Symphony No. 4

Album review

Paul Creston was an American composer cut from the same cloth as Gershwin and Copland who, in his day, experienced recognition, success, and renown. Creston was an American modernist of the kind audiences used to love, a composer of tuneful, rhythmically exciting, and harmonically colorful music. Albany's Paul Creston: Symphony No. 4 -Violin Concerto ushers into the catalog three works not even recorded in the era of long players -- the symphonic poem Janus, Op. 77 (1959); Creston's second Violin Concerto, Op. 78 (1960), originally written for Michael Rabin; and the Symphony No. 4, Op. 52 (1951). There is not a note of music on this disc that strays into the obscure or requires any kind of work on the part of the listener, being very solid and well-considered music that follows the familiar forms employed. That it is somewhat bereft of surprises, though not excitement, will come as a relief to many listeners who have experienced enough surprise in twentieth century music to last their whole lives.
The key work here is the Symphony No. 4, Op. 52, one of six written by Creston and in spirit close to the Symphony No. 8 of Beethoven in the classical idea of form and balance, which is revisited and dressed in new clothing. Yet it is devoid of clichés that one would associate with neo-Classical practices, it is simple, lean-textured, airy, and full of sunlight. Janus is a full-throated, dramatic piece that gets one's blood going. The concerto, played very well by violinist Gregory Fulkerson, seems the weakest of the three in that it establishes a presence when heard, but leaves the listener with little that stays behind after it's finished.
This is one of the best albums of orchestral music to come thus far from David Allen Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra -- the performances are tight, crisp, and dedicated. The recordings, made in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, are also very clean and with a bit more presence than usual, although Janus is a bit louder than the others and not as clear. Ray Bono's liner notes are well written and purposeful.

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