Day 123
Sessions Symphony no 1
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Neeme Jarvi
Roger Sessions is another of those American composers whose name I recognised but whose music I have never heard. He has the reputation as a severe serialist but this early work (from 1927) is more neo-classical in style. I enjoyed it immensely. The outer movements are wind dominated and the idiom and sound seemed close to that of Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, written only a few years earlier. I don't know whether Sessions would have had any opportunities to hear the Stravinsky and the score was not published until much later. There are also hints of Copland, not least in the rhythmic complexities. The slow movement is surprisingly lyrical and I thought that it was highly effective - the harmony was largely tonal but with some 'rough edges'. Altogether the piece made a very positive impression and I am keen to hear more of Sessions' work, though I expect that some of the later pieces will be much tougher nuts to crack.
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