Piston - Symphony No 4 [CD]

I'm so glad Naxos has stepped up to the plate and refused to allow these invaluable Delos recordings simply to vanish. I could go on and on about what a great label Naxos is (commissioning new string quartets by Peter Maxwell Davies, producing a flood of fine recordings of hard-to-find repertoire at budget prices, etc. etc.)--but let's talk about Piston.

The Fourth was the first work I ever heard by him, a radio broadcast by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, I believe--which is fitting since that orchestra gave the symphony's premiere. That broadcast made me a Piston fan for life. The long, flowing melody at the outset and the wonderful "Amur'cn" feel of the piece, evocative at times of jazz and barnyard fiddling and not too far removed from the Copland of, say, Rodeo, were what immediately appealed to me. Not long after I first heard the Fourth, I acquired this recording in its old Delos incarnation and have never parted with it. As I've gotten to know the work--and others by this fine composer--better, I've come to appreciate how skillful Piston's handling of form is (see Scott Morrison's excellent comments on this work's form) and also how in some respects (e.g., his tight, busy, often dissonant counterpoint) he's as close to someone like Hindemith as he is to Copland in populist mode.

The Fourth dates from 1950, making Piston something of a late bloomer as a symphonist--he was 56 at the time, and much younger contemporaries such as Schuman, Diamond, and Mennin had raced ahead of him in the numbers game. But in my opinion no American has produced symphonies of more consistently high quality. If you like the Fourth, be sure to check out the Second and Sixth, available on a companion disc, which Naxos has also reissued. All eight Piston symphonies are currently available, but for my money the three that Schwarz recorded are the most accessible and the most rewarding.

The other three works on this disc are of slightly later vintage. The Capriccio for Harp and String Orchestra (1964) and the Serenata (1956) could both be classed as "minor" works--but they are also high in quality and craftsmanship and serve here as well-chosen fillers. The extremely lucid Capriccio gives us a glimpse of Piston's Gallic side, which must have come pretty naturally, for like Copland, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, etc., he was a Boulanger pupil and was also, reportedly, an admirer of Faure, Roussel, and Ravel.

The final work presented here, the Three New England Sketches from 1959, is, along with The Incredible Flutist, Piston's most important descriptive work. In that respect it's quite atypical, as like Brahms Piston usually preferred abstract instrumental forms. But when he put his mind to it, what a wonderful impressionist he made! The opening "Seaside" movement is as evocative of the Maine coast as a painting by Winslow Homer; "Summer Evening" resourcefully conjures up a chorus of insects with the woodwinds; and "Mountains" is perhaps the most exciting and sublime moment in Piston's oeuvre--not to mention a glorious way to conclude this program. Despite this work's relative obscurity, I have to confess to a decided preference for these sketches over the earlier "New England" trilogies by Ives and Schuman.

Thanks Gerard Schwarz (the heir of Koussevitzy and Bernstein!), for sharing this music with us, and thanks Naxos, for keeping it in the catalog.

Walter Piston (1894-1976) was a quintessential Down Easter (albeit of Italian descent) and one often thinks of his music reflecting the 'rockbound coast of Maine.' On this disc, though, there is less granite than usual, and more scrumptious almost Romantic harmonies. His Fourth Symphony is, for me, the most accessible of the eight he wrote. It is one of the few in the traditional four movements, each of which has a descriptive title. 'Piacevole' ('Pleasant') is just that; it has a kind of genial bustle to it; it makes me think of 'market-day in the village.' 'Ballando' ('Dancing') certainly does dance, although the meter changes might trip you up if you actually tried to dance to it. It is mostly in a tuneful 3/4, but those measures of 5/8 will throw you! 'Contemplativo,' an adagio, is the most astringent of the four and one has the impression that the thoughts being contemplated are not necessarily pleasant or dancing ones. It rises to a quietly intense brass climax before easing back into gentle meditation. 'Energico' is a sonata-rondo in asymmetric rhythms, typical of Piston at his most neo-classic. The first theme is 'energico,' but is followed by a lyrical second theme. The two are worked out via some fugal passages in a loose sonata-form development before leading back to a quick recapitulation. The overall feeling is one of good-natured scampering.

The first thing one notices about the 10-minute 'Capriccio for Harp and String Orchestra' is the transparent orchestration which allows us to hear the harp clearly. Written for the harp virtuoso, Nicanor Zabaleta, this piece, rather a late one (1964), is a French-influenced divertissement - nothing heavy or portentous here. There is a good deal of frisky counterpoint as well as some quieter, contemplative sections. The ending resumes the banter between harp and orchestra, culminating in exuberant harp glissandi.

'Three New England Sketches,' not to be confused with Ives's 'Three Places in New England' or William Schuman's 'New England Triptych,' contains movements descriptive of three typical scenes in New England. It is very unusual for Schuman to write programmatic music, but here he limns impressions of the 'Seaside' (an inward adagio with slowly lapping waves), a 'Summer Evening' (marked 'delicato'; one pictures fluttering lightning bugs and moths) and 'Mountains' (maestoso, risoluto). Taken together the three sections make a symphony of sorts, particularly since there are thematic and harmonic correspondences between them. 'Mountains' in particular reflects more of the Piston we know from other works; here, finally, there are granite and muscularity; one could strike sparks off the flinty fugal section of 'Mountains.'

