SCHUMAN, W.: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 10 (Seattle Symphony, Schwarz)

Chronique

These recordings of William Schuman's Seventh and Tenth symphonies by Gerard Schwarz conducting the Seattle Symphony are neither the works' first recordings nor, perhaps, their best recordings, but they are still absolutely worthy recordings that deserve to be heard by anyone who loves American symphonic music of the twentieth century. The Seventh has been recorded before by Lorin Maazel with the Pittsburgh and Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony, but Schwarz's sympathetic interpretation and the Seattle's dedicated professionalism make as good or better a case for the piece as either of them. The Tenth has been recorded before by Leonard Slatkin with the St. Louis in a performance of tremendous depth and power and if Schwarz and the Seattle don't quite match them for power, the lyrical intensity of their performance easily puts them in the same league. As for sound, while Maazel's Seventh is a little too distant, Abravanel's is way too distant, and Slatkin's is nearly ideal, Schwarz's is not quite as distant as Maazel's, but not as balanced as Slatkin's.
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