From Amazon.co.uk
A life-long ambassador for American music, William Schuman (1910-1992) is known above all for his powerful Third Symphony (1941), though his substantial output is now being reassessed. The Violin Concerto (1959) is a good place to start: there's the high-velocity orchestral writing of his earlier music, but also a pensive, brooding quality that speaks of the uncertainty of the Cold War era . The solo part, perhaps mindful of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto which took the US by storm in 1955, is virtuosic with an emotional depth to match, and effortlessly sustains itself over the two large-scale movements of Schuman's unorthodox yet effective design. Violinist Philip Quint is fully equal to the task, and José Serebrier, a seasoned champion of American music, steers the performance convincingly.
New England Triptych makes inventive and exciting play with three 17th-century hymn-tunes by William Billings, while the 1963 orchestration of Charles Ives' youthful Variations on "America" (more recognisable to UK listeners as the National Anthem!) is pure fun. With spacious sound that lacks nothing in impact, this is an excellent introduction to a composer of real personality. --
Richard Whitehouse
