kind of music that he believes in, and over the past decade, with the universal change in composing styles, performances of his music have mounted constantly. - José Serebrier

Customer Reviews:

Go overseas to get the best of America.......2007-05-15

I've only recently truly discovered Ned Rorem. After hearing a performance of the String Quartet No. 4, by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for a new balllet by Helgi Tomasson, I was hooked. I immediately ordered the quartet and this CD, the 3 Symphonies. I was truly amazed! An American contemporary composer who uses actual melody and harmony! Not as a sellout, but in new and creative ways. A lush, surprising, and uniquely American music. CDs like this rekindle my belief in "new music." It's not ALL "oop-eep-aop" created by some mathematical formula, or endless repeated sonorities..over and over until you want someone to put you out of your misery (Glass anyone?).
The performances of the Symphonies on this CD are professional and passionate, I only wish I could find an American Orchestra performing Ned Rorem's works (are you listening Mr. Thomas?).

Don't pass this one up!.......2006-08-30

First of all, I've written a few reviews without hailing Naxos for offering some of the most interesting music (especially 20th century) at the most unbelievable prices. Don't think these are lesser cds because of the price.

As far as Rorem goes, we owe it to ourselves to check out this amazing American music. While Ned is chillin' on Martha's Vinyard writing some of the most beautiful music, we go to concerts and hear the same old Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak. Not to preach, but we should be seeing Rorem, Piston, Barber, Bloch, Harris, Creston, and Hovhaness on the program too to let audiences know that we have interesting American composers.

Rorem states on this disk that ..."when my second symphony was resurrected (for this disk), it had not been heard in 43 years, so I had to strain my memory for the program notes..." Shame, shame, shame.

Rorem's Stunning, Cinematic-Sounding Symphonies Produce Transcendent Moments of Beauty.......2006-07-12

Despite his prolific output of musical compositions, American composer Ned Rorem has written just four symphonies in his lengthy career, three of which are included in this beautifully recorded disc played impeccably by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of José Serebrier. Yet, his decidedly idiosyncratic style is recognizable with its effusively tonal quality. With the exception of the opening of the second symphony, the movements are relatively brief but stunningly melodic, and in aggregate, they are quite entertaining in an almost cinematic manner akin to Copland and especially Bernstein. This also marks the premiere recordings of Symphonies No 1 and No. 2, reason enough to purchase this bargain-priced CD.

The disc opens with Rorem's most recent and masterful work, 1958's five-movement Symphony No. 3, which contains a dizzying array of musical expressions beginning with the subdued, mysterious-sounding albeit brief "Passacaglia". Its feeling of containment is broken free by the jazz-oriented second movement, "Allegro molto vivace", filled with a cacophony of percussive rhythms that sounds like a tribute to Bernstein's "On the Town". This leads into the dream-like state of the "Largo", the third movement, which segues nicely into the fourth movement, the impressionistic "Andante", with its persistently wistful tone. The percussion returns in the form of castanets and drums for the fifth and final movement, "Allegro molto", a fitting conclusion that encompasses all the sounds of the previous movements.

Symphony No. 1, Rorem's earliest piece from 1950, starts with an intoxicating pastoral quality in "Maestoso" that continues to suspend reality in the second movement, "Andantino". He achieves an even fuller sound on "Largo", the third movement, with the complementary combination of flute, oboe and strings, and then builds the tempo considerably with an animated sense of joy on the fourth movement, "Allegro", which was apparently inspired by an Arab wedding tune Rorem heard in Morocco. His Second Symphony from 1956 concludes the recording, and it opens with "Broad, Moderate", an extended passage of orchestral melancholy, beautiful yet unrelentingly sad until it livens up into a more rhythmic melody midway through the fifteen-minute movement. The brief second movement, "Tranquillo", may be my favorite moment on the disc with successive turns on flute, strings and clarinet that meld beautifully into a cinematic landscape. The equally brief last movement, "Allegro", almost sounds like a passage from "West Side Story" with its bright propulsive rhythms. Overall this is a stunning work by any measure.

Great Recording, Good Music.......2006-03-10

I purchased this music because I had never heard of Ned Rorem. When I first listened to these symphonies I was not impressed: wandering, whimsical music punctuated by loud bass drum and brass. All three selections seemed to be quite similar. However, I listened again (actually two more times) on my Bose noise-cancelling head set and was able to grow an appreciation for Rorem's work. These works are beautiful and deserve attention -- definitely not "background" stuff while one dines.
The performance and the quality of the disc are excellent.

