Florence Price; William L. Dawson - Symphonies (Yannick Nézet-Séguin)

Information

Composer: Florence Price; William L. Dawson

• Price - Symphony No. 4 in D minor
• Dawson - Negro Folk Symphony

Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Date: 2023

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/price-symphony-no-4-dawson-negro-folk-symphony-nezet-seguin-13109

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Review

African American composer Florence Price has found her champion in Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, whose affinity for broad, melodic music fits her style well. In this live release, Nézet-Séguin's cycle of Price's four symphonies comes to a close, and like the others, it is a pleasing recording. This symphony contains the most effective of Price's "Juba" movements based on African American folk music, introducing cross rhythms that generate a good deal of tension with the basic dance, and here and elsewhere, Nézet-Séguin and his Philadelphians do the work justice. The orchestra is especially effective in the subtle colors of the slow movement. Perhaps the real news here is the inclusion of William Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, which the Philadelphia Orchestra itself premiered in the 1930s under no less than Leopold Stokowski. The Dawson work is entirely worth rediscovery. Price often wrote her own African American folk material. Dawson, by contrast, quotes liberally from the spiritual tradition, yet his quotations are woven into the ongoing texture rather than standing by themselves. It is hard to think of a comparable piece in the classical tradition, constantly filtering the source material through new lenses. The two live performances on the album were not recorded together (the Price was from a 2021 concert, the Dawson from 2023), but in a way, that is a shame; the two works together would make a powerful concert indeed; audiences for this album are lucky. Both works draw from Dvořák's example, but they diverge in their treatment of his legacy. One of the stronger items in Nézet-Séguin's series, reasonably well recorded at Philadelphia's Verizon Hall, with no applause and seemingly no audience noise.

-- James Manheim, AllMusic

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Florence Price (April 9, 1887 – June 3, 1953) was an American classical composer. She was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, and was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death. Price is noted as the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. She composed over 300 works, including four symphonies, four concertos, as well as choral works, art songs, chamber music and music for solo instruments. Price received praise for the blending of western education and African American culture in her music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Price

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William Levi Dawson (September 26, 1899 – May 2, 1990) was an American composer, choir director, professor, and musicologist. He studied at the Horner Institute of Fine Arts, the Chicago Musical College, and the American Conservatory of Music. Dawson began composing at a young age, and was known for his contributions to both orchestral and choral literature. His best-known works are arrangements of and variations on spirituals. Dawson's only symphony, the Negro Folk Symphony of 1934 garnered a great deal of attention at its world premiere by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Dawson_(composer)

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Yannick Nézet-Séguin (born 6 March 1975) is a Canadian conductor and pianist. He studied piano with Anisia Campos at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec, choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at the Westminster Choir College, and in many master classes with renowned conductors. Nézet-Séguin considers Charles Dutoit as his first inspiration as a child and Carlo Maria Giulini as his master. He is currently music director of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was the principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yannick_Nézet-Séguin

https://yannicknezetseguin.com

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