Day 121
William Schuman Symphony no 3
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein
William Schuman was just a name to me - as far as I know I have never heard any of his music. This symphony, written in 1941, seems to be regarded as one of his finest symphonies (he wrote 10, though two of them were withdrawn) and I have to say that I found it to be a very impressive work. It is in two movements, each of which are in two parts, so in reality it is a four movement symphony. Thought there are certainly American influences here it seemed more rooted in European tradition that the other mid 30th century symphonies I have been listening to over the last few days. Some of it recalls Hindemith and there were hints of Sibelius but also of Walton - certainly some of the ferocious string writing has a kinship with Walton's first symphony.
The first movement, in particular, was gripping and leads to a tremendous climax with some superb brass writing. Perhaps the second movement is not quite on that level - the toccata second part did seem to drift a little and I couldn't quite see what he was doing at some points. But overall this was a really good piece and one which I would be keen to hear again. Indeed I would like to explore the other symphonies in the cycle - if there are anything like as good as this one then they will be rewarding listening.
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