Rorem's art.......2005-12-26

It may be too easy to over praise Rorem's symphonies, but this is an exciting recording of these wonderful pieces. Rorem's musical lanugage is perfected, and I for one hear as much Rorem the writer in these symphonies as Rorem the composer, as indeed one well might say about much of his musical oeuvre, the songs included. His attraction to text thus acquires another level, one important enough to understand and admire in order to plumb these musical scores as meaningfully as possible. The First and the Third symphonies seem especially generous in this subtext of their lean lines, the ideas fertile and beautifully cared for with craftsmanship, and an always original nobility. The French veins found in Rorem's music, a formidable and inviting aspect -decisive and not, impatient and not, lost and found- find vigorous new purpose in symphonic gesture. These are sly, tender, and witty scores played wonderfully, and are a feast of good fortune for the revival of so many neglected American scores; indeed, Naxos' hand in the rejuvenation cannot be overvalued. This recording company's considerable insight is uniquely rewarded here with the rich, distinctive playing of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and Jose Serebrier. Like his unprecedented Journals, Ned Rorem's musical language is subtle, never wasteful, and always a joy to discover, finally to contemplate. Those unfamiliar with his songs can easily find their way there through these orchestral works. Highest recommendation for a unique recording.

Average customer rating:

Superb!

Hailstork: Symphonies 2 & 3

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Glass: Heroes Symphony; The Light

ASIN: B000L42JAO
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Tracks:

Vivace
Scherzo
Scherzo
Finale: Moderato
Allegro
Grave
Allegro Con Brio
Adagio - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Superb!.......2007-02-16

Adolphus Hailstork -- what a memorable name! -- is a longtime professor of music at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a prolific composer but my only previous exposure to his music was a fine CD of his chamber music on the Albany label, and it made me eager to hear more. I was not disappointed with this really quite excellent current release. It contains Hailstork's Second and Third Symphonies played beautifully by the Grand Rapids Symphony under its music director, David Lockington.

The two symphonies could not be more different: the Second is entirely serious and the Third, which is my favorite of the two, is a lighthearted and entirely lovely work in the usual four movements. The Third, which comes first on the CD, begins with a memorable pentatonic trumpet tune that is treated to a combination of minimalist and Coplandesque working-out. (Actually, on reflection, this movement reminds me a lot of the extroverted style of Michael Torke's 'Javelin', a particular favorite of mine.) The second movement is an extended chorale whose predominant mood is one of quiet longing. The Scherzo is a mélange of tricky cross-rhythms and sassy percussion; it has a bluesy middle section which features the odd but effective combination of marimba, tabla and glockenspiel. The finale also features dance rhythms and frequent meter changes. There is a quiet section with divisi strings and woodwinds, reminiscent of the second movement, and then the final section revisits the engaging materials of the first movement. This is an immediately appealing albeit extremely sophisticated work that bids fair, given half a chance, of becoming a modern American repertoire piece. I hope other orchestras take it up. I cannot imagine it not being a huge success wherever it is played, especially if done with the élan on display in this fine performance.

The Second, commissioned by the Detroit Symphony, is dramatic in content, having been inspired by Hailstork's trip to Africa where he saw 'the dungeons where the slaves were held before being shipped overseas. I put my reaction to that sad scene in movement two of the symphony.' Movement four commemorates the strength and determination of 'a people who had arrived in America as slaves.' The sonata-allegro first movement features stabbing brass chords and ominous percussion, along with angular string figures. II features an ineffably sad English horn melody and an agitated middle section. III has irregular rhythms, brilliant wind and brass interjections, and an overall feeling of disquiet. The finale begins with a solo clarinet in its chalumeau register connoting a quiet determination. It alternates with pensive string passages. There is some agitation but the mood of the piece begins to become more transparent, more optimistic and the symphony ends with a song of triumph that yet has ominous reminiscences.

I recommend this CD -- music and performance -- without reservation, and urgently recommend greater attention be paid to the music of Adolphus Hailstork, a major composer in our midst.

Scott Morrison

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Stephen Albert: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000MRP1UU
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Hovhaness: Symphonies Nos. 4, 20 & 53; The Prayer of St. Gregory

Average customer rating:

Same old Hovhaness
Hovhaness for Winds
Hovhaness' Wind Symphonies

Hovhaness: Symphonies Nos. 4, 20 & 53; The Prayer of St. Gregory

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Binding: Audio CD

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Morton Gould: Fall River Legend; Jekyll and Hyde Variations

ASIN: B000BK53H4
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Tracks:

Andante
Allegro
Andante Espressivo
Andante
Adagio
Andante Espressivo
Allegro Moderato
Andante Maestoso
Prayer Of Saint Gregory, Op.62b
Maestoso Sostenuto
Moderato Sostenuto Con Molta Espressione

Customer Reviews:

Same old Hovhaness.......2007-02-19

If you've heard one Hovhaness, you've heard most. I liked the "Prayer", but the symphony gave me nothing really new.

