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Tuesday, December 24, 2019

William Grant Still - Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Poem (John Jeter)


Information

Composer: William Grant Still
  • (01) Symphony No. 5 'Western Hemisphere'
  • (05) Poem for Orchestra
  • (06) Symphony No. 4 'Autochthonous'

Fort Smith Symphony
John Jeter, conductor

Date: 2009
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559603

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 8

William Grant Still’s Fourth and Fifth symphonies are saddled with bombastic and ridiculous titles that have little or nothing to do with the musical reality of what you will actually hear on listening to them, so I choose to ignore them. In truth, Still wasn’t a particularly adept symphonist in the traditional sense–in qualities such as rigorous development and economical exploitation of thematic material. He was a melodist, and a very good one. The slow movements (and scherzos) of both symphonies are extremely beautiful, graceful, elegant, and sincere. In quicker music he tends to become repetitious; but as if understanding his real strengths, he fills both works with lovely, lyrical tunes at slow to moderate tempos. This makes the quicker music an effective contrast, but as I said, it’s not terribly symphonic. No matter; this is very enjoyable stuff, sort of a cross between George Gershwin and Howard Hanson (well, probably better than the latter for the most part).

The Poem for Orchestra may be the best piece on the disc, and not because it’s less ambitious. In fact, at 10 minutes it lasts longer than any single movement in either symphony, but its contrasting episodes are very effectively structured into a cohesive whole. The Fort Smith (Arkansas) Symphony, not quite a full-time group when last I checked, plays this not-terribly-difficult music warmly and accurately. Of course, I could imagine a bit more snap to the rhythm, a touch more heft at the climaxes, but conductor John Jeter ensures that nothing gets in the way of the listener’s enjoyment, and these works are so attractive and audience-friendly that there’s no reason to quibble. Definitely worth a listen if you collect 20th-century American music.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Nov09/Still_8559603.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Jan10/Still_8559603.htm
https://www.allmusic.com/album/william-grant-still-symphonies-nos-4-5-poem-for-orchestra-mw0001947067
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.559603&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Symphonies-4-5-W-G-STILL/dp/B002N5KECO

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William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of more than 150 works, including 5 symphonies and 8 operas. Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and was a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and later Edgard Varèse. Still is known most for his 1st symphony, the "Afro-American", which was until the 1950s the most widely performed symphony composed by an American. He was also the first African American to have an opera performed by a major opera company and on television.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Grant_Still

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American conductor John Jeter received his formal education at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music and Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts. Jeter has been the music director and conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony since 1997 and is the recipient of the Mayor’s Achievement Award for his services to the City of Fort Smith. Jeter has also guest conducted numerous orchestras in Indiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois. He has co-hosted numerous radio programs and is involved in many radio and television projects concerning classical music.

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