American Music

[eschiss1]

well, it does ensure a greater universality, for as they say, life's Raff.

[Dundonnell]

The American Symphonies I would still really like to hear are:

Paul Creston:                        Symphony No.6 for Organ and Orchestra "Organ Symphony"(1981)

David Diamond:                     Symphony No.7(1957)
                                               Symphony No.9(1985)
                                               Symphony No.10 for Organ and Orchestra
                                               Symphony No.11(1991)

Morton Gould:                        Symphony No.1(1943)

Roy Harris:                            Symphony No.10 "Abraham Lincoln" for speaker, chorus, brass, 2 pianos and percussion(1967)
                                              Symphony No.12 "Pere Marquette" for tenor, speaker and orchestra(1969)
                                              Symphony No.13 "Bicentennial Symphony 1776"for chorus, orchestra, voices and speakers(1974)

George Rochberg:                 Symphony No.3 for chorus, double chorus, soloists and orchestra(1969)
                                               Symphony No.4(1976)
                                               Symphony No.6(1987)

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich:              Symphony No.5(Concerto for Orchestra (2008)

Marin Alsop is supposed to be doing a Harris cycle for Naxos but it is proceeding very slowly

I don't suppose anybody has any of these?

[dafrieze]

Dundonnell, I've got the three Rochberg symphonies you mentioned.  They're all radio broadcasts, and the first two were harvested from another site.  I'll upload them.

[Dundonnell]

Dundonnell, I've got the three Rochberg symphonies you mentioned.  They're all radio broadcasts, and the first two were harvested from another site.  I'll upload them.

That would be marvellous

[shamokin88]

Shamokin88 concerning some American symphonies. I can supply Creston 6; Diamond 7, 9 & 10; Gould 1;
Harris 10, 12 & 13; Rochberg 3, 4 & 6. Harris 13 is actually numbered 14 - he was superstitious and left a gap. American office buildings often have no floor numbered 13. These three Harris symphonies should cause despair amongst those who admire his earlier work - I'm one of those - but they are - well - dreadful might do for starters.

[Dundonnell]

Shamokin88 concerning some American symphonies. I can supply Creston 6; Diamond 7, 9 & 10; Gould 1;
Harris 10, 12 & 13; Rochberg 3, 4 & 6. Harris 13 is actually numbered 14 - he was superstitious and left a gap. American office buildings often have no floor numbered 13. These three Harris symphonies should cause despair amongst those who admire his earlier work - I'm one of those - but they are - well - dreadful might do for starters.

You can supply all of these???

Do I read that correctly? I just may be about to pass out

Regarding Roy Harris: I realise that the quality of his music seems to have suffered an inexorable decline. Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 are not at all bad, in my opinion, certainly worth recording(as they have been). No. 11, as recorded by Albany, got reasonable reviews but I admit that I found it pretty uninteresting.

I know that he numbered the Bicentennial Symphony as No.14. Apparently his widow has however given her permission for it to be renumbered as the Thirteenth

I am still however gasping at the possibilities on offer...................................

[eschiss1]

I'd still like to hear them. (But then I prefer Harris 7 to 3 (at least in Ormandy's performance of 7)- but also then I know that those are before the period in question.)

[shamokin88]

Shamokin88 notes: I have just uploaded Creston 6. Yes, I can provide all of what I noted a little while ago.
I'm not in accord with you about Harris 11. I have a recording of the February 1968 premiere and it has struck me as perhaps his last good piece. Harris had a little trouble conducting his piece and I could hear him calling out numbers to the NY Philharmonic members. The concert ended with William Steinberg conducting Bruckner 7, of all things. Attended the premiere of 9 here in Philadelphia as well, seems a geologic age ago.

[eschiss1]

I have a commercial recording of William Steinberg conducting Bruckner 7 (coupled with the first recording of Bruckner 8 - or maybe just about any Bruckner except maybe the 6th symphony - I ever heard more than once, Knappertsbusch's cut one, which I borrowed in tape form from the library back in college and then bought years later coupled with the 7 on an MCA 2-CD set...) - not sure what you mean though (But I think the orchestra in the recording, as against the concert you mention, is Pittsburgh, not NYPO. Originally issued on a Command/ABC LP.)
Looking forward to hearing Creston 6 - I don't doubt what Walter Simmons has written about his music being somewhat uneven (but he also writes interestingly about the what of it, not just his perception and opinion of its quality, e.g. in a review of a CD recording of the 4th symphony) but some of what I've heard of Creston's music (especially I think the orchestral work "Corinthians", and at least one of the other symphonies, but other works too) has been very memorable and striking; I'm surprised I haven't looked to hear more yet.

[Dundonnell]

Dundonnell, I've got the three Rochberg symphonies you mentioned.  They're all radio broadcasts, and the first two were harvested from another site.  I'll upload them.

Many, Many Thanks for the Rochberg uploads

[Dundonnell]

Oh.....

There appears to be a problem with the file of the Rochberg Symphony No.3

I have attempted twice to download the file but it has cut out both times not long after the start-4 or 5 MB into what is a 44MB file.

[Dundonnell]

Shamokin88 notes: I have just uploaded Creston 6. Yes, I can provide all of what I noted a little while ago.
I'm not in accord with you about Harris 11. I have a recording of the February 1968 premiere and it has struck me as perhaps his last good piece. Harris had a little trouble conducting his piece and I could hear him calling out numbers to the NY Philharmonic members. The concert ended with William Steinberg conducting Bruckner 7, of all things. Attended the premiere of 9 here in Philadelphia as well, seems a geologic age ago.

Many Thanks for the Creston upload

I know that you don't have a recording of Diamond's 11th Symphony but do you have any idea why the Adagio from that symphony has been recorded but not the rest of the piece? That seemed a very strange thing to do

[eschiss1]

How many complete movements does Diamond's 11th symphony have?

As to DeLamarter, the Fleischer collection catalog lists (under De Lamarter) a 3rd symphony in E minor in manuscript from 1930- I wonder if there's a recording of that out there!...

[Dundonnell]

All I can tell you is that Damond's publisher Peermusic indicate that the complete work is 46 minutes in duration. The Adagio is 14 minutes long....so, I am presuming, it has four movements.

Peermusic also publishes the Adagio separately.

[eschiss1]

BTW from the Fleischer collection catalog here are the movements of Diamond's symphony 6 -
1. Introduzione. Adagio ; Allegro fortemente mosso -- 2. Adagio -- 3. Deciso. Poco allegro ; Fuga.