Noskowski symphony no 3

[DennisS]

Having been alerted to the music of Noskowski and impressed by all the glowing reports of his works on the forum, I immediately bought the Sterling cd (I have already posted my views on this cd under"Noskowski sym no 1"). I loved his music so much I had to find more. Subsequently I bought the cd of his piano music and also the cd of his symphonic poem "Step" ("Polish symphonic music of the 19th century"). I wanted however to hear more of his symphonic works but sadly, at this moment, only sym no 1 is commercially available (Sterling are planning to release sometime in the future sym 2 + 3!).

Mark however very kindly came to my rescue and made me a copy of sym 3 which he had recorded from radio. Thank you again Mark ( the sound quality is excellent!).

Listening to the symphony for the very first time, and not even bothering to look at the programmatic titles of each of the 4 movements, I was instantly enthralled by the music! I knew though that the symphony bears the title "From Spring to Spring" and it's very easy indeed to associate a season with each of the movements; from the quiet, sensual opening of movement 1 (it lives up to its"con affezione" title, to its final triumphant welcoming of the return of a new Spring, via the delicate, almost pastoral feeling of movement 2, to the joyous autumnal celebratory dance of mov 3 ( this movement has almost a Raffian Allegro feel to it?). There is also a very satisfying feeling of symmetry about this symphony as the opening theme of the first movement also closes the symphony.

I note that there has been some discussion in the forum about progression in Noskowski's symphonies, with perhaps the suggestion that there isn't in fact much progression. I cannot comment on that, as that is not my field of expertise. For me though, the question is largely irrelevant. I prefer to listen to each symphony and judge the work on its own merits. To my mind, the overall tone of each symphony, the feelings that Noskowski is trying to convey, are quite different. In symphony no 1, Noskowski is trying to make strong, bold statements and there is a certain grandure to the music. In the third symphony, the mood is overall, much lighter, more joyous! Is the third better than the first? I don't know but I love both immensely!

What do other members think of symphony no 3?

P.S. Does anyone have a recording of symphony no 2? I would love a copy and would be very grateful!