Hovhaness for Winds.......2005-12-04

I would urge you to read Robin Friedman's excellent review dated November 25, 2005; his descriptions of the music are excellent and give a pretty good idea of what to expect, especially if you are not that familiar with Hovhaness's music. Hovhaness wrote a great deal of music, and like some other very prolific composers (Milhaud comes to mind) some of Hovhaness's music treads a thin line between real merit and kitsch. For instance, the first of the 'Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain' sounds very much like clichéd snake-charmer music to me. That said, I found most of this disc to be extremely enjoyable. Much of it is based on chorale harmonies in the brass with occasional fanfare-like episodes, plus very imaginative use of percussion, both tuned and untuned. And, of course, there is much use of Near Eastern melorhythms.

By far the most amazing thing in this program is the noisy eruption shortly after the trumpet's oration in the first movement of 'Return and Rebuild the Desolate Place.' If one tried to imagine the cacophony of hell, one couldn't do better than this. And it sounds for all the world as if it is aleatoric, with each instrument going its satanic way, each one slowly dropping out until all that's left are sinister low growling trombone glisses. Wow! What an imagination Hohvaness had to come up with this!

The performances by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Wind Orchestra (what an ungainly name!), which I take to be a student group, is quite good. Solo trumpet work is done beautifully by John Wallace, as one would expect by this fine Scots trumpeter who has recently become the principal of the Academy.

I would suggest that whoever listens to this CD make sure not to listen to the whole CD in one sitting, but rather to each piece on its own. Otherwise there is some tendency for it to all run together and sound alike. Close listening, however, reveals that each piece has its own charms.

Scott Morrison

Hovhaness' Wind Symphonies.......2005-11-26

The late Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000)has received considerable popular attention but too little critical appreciation. Hovhaness was a prolific composer of 67 symphonies and over 400 works in a variety of forms. He wrote a great deal of music for band, and his output includes eight wind symphonies. Three of these symphonies are offered on this CD. Keith Brion conducts the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Wind Orchestra. Brion first conducted Hovhaness' wind music in 1964 with a high school band and recorded an all-Hovhaness disk with Gerard Schwartz on the trumpet in 1969. He has also made extensive recordings for Naxos of the music of John Phillip Sousa.

Hovhaness' symphonies are generally short and programmatic. The three wind symphonies on this CD emphasize the mystical, spiritual music of the composer. They consist of long choral passages for brass intertwined with solos for many different wind instruments, and for gongs, bells, cymbals, and drums. Much of the music, for the solos in particular, is modal in character, and it is contrasted with tonal passages in the larger ensembles. (Jean Sibelius did the same thing at times and Sibelius was a great influence on Hovhaness.) Hovhaness makes extensive use of counterpoint. The music is, and was composed to be, immediately accessible to a broad audience.

The three movement Symphony no. 4, opus 165, probably Hovhaness' best-known wind work, was composed in 1958. It contrasts brass chorales for trombone and trumpet with long solo themes in the bass clarinet and bassoon. It closes with an extended fugue. The unusual second movement features a haunting solo for xylophone extending the length of the music. It reminded me of a Milt Jackson solo for the Modern Jazz Quartet, which was active at the time this work was composed. The final opens with an extended brass chorale followed by solos for trumpet and winds. Bells and gongs give a mystical character to this symphony throughout.

Hovhaness' three -movement symphony no. 20, "Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain" opus 223 dates from 1969 and was one the composer's works commissioned and performed first by a high school band. Each movement represents a pilgrimage. The tripartite first movement opens with a clarinet solo, followed by an English horn solo, and a long, lyrical climactic section. The second movement begins with a long solo for alto saxophone, and the band gradually joins in over a low droning theme and the roll of drums. The finale features a brass chorale and fugue. Here again percussion and chimes add much to this piece.

The final symphony on this disk, the two-movement "Star Dawn" opus 377 dates from 1983. Hovhaness apparently was fascinated by the possiblity of space travel, an interest I find it best to disregard in hearing the music. Chorale sections are contrasted with long, flowing solo passages for clarinet in the first movement. A drum-roll opens the second movement followed by a long reedy solo and a fugual close. The accompaniment of bells is to represent the stars or, perhaps,human yearning.

