Customer Reviews

Diamond: Symphony No. 3 / Kaddish / Romeo & Juliet

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If not for Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony's five volume series of the orchestral magic of David Diamond, close to nothing from Diamond's catalogue in the orchestral genre would appear on compact disc. The performances on this disc and the other Diamond discs are nothing short of phenomenal and capture exactly what his music should be about. However modern-sounding the "Psalm" from 1936 for the "Kaddish" from 1987-88 are, there is a certain fresh tonality and a gift of brilliant orchestration that accompany Diamond's core of music from the late 1930s and the entire 1940s, which includes his Symphony No. 3 (1945) and his incidental music to "Romeo and Juliet" (1947). It is a sound and style all his own, a style genuinely and wonderfully American. Not only should you explore the greatness of David Diamond with this disc, do yourself a favor and purchase the entire five volumes - and don't regret the investment. These terrific performances from the Seattle Symphony are essential to the American classical library.

At last, David Diamond is coming into his own. Diamond has always been one of the finest composers of his generation but, perhaps because he is more austere, he never caught on in the same way that Copland or Barber did. This disc shows what a shame that is. Spanning most of Diamond's career, this CD is a beautifully performed sampling of the range of Diamond's orchestral style. The Psalm shows Diamond in his early modernist mode. Romeo and Juliet and the Symphony are modal in character and beautiful pieces to listen to. They are deeply felt and yet assessible to anyone. Kaddish is more representative of later Diamond works, twelve note without being twelve tone.

I am gratful that Delos has issued these CDs though I am disappointed that the planned entire cycle of Diamond symphonies has seemed to stall. Diamond is a marvelous composer and his cycle is perhaps one of the most important and extensive of American symphony cycles. It would be ashame not to issue them all while Diamond is still alive to enjoy them.