Part 1, Passacaglia and Fugue - Leonard Bernstein,
Part 2, Chorale and Toccata - Leonard Bernstein,
1. Molto agitato ed energico
2. Larghissimo
3. Presto - Leonard Bernstein,
1. Lento sostenuto
2. Largo
3. Presto
Schuman's music belongs to the era that spawned Roy Harris (his teacher), Howard Hanson, and Aaron Copland. Schuman's Symphony No. 3 is a clear homage to Harris, broken rhythms and all. The Symphony for Strings (1943) come... more »s at a time when Schuman's voice is finally his own. What could come off as exceedingly dry is here given a performance of great depth by Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Schuman's Symphony No. 8 (1962) is truly modern, making extensive use of atonality and creating a series of stormy images--something that never appears in the music of Hanson, Copland, or Harris. A major re-release by Sony. --Paul Cook« less
Schuman's music belongs to the era that spawned Roy Harris (his teacher), Howard Hanson, and Aaron Copland. Schuman's Symphony No. 3 is a clear homage to Harris, broken rhythms and all. The Symphony for Strings (1943) comes at a time when Schuman's voice is finally his own. What could come off as exceedingly dry is here given a performance of great depth by Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Schuman's Symphony No. 8 (1962) is truly modern, making extensive use of atonality and creating a series of stormy images--something that never appears in the music of Hanson, Copland, or Harris. A major re-release by Sony. --Paul Cook
Five Star Performances of Three American Masterworks
Avrohom Leichtling | Monsey, NY | 04/14/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The three Schuman symphonies recorded here are notable for two facts. One, they are given spectacular performances by Bernstein and the Philharmonic (and I know because Schuman told me that these were first rate, and authentic). Second is that they represent the composer at the opposite ends of his career in his best form at these ends. The 3rd and 5th symphonies, written in the early 1940s, are robust, thoroughly American works but in their own, uniquely 'Schumanesque' manner. Don't look for Copland's cowboys, Hanson's Maypoles or Piston's motor music here. These are extrovert, brassy, muscular works. The 8th symphony, while also brassy, and muscular, is of a totally different stuff- dark, hard edged, extremely tense and gruff. The hidden joke is the last movement, an enormous reworking of the last movement of his 4th string quartet! The transformation from agressive chamber music into staggering orchestral music is overwhelming. This was one of the great masterworks to come out of the long series of works commissioned for the opening of Lincoln Center in 1962. It is absolutely required listening for any musically literate person."
The ideal introduction to one of the American greats
Paul Pellay | Canterbury, Kent United Kingdom | 05/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"William Schuman is unquestionably one of the most important symphonists to have come out of America, and if you are looking for a single disc introduction to his music, look no further. The recordings are some 30-40 years old, but they sound remarkably well on this excellent transfer, and Bernstein knew just how these works should go better than virtually any other conductor. The 3rd Symphony is the best-known of the Schuman symphonies and makes a stunning impact here. The Symphony for Strings likewise receives the definitive recording here (despite some strong competition from Gerard Schwarz on Delos), and the 1970 sound is still very good. But it's the recording of the 8th Symphony which is the finest-sounding on this CD. Bernstein premiered it as part of the opening season of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1962, and this recording followed soon after. The work is in Schuman's later, more astringent and dissonant manner, but it is also a fascinating example of Schuman's propensity for putting old wine in new bottles: the last two if its three movements are reworkings (actually, "recompositions" would be the more accurate word here) of the last two movements of his 4th String Quartet of 1950, and it says much for Schuman's orchestral mastery that at no point is one aware of the music's chamber origins. Quite aside from that, however tough some listeners may find this work next to the 3rd Symphony, there's no mistaking the searing eloquence of the central, threnodic slow movement. And as for the finale, fasten your seatbelts, for the New Yorkers treat us to one of their most extraordinary displays of jaw-dropping virtuosity. A very, very important CD indeed, no question about it!"