The CD includes two short Hovhaness works for band. The "Prayer of Saint Gregory" is a short piece Hovhaness arranged from an earlier composition for trumpet solo, played here by John Wallace, and band The trumpet solo predominates in this brief work with a meditative, searching character. The other short work, "Return and Rebuild the Desolate Places" also features John Wallace on the trumpet. The work opens with a piercing trumpet solo, followed by a loud helter-skelter passage for the ensemble. The second movement also is lead by the trumpet and is a call to rebuild the world from chaos.

This CD and its earlier companion will introduce the listener to the music of Alan Hovhaness. I understand that further releases of Hovhaness' music may be in the offing on Naxos. Naxos is performing a real service to lovers of music in its ongoing "American Classics" series.

Robin Friedman

Average customer rating:

Very Satisfying, Stimulating Listening!
Superb, expansive music from contemporary composer

Carson Cooman: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Alla Pavlova: Symphony No. 5; Elegy
Michael Hersch: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B000NOIWSK
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Customer Reviews:

Very Satisfying, Stimulating Listening! .......2007-06-04

Cooman clearly knows how to write music that is challenging but also accessible to the ear and satisfying. The piano concerto is playful, the sonata is melodic and as I listen to the symphonies, I can hear the "love and rain" and the spiritual heart of the Ave Maria. If you want to enjoy classical music from a truly gifted contemporary composer, I recommend this CD.I'm glad I have it.

Superb, expansive music from contemporary composer.......2007-05-24

I am going to write this review from the simply enjoyment point of view,
w/o any analysis of the musical forms, etc, and that isn't my specialty
anyway.

I like to try out CD's from Naxos, including modern composers. Since the
prices are so reasonable, even if the newer music isn't the greatest,
all their CD's are worth at least a few listens. That's one of the great things
about Naxos, small risk for generally high quality. Thus I knew
nothing about this composer other than the high praise I read in the
newspaper from the company that has listings from Naxos and other labels.

This CD turned out to be a spectacular winner. Mr. Cooman can really
compose some excellent, highly listenable music, and on this
CD there is an amazing variety of featured instruments (all composed for
very well in my opinion): flute, piano, violin and organ twice, strings
elsewhere, etc. And you don't hear what you would expect given the types
of compositions on the CD. Yes, there are (2) symphonies, a piano
concerto, a partita, a concerto for violin and organ, and more, but what
makes this CD so enjoyable is that it flows so beautifully, as if it were
a concept work, whatever the types of compositions (I have not read the
liner notes to see if that was the intention).

If you like classical music, I'd say get this CD immediately!

William Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 10

Average customer rating:

A William Schuman Cycle -- Symphonies 7 and 10
Fantastic !

William Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 10

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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William Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5; Lyra Angelica (Harp Concerto)
Schuman: Symphony No8; Symphony No3
Hovhaness: Symphonies Nos. 4, 20 & 53; The Prayer of St. Gregory
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Violin Concerto; Rituals

ASIN: B000B6N6CC
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

Largo Assai
Vigoroso
Cantabile Intensamente
Scherzando Brioso
Con Fuoco
Larghissimo
Presto-Andantino-Leggiero-Pesante-Presto Possible

Customer Reviews:

A William Schuman Cycle -- Symphonies 7 and 10.......2005-12-09

William Schuman (1910 --1992) once met an admirer from Macon, Georgia who told him how much she enjoyed his music "even though it was atonal". Schuman politely responded that he did not write atonal music --his works always had a key center. But his admirer had the last word. She said, "Mr Schuman, in Macon your music is atonal".

Schuman's interlocutor had a point. The two symphonies on this CD, nos. 7 and 10 are full of dissonant passages that could easily be mistaken for atonality. With their energy, verve, and emotion, these works will please listeners who would otherwise back away from "difficult" scores. Schuman is part of a line of American composers which includes his contemporary, George Rochberg, and Charles Ives who have fused modernistic techniques with tonal originality to create distinctive musical voices.

This CD is the second in a projected cycle of the symphonies of William Schuman in Naxos' budget-priced and invaluable "American Classics" series. Gerard Schwartz, a champion of contemporary American music, conducts the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in crisp, incandescent performances. Steven Lowe has written unusually thorough liner notes which help guide the listener through the music.

Schuman was inspirationally American in that he combined his artistic achievements with high accomplishment in the everyday world of business. (Charles Ives also did so in music. Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams did so in poetry.) Schuman served with distinction as the director of publications for Schirmer music publishers, the president of the Juilliard School of Music, and the president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He was a prolific composer whose output includes ten symphonies.

