Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8

Much like Britain, the USA came to the symphony rather later than Europe but in a relatively short space of time managed to build a rich heritage of symphonic writing. The last century, despite the rise of serial music and other aesthetic experiments, saw a remarkable flowering of symphonies, with distinguished and diverse cycles from composers such as Howard Hanson, Walter Piston and Roy Harris, amongst others. Foremost among the symphonists working in this milieu was William Schuman, who became something of an "elder statesman" in American music by the time of his death. We have good reason to be thankful to Naxos for their `American Classics' series, which has produced some outstanding performances and recordings and which has returned to currency this rich and varied body of work.

Schuman's third symphony, a work that put his name on the map, is - I think - not just one of the greatest American symphonies but also one of the greatest twentieth century symphonies. As much as it is "of its time", it also engages with musical tradition and its four-movements-in-two structure utilises Baroque forms in a new and stimulating way: the first movement is a passacaglia and fugue, while the second movement is a chorale and toccata. There is virtuoso orchestral writing here and as well as being intellectually and emotionally satisfying, this music has a tremendous visceral impact: at the end of the fugue, for example, alongside the tremendous sense of forward energy derived from Schuman's distinctive sense of rhythm, all the brass instruments are directed to play their triple forte music with their bells in the air; in all senses, this is a thrilling moment and must be incredible to experience in the concert hall. Schuman's scoring is beautifully judged and his compositional trademarks - such as the important solo parts for timpani - are prominent throughout.

The two other symphonies here are no less interesting. The fifth followed the massive third symphony within a few years; commissioned by Koussevitzky, it is scored for strings alone and a more compact piece but there is no diminution in energy or intensity. The central slow movement deserves mention for its luminous and moving beauty. The eighth symphony, subtitled `Le Fosse Ardeatine' and relating to the Nazi massacre of Italians in World War Two, is a harder edged work than either of the two other symphonies recorded here: aside from the `presto' finale, the music is predominantly slow, the first two movements being marked `lento sostenuto' and `largo'. There is perhaps more of an astringency to this music harmonically than in his earlier works and more of an engagement with post-war music developments, but while the symphony is less ostentatious in its emotional impact, it is no less accessible and forms a deeply felt response to the tragedy that inspired it.

I have mentioned the sterling work done by Naxos in the service of American music and there is a fine rendition of the third symphony in excellent sound available on that label: Schuman - Symphonies Nos 3 and 5. What makes this disc so special, despite the sound quality being rather brash at times*, is the remarkable intensity of the performances by the New York Philharmonic under Bernstein. I am no apologist for Bernstein the conductor (as opposed to the composer) and have to confess to finding some of his recordings of the key Romantic repertoire unlistenable, but here he is simply magnificent. I have read (though I cannot corroborate it) that the performances on this disc were given the composer's personal imprimatur. Certainly, I think, any composer would be delighted to have his music performed with such passion and discipline - and with not a whiff of the self-indulgence that sometimes characterised Bernstein's conducting. The performance of the third is, quite rightly in my opinion, considered by many to be not just a legendary one but also the definitive one.

This is a remarkable disc on all counts. For anyone interested in the symphony as a genre or in American music generally, in the composer or in the conductor, this is an essential purchase and, despite the fine qualities of the Naxos rival, that recording can really only be considered a modern-sound supplement to this classic account.

Very strongly recommended.

-------

* the recording dates of the three symphonies, in numerical order, are 1960, 1966 and 1962.