tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post5437444904704000075..comments2024-03-01T03:50:30.073-05:00Comments on Unsung Symphonies: Mark it 3, Walter: Piston's First Pulitzer WinnerMugshothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04118832685122190192noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-66761887257781791912018-11-25T20:37:41.260-05:002018-11-25T20:37:41.260-05:00That's true, but with all the music that's...That's true, but with all the music that's out there, 2nd or 3rd tier is still pretty good, if ultimately easily discarded.Gary Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06705069339645168719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-82091034591305860562017-02-18T15:29:46.343-05:002017-02-18T15:29:46.343-05:001st tier would be Beethoven. Piston was no Beetho...1st tier would be Beethoven. Piston was no Beethoven.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17422471003279433432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-85151398758639415002016-05-02T21:01:13.940-04:002016-05-02T21:01:13.940-04:00I do urge you to seek out the Boston Symphony / Mi...I do urge you to seek out the Boston Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas (on DGG) of Piston's 2nd Symphony. It will stop you in your tracks. (Released in the early 1970s and briefly issued on CD)....do seek out this treasure.bowtieguyuk2000https://www.blogger.com/profile/17096426241733195398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-16536148350217101882016-05-02T21:00:49.719-04:002016-05-02T21:00:49.719-04:00I do urge you to seek out the Boston Symphony / Mi...I do urge you to seek out the Boston Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas (on DGG) of Piston's 2nd Symphony. It will stop you in your tracks. (Released in the early 1970s and briefly issued on CD)....do seek out this treasure.bowtieguyuk2000https://www.blogger.com/profile/17096426241733195398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-68831432146565022112015-09-29T21:56:21.482-04:002015-09-29T21:56:21.482-04:00Unfortunately, "tunes" don't make a ...Unfortunately, "tunes" don't make a good symphony. I should add that the ability to "spin a tune" doesn't make a good composer. Diamond, Piston, and Sessions were all first rate composers who deserve more than modern audiences and orchestras give them. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00902791688957875194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-74302140863497372442015-06-03T14:20:51.024-04:002015-06-03T14:20:51.024-04:00I don't agree with you re Piston's slow mo...I don't agree with you re Piston's slow movements. To me they have a real mastery of organic flow and development. For example, the slow movements of Symphonies 1, 2, and 6. Nor do I agree with you that Piston was second tier; he was a master craftsman (his textbooks alone show all he knew about the art of composition) and one of the best American composers. Michael De Sapiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03971364262671562750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-90019155449148231762014-03-27T13:47:21.939-04:002014-03-27T13:47:21.939-04:00More and more I am convinced that most 2d and 3rd ...More and more I am convinced that most 2d and 3rd tier (I'm being polite) composers have the most trouble with slow movements exactly because they just can't spin a tune. Think of every slow movement by Piston, Diamond, Sessions, Carter (in his 1st), and even Harris. It's always a wash of sound with nothing going anywhere or getting anywhere. Very disappointing actually, and it's the main reason I cannot recommend these symphonies to most listeners. Piston manages a few good tunes in the faster movements, like the surprising little folk-tune that pops up in the first movement of his #2. (But ... did he compose it or... steal it?) Unfortunately, in the last analysis, after listening to ALL Piston's symphonies over and over and over (TRYING to follow the thematic material where it just floats around like cold fog) there is just a big, big difference between the big boys and everybody else. Put on any Piston slow movement; after it, put on Rachmaninov's slow movement for his Symphony 2. Is there anything more to say?frankebenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-72791266580371786172010-08-15T15:33:15.770-04:002010-08-15T15:33:15.770-04:00The more I listen to it, the more I'm impresse...The more I listen to it, the more I'm impressed by that lyrical episode from the 2nd movement. You say it's not the norm in this symphony, but I wonder if there are any pieces from Piston that sustain that sort of tranquil mood (for longer than a minute, at least)?Franknoreply@blogger.com