Schuman composed his symphony no. 7 in 1960 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The work is in four distinct movements, but they are to be played as a unit without breaks. The opening movement is a lengthy and serious largo, which is tense, forboding and serious. It opens with large chords in the strings, and these chords sometimes serve as the theme and sometimes as accompaniment in the course of the movement. The movement builds to a climax with an impassioned passage for strings, winds, and a trumpet-call. The much-shorter second movement, marked "vigoroso" continues the solemn theme with an opening brass fanfare which soon leads to a vigorous climax. The slow "cantabile" movement begins lyrically, reflectively and softly. It is songlike and builds slowly to a loud and intense moment, and then gradually returns back to the original quiet opening. The finale is quick, full of energy, snappy and seems to pose an answer to the somber character of the opening movement consisting of a welter of activity. But the character of the movement changes towards the end, as the work comes to a triumphant close in a brassy blare.

Schuman's final symphony, no. 10 "American Muse" was written in 1976 to celebrate the Bicentenial and was first performed by the National Symphony Orchestra under Antal Dorati. This three-movement symphony captures a great deal of the brashness and promise of America and may well become a lasting achievement of our nation's 200th birthday. The opening movement, con fuco, is about half the length of each of the remaining two movements. It opens with boldness and the spirit of adventure in large, energetic brass, with gritty propulsive rhythms from the tympani, xylophone, and other percussion near the end. The second movement, larghissimo, resembles the slow movement of the seventh symphony in its hushed opening, slow climaz, and return to a quiet close. But the thematic material here is more varied, I think, and there are more interludes in the essentially simple frame. These include a lovely duet for the flute and the trumpet, and a secondary flowing theme for the strings surrounded by piping winds. The finale is an ambitious movement consisting of no less than five integrated sections marked by tempo changes. It opens with a quick passage for plucked strings followed by a moderately paced section with a lyrical theme for bowed strings together with winds. The middle section of the movement features, chimes, glockenspiel and bells followed by a big brass section in slow chords. The final section (comprising about one-half of the movement) opens with whirling strings, works up to a frenzied passage for drums, brass, and bells, and comes to an energetic, percussive close. This is music of optimism, audacity and newness and of America's promise reminiscent of the greatest of our Nation's composers, Charles Ives.

Schuman is one of our country's leading composers, and this CD offers the chance to get to know his work, well-performed, at a budget price. Those interested in American music will love this CD.

The story at the beginning of this review about Schuman and his admirer is drawn from Michael Steinberg's discussion of Schuman in his guidebook, "The Symphony", p.495.

Robin Friedman

Fantastic !.......2005-11-21

The 10th is an amazing work...one of Schuman's best. It full of invention and great writing. The first movement is wild and daring. This CD is a must for those who enjoy American music.

Bowie And Eno Meet Glass Heroes/Low Symphonies

Average customer rating:

Great reimagining of Bowie/Eno's music

Bowie And Eno Meet Glass Heroes/Low Symphonies

Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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Philip Glass: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Heroes Symphony
Philip Glass: The Concerto Project, Vol. 2
Philip Glass : Symphony No. 8
Glassworks

ASIN: B0000AGWOC
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

Heroes
Abdulmajid
Sense Of Doubt
Sons Of The Silent Age
Neukoln
V2 Schneider

Tracks:

Subterraneans
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Warszawa

Album Description

This two CD collection is a coupling of two of Philip Glass' most famous orchestral compositions, both based on the music of David Bowie & Brian Eno. Six tracks on the Heroes disc & 3 on the Low disc. Decca. 2003.

Album Details

This Two CD Collection is a Coupling of Two of Philip Glass' Most Famous Orchestral Compositions, "The Low Symphony" and "Heroes Symphony", Both Based on the Music of David Bowie and Brian Eno.

Customer Reviews:

Great reimagining of Bowie/Eno's music.......2006-04-01

This is not one of those "The String Quartet Tribute to..." albums. Bowie's music from some of his best albums (two of his Berlin trilogy) is re-processed by Philip Glass and given his trademarked minimalist/repetitive treatment.

For the most part, casual listeners will find almost impossible to recognize the source material, even after reading the titles. This is Philip Glass at his most accessible, but it's still Philip Glass: Bowie fans should try before they buy.

William Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 9; Orchestra Song; Circus Overture

Average customer rating:

A significant first instalment in an important survey of the complete symphonies by one of the major American symphonists
A William Schuman Cycle -- Symphonies Nos. 4 and 9
The recorded premiere of Schuman's Ninth

William Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 9; Orchestra Song; Circus Overture

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

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William Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 10
Schuman: Symphony No8; Symphony No3
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Violin Concerto; Rituals
Kurt Weill: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Lady in the Dark - Symphonic Nocturne
William Alwyn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B0008JEKG8
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Tracks:

72
Tenderly, Simply
144
Orchestra Song
Circus Overture
Anteludium
Offertorium
Postludium

Amazon.com

This is the opening salvo of Naxos's planned series of William Schuman's ten symphonies, central to a career in which the brassy energy of his music made him a leading figure in American music for over three decades. The Fourth Symphony, premiered some six weeks after Pearl Harbor, is an optimistic piece with a slow movement both warm and sad and outer movements capped by dense textures and blazing brass. The Ninth is subtitled "The Ardeatine Caves," reflects the composer's thoughts on a visit to that site of a Nazi World War II atrocity. It's a much tougher piece than the Fourth, the three continuous movements encapsulating a cascade of fast-changing ideas and brass and percussion-laden climaxes. Two brief works separate the symphonies: the catchy folk-based Orchestral Song, and the brightly energetic Circus Overture, originally intended for a Broadway revue. Schwarz and his orchestra deliver stylishly apt performances of all these works, making one look forward to the rest of the series. -- Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A significant first instalment in an important survey of the complete symphonies by one of the major American symphonists.......2007-06-19

William Schuman is one of the major American symphonists among the generation that came to prominence in the years around World War II, and whose most significant members include Copland, Barber, Piston, Harris, Hanson, Sessions and Mennin. This position Schuman attained not only through the number of symphonies he wrote - ten in all between 1935 and 1975, but if count was the yardstick then Hovhaness and Cowell would easily win the prize - but because each one represents a significant and serious statement, and also because, like Mennin's and Sessions', Schuman's style evolved, bravely embracing its times by growing increasingly complex and dissonant, while remaining true to the basic parameters established in the earlier works.

Always in evidence is the dramatic sweep and the sense of the American Epic so characteristic of the composers of that generation, to which Schuman, at his best (as in the Third and Eight Symphonies), adds unexpected twists and turns that challenge the listener's expectations and capture his attention. At his not so best (as, in my opinion, in the Fourth and Seventh), I find Schuman's developments a little too predictable and/or cliched.

Except for the first two, withdrawn by the composer, individual recordings of the symphonies trickled throughout the LP years: the 6th (1948) was the first to be recorded, in 1953, by Ormandy and the Philadelphians, released in the mid-fifties as Columbia ML 4992 with Piston's 4th Symphony, and reissued on CD as Piston: Symphony No4; Schuman: Symphony No6; a few years ago the New York Philharmonic Special Editions also published a 1958 broadcast performance by Leonard Bernstein as part of an invaluable, 10 CD box called "An American Celebration". In 1960 came Bernstein's landmark recording of the Third (first published alone as MS 6245), which apparently remained the conductor's preserve, as no other recording appeared until Lenny's remake for DG in 1985 (Roy Harris: Symphony No. 3 / William Schuman: Symphony No. 3 - Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic). It was followed in 1962 by the recording of the Eighth Symphony by the same forces, released as MS 6512 with Barber's Andromache's Farewell (Thomas Schippers conducting). In 1966 came again Bernstein's recording of the Symphony for Strings (5th Symphony), paired then with his recording of the Third on Columbia MS 7442; the composition had to wait another 27 years for a new recording, by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra on Delos (A Tribute to William Schuman). The three Schuman-Bernstein recordings can be conveniently found on one CD, possibly THE one to have if you have only one CD of Schuman: Schuman: Symphony No8; Symphony No3. Much happened in 1968, including the release of the Louisville recording of the Fourth Symphony (1942), conducted by Jorge Mester, reissued on CD as The Louisville Orchestra-First Edition Encores and as W. Schuman: Judith / Symphony 4 / Prayer in Time of War. Jump to 1971 and you find again Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphians in the Ninth Symphony (paired with Persichetti's Symphony No. 9 "Symphonia Janiculum" on RCA LSC-3212 and regrettably not yet reissued on CD), and Maurice Abravanel and the Utah SO in the Seventh (now on CD as American Orchestral Music) - New World Records released another recording of the 7th by Lorin Maazel and the Pittsburgh SO in 1987 (William Schuman: Symphony No. 7; Leonardo Balada: Steel Symphony). Schuman's Tenth and last symphony from had to await the CD era to get its premiere recording, by Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis SO on RCA in 1992: William Schuman: Symphony No. 10 / New England Triptych / American Festival Overture.

So everything had been commited to disc, but still it is great to have Naxos and Gerard Schwarz embark onto this project of a modern recording of Schuman's complete symphonies.

