Customer Reviews

Walter Piston: Serenata; Symphonies 5, 7 & 8

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

 

 

In the middle of the last century a number of American composers produced cycles of multiple symphonies, and anyone seeking a broad acquaintance with classical music needs to dip at least a toe or two into these waters. I'm thinking of the likes of Schuman, Harris, Mennin -- and, obviously, Piston. (Barber and Copland would qualify if their symphonic output had been larger.) Piston (born "Pistoni", of Italian ancestry) made his living teaching at Harvard, but he had time to be a dedicated if not prolific composer, probably best known for "The Incredible Flutist," which is diverting but hardly typical of his output. His style is often summed up in the word "neoclassical," but that means little more than that he stuck pretty much to traditional forms while allowing himself as much dissonance as he thought he needed.

Piston wrote a total of eight symphonies, three of which are on this disc along with the Serenata. His Third (my personal favorite) and Seventh won Pulitzers, but he maintained the same high level throughout his production. The Serenata is a light work, diverting on first hearing. The symphonies are more serious, and take a bit more listening, but they're hardly "heavy." All four works are in three-movement format, but there are some slow introductions and otherr interpolations that vary the tempo well beyond fast-slow-fast. Piston doesn't write "easy" tunes for the most part, but neither do you find yourself wondering where the melody has gone. I'd say he's like a subtler Copland, or a Shostakovich without the emotional extremes.

The performances date from the LP era, and the Louisville Orch was never first-rank, but there's nothing seriously wrong with either the sound or the performances, and there's no competition. There was a time when the LP of 7 and 8 was out of print and fetching upwards of $25 on the secondary market. All in all, this is a great opportunity to hear four fine works by an American master at a bargain price. My recommendation: grab it. Then consider moving on to the others, particularly No. 3.

This is the reissue of an earlier Albany CD, AR011 (Walter Piston: Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 7; Symphony No. 8), released in 1988, augmented of the Serenata. All four pieces were originally published on LP on the Louisville Orchestra's own and famous label, Louisville First Edition Recordings : Symphony # 5 came out in 1965 on Lou 653 with Wiliam Kraft's Concerto Grosso, Symphonies # 7 & 8 were released in 1975 on LS 746 and the Serenata came in 1959 on Lou 586 with David Van Vactor's "Fantasia, Chaconne & Allegro" and Nils Viggo Bentzon's "Pezzi Sinfonici".

See my review of the earlier Albany release for longer comments on these three fine symphonies.