This is a superb release in transparent, lifelike sound, a re-issue of recordings made by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony originally issued on Delos. I think I'd read somewhere that the Second and Sixth Symphonies are due soon; I'll be looking for them.

Review by Scott Morrison

Much to my surprise I've found myself very much enjoying some symphonies of Walter Piston which I've recently heard and reviewed, namely # 1 (see my review of Kurka/Mennin/Piston: Orchestral Works), 5, 7 and 8 (see Walter Piston: Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 7; Symphony No. 8). "To my surprise", as I had expected - based on what previous experience I am not sure, but possibly hearing the composers 2nd and 6th symphony recorded by Gerard Schwarz on Delos, Piston: Symphony Nos. 2 & 6; Sinfonietta) - his music to sound in the trite "Americana" style so typical of other American composers of his generation, from the pastoral prairie-style to the boisterous Hoe-Down. But I discovered that the above-mentioned symphonies, even if they do have moments that fit that description, are much more than that, displaying great emotional involvment that never lapses into heart-on-sleeve sentimentality, and superb sonic invention. So I decided to complete my overview of Piston's Symphony, and the 4th was missing to my collection.

Well, I am not as enthusiastic, as I find that the 4th fits my negative expectations much closer. The first movement starts genial and gentle and grows to neo-classically rhythmic robustness, but there is little of the dissonant angularity and original sonic invention and unexpected twists of the other symphonies. In its brash affirmativeness it sounds at times almost like cowboy music. The second movement is a merry and boisterous quasi hoe-down turning at one point to music for a carousel. Maybe Piston was jealous of Copland's Appalachian success. The slow movmeent is restrained and brooding, with passages of the typical pastoral-pensive oboe against soft strings (maybe it is cor anglais), followed by suffering-lyrical melodies on the violins, and rising around 5 minutes to great dramatic and ominous intensity - all this is fine but I have the feeling that I've heard it before, and the same is true with the finale, which returns to the vigorous, dynamic and rhythmic mood, with passages of "sweeping lyricism": I use the quotation marks to express that, as superficially enjoyable as it may be, it also seems quite formulaic to me. There is nothing offensive in the Symphony, it is a pleasurable listening experience, but it contains nothing either that I find very original and attention-catching.

But obviously, these very characteristics that make it for me a less interesting and original composition are what make it endearing to other listeners. So depending on your taste for more Romantic and genial strains coupled with optimistic brash American vigor, you probably will or will not enjoy this particular work.

I like the 1964 Capriccio for Harp and String Orchestra much more, if only (but not only) for the arresting sonorities of the instrumental interplay. It is a fine piece, worthy of standing by Debussy's Sonata, Roussel's Serenade and Caplet's "Mask of the Red Death", and stylisticall their heir.

I find the "Three New England Sketches" also a very surprising piece for its author: I didn't expect to hear Piston as an impressionist composer, heir to Griffes and the British 20-th Century impressionists (Delius, Bax...) rather than to Nadia Boulanger's neo-classicism. The set was composed in 1959 and of it Piston said that it "is not a symphony, although the evolution of its musical thought is rather symphonic in character", and that each movement is "the controlled expansion and development of two or three short musical motives". He insisted that the composition wasn't descriptive, and that the movement's programmatic titles served "in a broad sense to tell the source of the impressions, reminiscences, even dreams that pervaded the otherwise musical thoughts of one New England composer". In fact, if it were possible, it would be nice to listen to the music without reading the titles first and then try to come up with appropriate titles. The first movement, "Seaside", develops in an arch-like shape from calm to tempestuous and back. "Summer evening" is an agitated and hushed Scherzo - this evening is filled with elves and wisps. The third movement starts and ends like Brahms' First Symphony - powerfully ominous chorale underpinned by timpani strokes: craggy and forbidding "Mountains". It goes through a variety of atmospheres, with a wistful and oriental-sounding oboe then clarinet over harp ostinato, a sardonic and vigorous scherzo episode (more typical of its composer), a pensive lyrical passage with strings and flute, and back to robust vigor. I'm not sure the New England Sketches are very characteristic of their composer, but that very reason makes its value. And hey, record companies,there'd be a great CD to produce, with this piece, Ives' New England Symphony, Schuman's New England Triptych and Quincy Porter's New England Episodes.

These recordings are the reissue of a 1991 Delos recording, diminished of the Serenata (probably because that one wasn't performed by the Seattle Symphony: Piston: Symphony 4 / Three New England Sketches. As a result, Naxos TT is a shortish 51:35. I find the Delos-originated recording somewhat distant and sleek. To me, the Louisville recording remains a better introduction to Piston - or I should rather say, an introduction to a (in my opinion) "better" Piston. But this is certainly an easier Piston.