As I commented in my review of Jorge Mester's recording, I don't think the 4th belongs to the composer's best inspirations. It is well-crafted and has some impressive moments (including some passages for timpani and brass reminiscent of the finale of Nielsen's 4th), but also features many cliches one associates with American symphonic writing in the 1940s, the brooding introductory lament with English horn solo, the vigorous Coplandesque dance-like rhythms in colourful orchestration, the sweeping romantic string gestures, the motoric brass, the powerful and bombastic climaxes and the moments of pastoral repose. Schwarz and the Seattle forces play it with more sonic comfort, luscious sound and consequently sense of grandeur but, for all of the Louisville Orchestra's coarseness of tone, less raw excitement than Jorge Mester's pioneering recording.

The 9th Symphony (1968) was inspired by the composer's visit to the Ardeatine Caves in Rome, the site of a horrific Nazy slaughter of innocent Italian civilian hostages in 1944. As befits its subject the symphony is very dramatic, thorny, angular, dissonant. Its first movement, Anteludium, starts with a mysterious and restrained introduction scored mainly for strings, progressively rising to a dramatic climax announced by powerful timpani strokes, by way of increasing agitated activity from the woodwins over long string and brass lines, in a fashion reminiscent of Hindemith and Isang Yun. It then suddenly recedes (6:30) to an appeased but menacing conclusion with still more ominous brass and timpani outburts. As in the orchestral works of Karel Husa (with whose style Schuman here shares many similarities), the formal procedures may not be very original, but they are expressively very effective. The next movement, Offertorium, starts without a break, a mischievous scherzo with agitated winds in jagged rhythms and snappy orchestration including piano, bass-string pizzicatos, angry brass and furious timpani. This movement again leads whithout a break to the next, "Postludium", starting with long-held, dissonant choral-like chords for winds and brass underpinned by soft cymbal crashes, piano interjections and drum tatoos. It develops into slow dirge of mostly appeased long lines for strings and brass, interrupted at one point (6:27) by a sudden, violent scream from the full orchestra and (8:56) a final, dramatic outburst introduced by bell and timpani. The 9th may not be on a par with the best symphonies composed in those days - by Lutoslawski, Isang Yun or Dutilleux - but it is a fine work nonetheless.

The two short pieces that complete this program are less substantial works, with the Circus Overture a boisterous, joyous and motoric symphonic etude. They present a more complete image of Schuman's various compositional styles and lighter mood.

A William Schuman Cycle -- Symphonies Nos. 4 and 9.......2007-03-28

Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony are in the midst of recording the complete symphonies of William Schuman (1910 -- 1992) for the Naxos "American Classics" series. It is a laudable project indeed to promote the public's knowledge of American music in well-performed budget-priced CDs. This CD, which includes the Schuman's fourth and ninth symphonies, was the first in the series, which at this writing also includes a CD with Schuman's famous third and fifth symphonies and a CD of his late seventh and tenth symphonies. This CD is unusual because it includes a work from Schuman's early period, the accessible fourth symphony, and a work from Schuman's much more difficult and far less tonal later years, the ninth.

As much as I wanted to hear the symphonies, the two short works on this CD won my heart. In particular, the CD includes a three-minute work composed in 1963 called "The Orchestra Song". This work, or the Austrian tune on which it is based, oddly brought back my days decades ago in our Junior High School Choir when we performed a canon to the tune of the "Orchestra Song". The sopranos would open to the tune of this piece with the words "The violins singing, their song gaily ringing"... The altos would come in with "the clarinet, the clarinet, goes dua dua dua dua det" and when it got to the baritones we would chime in "the horn the horn can sing on one tone." These lines and more come together joyously in Schuman's short piece. Praise to anything that can bring back Junior High School memories with pleasure!

The other short work on this CD is Schuman's "Circus Overture" composed in 1944. This is a short, lively work full of brass, percussion, fanfare and rhythm. The drive of the work,is contrasted, for a brief moment by a winding, suggestive lyrical tune that the program notes for the CD aptly describes as "Fellini-esque". These two brief works are enjoyable and well-worth hearing.

As does the fourth symphony of another great composer, Schuman's fourth falls between his better-known third and fifth symphonies. The fourth was composed just after the entrance of the United States into WW II, and it is largely hopeful and optimistic in tone. The opening movement begins with a counterpointed figure in the bass, which reminds me of the contrapuntal writing that dominates Schuman's third symphony. The various sections of the orchestra, stings, winds, brass, and percussion join the movement in blocked sections, as is also the case in the third symphony. The counterpoint develops into a vigorous fugal passage followed by a large close emphaszing tympani and brass. The second movement is lyrical, peaceful, and hopeful in tone as it begins softly in the violins and violas, works gradually to a climax, and ends quietly. The energetic finale is highly rhythmic as the various groups of instruments enter and discourse with each other in turn, working towards a rousing and hope-filled conclusion featuring the tympani. Schuman's fourth was an immediate popular success. It offered a feeling of energy and purpose during a difficult time at the outset of a hard war.

