Rorem: Three Symphonies

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Music reviews of Rorem: Three Symphonies

Music Review: The essences of Rorems music blossoming before our eyes.
Rating: 5 Stars

Ned Rorem, far more of a prolific composer than the recordings would suggest, is more recognized as a great composer of songs. But his symphonies are impressive in their own right, not just in terms of the orchestration, which is as vivid as, say, Benjamin Frankel's, but his ideas and manipulation of them shows him as a composer of ingenuity. I really like the Passacaglia opening movement of the Third Symphony (1958). The gesture is bold and majestic, pretty much in the neighborhood of Copland and for a moment Leonard Bernstein's film music for "On the Waterfront" (especially for the final scene where after Terry Malloy conquered corruption, he enters triumphally into the loading docks followed by his fellow workers). But listen to the Allegro molto vivace movement and you're witness something of pure enjoyment. It's almost like riding cheerfully throughout the countryside and nothing but American pride deep in one's subconsciousness. The Largo movement is too short for my taste, but it has introspection along with dignity and that sense of determination. But the mood seems a bit more uplifting in the Andante; not melancholic per se, but reflective of things of inner beauty and tranquillity. It is a beautiful, graceful movement, sort of pastoral in veins similar to Vaughan-Williams and, again, Copland. The finale is as spirited as second movement, with the orchestration compellingly virtuosic and vivid. But at 3:23, the writing becomes majestic & a bit inward looking, at least for a brief moment, until the playfulness returns.

Rorem's First Symphony (1950) begins with a fanfare of the brass then woodwinds. The Maestoso movement is wonderfully dignified, but with an added gracefulness and nobility announced especially by the harp. But the middle slow movements (Andantino and Largo) are praiseworthy here. They're poised and pensive, cool in its temperaments, but neither troubled or shallow for that matter. The mood is not absent-minded, but forward looking. The finale is quite forward looking also, captivatingly so, with its rhythmic bite reminding me of Paul Creston (whose symphonies are equally enjoyable). The complex first movement of the Second Symphony (1956) is particularly striking. The mood is more inward-looking than it is an extroversion, even in faster, more vivid passages. Hanson comes to mind at various points in the long lyrical yet lovely lines. The gracefulness of the second movement is inescapable, with the writing more simpler and straightforward. The finale is a bit disappointing though, for Rorem could've develop those vivacious ideas even more. But, overall, this symphony, as with two others, deserves a more wider recognition.

And Jose Serebrier remains sort of this landmark type conductor who brings underrated music into a more wider recognition. As with his greatly acclaimed performance of Charles Ives Fourth Symphony (now under the RCA/BMG label) and more recently Janacek's orchestral works (Reference Recordings label), Serebrier has this penchant of details and colorful shapings. There's nothing at all bland in his treatment of the Third Symphony's Passacaglia movement. It's is wonderfully shaped and majestic, very much of how Bernstein would have approach the score. Even Serebrier's ways with the faster movements shows real imagination and verve, and like Schwarz, shows the underlying warmth and the gay-like innocence within. But, for me, Serebrier's treatment of the slow movements is the more special. In the middle movements of the First, the projection of that inner beauty and pensiveness becomes breathtaking and arresting. And I admire how he brings out the "longingness" of the complex first movement of the Second and then comes back and brings out the picturesque outward looking yet dreamy qualities of the next movement. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra comes up huge as well, with its percussion section especially superb & compelling (and adds greater point to the overall articulation). The strings are illuminating and of real bloom while the winds are well blended. It is a towering achievement of all involved & hope for Serebrier to turn to Rorem's other orchestral works like his Double Concerto for Violin and Cello. Serebrier's program note is admirable and a testament of a true advocate while recording quality is splendid.

Recognition of Rorem's music is coming into a more fuller bloom.......finally.

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