They heard America singing
Robert J. Cruce | Muskogee, OK United States | 09/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Schuman third came from an era in American music when it was still possible to write works that caught the American spirit in all its brooding, magnificence. This is a work that sings in heroic terms. Bernstein gave a glowing, but steely performance that is not likely to bettered. Not music for light listening, this. But enriching in a way that is so profound and moving. To love this symphony is to expand one's musical horizons in the most satisying way. No praise could be too high for music making of this calibre. We were most fortunate to have had Leonard Bernstein as long as we did. This disc will help you understand why."
A great American composer
N. Daniele Pietro | Milano, MI Italy | 03/06/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"William Schuman was one of the most interesting composers that came out from the creative outburst in arts of the 30's in the US. Maybe he's not for everybody, because the overall feeling of muscularity and brassiness of his music can be not to the taste of the average Romantic (or neo-Romantic listener)but I believe that nobody expressed in music better than him the aggressive, bustling and sometimes jungle-like life of the metropolitan America, and I feel his music sounds even more powerful today. He was a really original voice , too, something which is well displayed on this cd. The 3rd (his masterpiece) shows off Schuman's ability to rework ancient musical forms (Toccatas, Fugues, Chorales) into something really personal and modern. This work also shows Schuman's incredibly imaginative and original writing technique for strings and brass. The strings are especially on display in the 5th, a compact, dense work, that grows on you time after time. Schuman was also, for decades, a powerful figure in the American cultural establishment, and I actually feel a sort of "institutional" feeling , a slip of creativity, in his later works, which sometimes fall into self-imitation. (compare the 3rd with Slatkin's recording of the 10th and you'll hear the difference). Anyway the 8th is still a very interesting work, imbued with a sort of steely , cold rage. Among late works, I like better the 7th (the only recording available, by Maazel is also a very good one) and I'm really sorry that there's not a modern recording of the 6th, which according to M.Steinberg's splendid book "The Symphony"is even better. Of course the performances are ideal : Bernstein knew perfectly what this music is all about and the NYPO were at the height of their powers. For that concerns the 3rd, though, I believe that the balance of concentration and virtuosity of his later digital account for Dg remain unsurpassable. Overall, a very rewarding disc for the open-minded listener and I don't think the sound is that bad: the CBS/Columbia sound of the 60's was notoriously coarse, but here Sony'SBM really worked marvelously."
American music does not get much better
Carol A Hoffman | Overland Park, KS | 10/13/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"William Schuman (1910-1992), along with Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, defined music in America in the 20th century. When Copland presented Schuman with the MacDowell Colony Medal in 1971, he said, "In Schuman's pieces you have the feeling that only an American could have written them...You hear it in his orchestration, which is full of snap and brilliance. You hear it in the kind of optimism which is at the basis of his works." Schuman's distinct, American style set him apart from his colleagues with his unique and wonderful blend of soaring melodies, excruciating rhythmic demands, intense drama, humor and grace. This disc is a fitting tribute to how Mr. Schuman's style progressed and is a showcase of why he is so essential to American music. Who can be better to lead three of Schuman's great masterworks than Leonard Bernstein, whom Schuman met in 1938 and remained dear friends until Lenny's death in 1990. Schuman's "Symphony No. 3" (1941) is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonies ever written by an American. It is a garguantuan, two-movement wonder of a work. It is a symphony packed with brilliant uses of fugue, masterful thematic development and rhythmic verve. The opening of the last movement "Chorale and Toccata," yearning and pleading and mournful, is swept away with a conclusion that is one of the most exciting in the entire repertory. The "Symphony for Strings" (1943) is one of Schuman's most performed works and is one of the most challenging for string orchestra. The outer fast movements, with all of its Schumanesque drive and fervor, are contrasted by one of his best slow movements. The final work on the disc, the "Symphony No. 8" (1962), is probably avoided by some who do not appreciate emotionally dissonant music. But there is no denying the fact that this music is indeed leading the listener to a daring sonic adventure, that the sense of purpose in the melodies and rhythms exist here more than ever. All elements of Schuman's music mold together with his Eighth Symphony in a most startling, mind-blowing fashion. The Presto finale is beyond description and is a testament to Schuman's gift of rhythmic dynamism. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic give the performances of a lifetime here, wonderfully capturing what makes William Schuman's music special. You MUST begin your Schuman collection with this disc."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
