At last! I have been
banging on for ages as to why Naxos
do not record and issue American symphonic
works of the calibre of those by William
Schuman. Well, here at last, is the
first in a series of the complete symphonies,
presumably to be played by the same
ensemble as the present release. Although
the Seattle Symphony is not in the top
league of American orchestras, I cannot
think that any of them would have done
a better job than Maestro Schwarz and
his band.
William Schuman is
one of America’s premiere symphonic
composers and most of his ten Symphonies
have been available before, although
as far as I am aware this is the first
recording of No. 9. (If I am wrong,
I am sure someone will get in touch
to correct me!) (Editor’s
note: The first on CD. The premiere
recording was made by RCA with the Philadelphia
conducted by Ormandy. That was issued
on LP. I am sure I have heard rumours
that the Philadelphia RCA had been issued
on CD in Japan but I cannot be absolutely
sure. RB).
Naxos have re-issued
some of the Seattle recordings of works
by other American composers originally
set down by Delos, but this current
release appears to be one of Naxos’s
own. They do however, appear to be using
the same engineer as Delos; so it could
be that apart from Naxos’s producer,
it is essentially the same crew. The
sound quality is indistinguishable from
the American label and so there is no
cheapening of the product. Prospective
buyers can go ahead with no reservations
on that score.
William Schuman is
a bit of an enigma in the field of American
music. He started off by specialising
in jazz and pop. After hearing Toscanini
and the New York Philharmonic in 1930,
his direction of studies changed from
commerce to music. He studied first
at Columbia University and then at the
Juilliard with Roy Harris. Later, at
the Sarah Lawrence College, he was awarded
a Pulitzer Prize for his Cantata A
Free Song; that was in 1943. Not
content with that, in addition to his
writing activities he managed to find
time to be both the President of the
Juilliard School in New York and Director
of Publications at G. Schirmer.
Both of these symphonies
have war as their major influence. The
Fourth Symphony was premiered
by Rodzinski and the Cleveland Orchestra,
a month or so after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor. Its relatively optimistic
flavour must have provided a positive
approach after such a dark time. The
first movement moves gradually from
a sombre opening to a brilliant brass
climax with the scenery being that of
Copland and Harris although with Schuman’s
distinctive tone colouration in the
orchestra. The second movement is tender
in character, again with complex strands
of texture making for an extremely interesting
journey. The movement is again subdued
but its overall temperature is warm
– a lovely episode. The finale begins
with an animated dialogue between wind
and strings. This develops by increasing
the temperature and complexity with
all sections of the orchestra joining
in to produce a riot of colour in true
Schuman style. The virtuosity of the
orchestra is most impressive, and there
is also a spirit of genuine excitement
in the playing.
The Ninth Symphony
is an altogether darker work, but
none the worse for that. It was inspired
by a visit the composer and his wife
made to the Ardeatine Caves, the site
where the Nazis slaughtered 355 Italian
men, women and children, and then tried
to hide the evidence by bombing the
site. The place has now become a shrine.
Schuman was so moved by it, that this
symphony resulted. It does not set out
to describe the shrine in any way, more
than that, it re-creates the emotions
felt by the composer and his wife during
their visit. The three movements are
played without a break: slow, fast,
slow. The symphony was premiered in
Philadelphia by Eugene Ormandy in 1969,
and the New York premiere was by Bernstein
and the New York Philharmonic the following
year.
The two fillups are
short incidental pieces, and although
marvellous to have, do not change my
response to this disc in any way. This
is an auspicious start to a series which
deserves every success, and at last
allows us to hear the works of this
major American symphonist in first class
sound. I don’t need to add that they
are at a ridiculously cheap price.
Schuman’s symphonies
are not immediately accessible, but
more than pay back any effort that the
listener devotes to them. Existing fans
of the composer, and I consider myself
to be one of them, will be ecstatic.
Recommended with all
possible enthusiasm – thank you Naxos!
John Phillips
Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz 