Schuman composed his ninth symphony in 1967. It is recorded here for the first time. The work is subtitled "Le fosse ardeantine", the Adreantine Caves. after the site of a Nazi massacre in 1944 in Italy. The ninth consists of three interrelated movements played without pause. This is a difficult, complex score than will remain opaque for many listeners. The opening movement, titled "Anteludium" opens with a quiet figure that returns at the conclusion of the symphony. Throughout the opening movement, the opening phrases are treated contrapuntally, as was the case with the fourth symphony, but the harmonic language of the ninth is much more difficult and disonant than that of the earlier work. The climax of the work is the lengthy "Offertorium" which passes through a variety of tempos and feelings, some of which may seem out of place in a symphony commemorating an atrocity. But it moves to a solemn climax and is followed by the final "Postludium" which consists largely of an expansive slow theme closely related to the opening movement. This symphony, as does much of Schuman's late work, remains controversial and not entirely successful. Still, I was glad to hear and have the opportunity to get to know the work.

It is worth being reminded of the American achievement in music and the arts, as exemplified in the music of William Schuman and other composers. This ongoing series is an excellent way to explore Schuman's symphonies.

Robin Friedman

The recorded premiere of Schuman's Ninth.......2005-05-25

Naxos' American Classics series continues to make important strides, this recording an especially important one. As far as I am aware, this is the first and only CD recording of William Schuman's 9th Symphony. Schuman, in his own words, wrote eight symphonies, "numbered three through ten." The first two are self-abandoned. The other seven symphonies in the set have already experienced recording debuts.

The ninth is the third symphony in what Schuman considers a stylistic trilogy, the seventh, eight, and ninth. (The third through fifth could also be considered another stylistic trilogy, with the sixth as an intermezzo between the two sets.) Most Schuman fans should own the Bernstein recordings of the third, fifth, and eighth. Those new to Schuman with this particular recording are often turned off by the eighth in favor of the third. And rightly so. The eighth is perhaps the roughest and most dissonant of even the later trilogy of symphonies.

The ninth emerges as a bit more restrained, recalling ideas prevalent in the sixth. Schuman was inspired to write the work after visiting the scene of a WWII Jewish massacre in Italy. The beginning starts calmly. It slowly builds by supporting the crooning, drawn out lines of the strings and brass with a familiar chirping of the winds present in previous symphonies, sounding something like Messiaen's bird piece from Illuminations of the Beyond. After building, the rest of the first movement holds to the strict style prevalent in the trilogy, as it also goes with the second movement. The third movement starts out similar to the first, but this time with the percussion taking the lead. The winds eventually take over with a more restrained "bird" song while the strings continue to support. The third movement is surprisingly listenable, even to the Schuman enthusiast who can't seem to enjoy the repertoire beyond the fifth. The movement is almost completely slow and soft, as if walking through the mass grave of many long-since slaughtered.

Schuman fans should have at least one of the two already available recordings of the fourth. Schwartz's interpretation is decent, but nothing which exalts itself above or falls far below the other recordings. For those not familiar with the work, it is like the third, but perhaps not as grand. He borrows ideas from the third, but isn't able to take them to the same extreme and climax as he did in the third. (The fifth, the string symphony, falls even shorter of the third than the forth. It is almost exactly like the third, only without the other three instrument sections, which makes the work absent and void.)

The smaller two pieces on this CD were a nice surprise. Either work would be a nice concert opener. The Orchestra Song, only three minutes long, is the tamest of all his compositions I've ever heard. It has several themes that are built on top of one another as the piece progresses, with slight variations. This work, oddly enough, reminds me more of a circus than his Circus Overture. The Circus Overture is about eight minutes long, a charming work, but nothing of deep substance.

The back of the CD says that this is the first release of an eventual "complete" symphony cycle of William Schuman. I'm hoping that this also includes the first and second, though Schuman never intended for these two early symphonies to be performed again. One must wonder what he will find there; justly discarded pieces, the building blocks to his style in the famous third, or a complete other stylistic approach?

Typical of Naxos, the recording quality is excellent. Schwartz, who once produced a number of American recordings by Diamond, Hanson, Hovhaness, and others on the Delos label, is to be lauded for his continuing work in American music. His efforts are to be commended. Now if only some of America's other top orchestras and conductors would be as zealous about their own country's musical output.

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