William Grant Still - Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Poem (John Jeter)

Information

Composer: William Grant Still

• Symphony No. 5 'Western Hemisphere'
• Poem for Orchestra
• Symphony No. 4 'Autochthonous'

Fort Smith Symphony

John Jeter, conductor

Date: 2009

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559603

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 8

William Grant Still’s Fourth and Fifth symphonies are saddled with bombastic and ridiculous titles that have little or nothing to do with the musical reality of what you will actually hear on listening to them, so I choose to ignore them. In truth, Still wasn’t a particularly adept symphonist in the traditional sense–in qualities such as rigorous development and economical exploitation of thematic material. He was a melodist, and a very good one. The slow movements (and scherzos) of both symphonies are extremely beautiful, graceful, elegant, and sincere. In quicker music he tends to become repetitious; but as if understanding his real strengths, he fills both works with lovely, lyrical tunes at slow to moderate tempos. This makes the quicker music an effective contrast, but as I said, it’s not terribly symphonic. No matter; this is very enjoyable stuff, sort of a cross between George Gershwin and Howard Hanson (well, probably better than the latter for the most part).

The Poem for Orchestra may be the best piece on the disc, and not because it’s less ambitious. In fact, at 10 minutes it lasts longer than any single movement in either symphony, but its contrasting episodes are very effectively structured into a cohesive whole. The Fort Smith (Arkansas) Symphony, not quite a full-time group when last I checked, plays this not-terribly-difficult music warmly and accurately. Of course, I could imagine a bit more snap to the rhythm, a touch more heft at the climaxes, but conductor John Jeter ensures that nothing gets in the way of the listener’s enjoyment, and these works are so attractive and audience-friendly that there’s no reason to quibble. Definitely worth a listen if you collect 20th-century American music.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/nov09/Still_8559603.htm

https://www.naxos.com/Review/Detail/?catalogueid=8.559603&languageid=EN

https://www.amazon.com/Symphonies-4-5-W-G-STILL/dp/B002N5KECO

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William Grant Still (May 11, 1895– December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, art songs, chamber music, and solo works. He was a student of George Chadwick and Edgard Varèse. Often referred to as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers," Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera. He is known primarily for his first symphony, Afro-American Symphony (1930), which was, until 1950, the most widely performed symphony composed by an American.

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

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John Jeter has been music director of the Fort Smith Symphony since 1997. He received his formal education at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, and Butler University’s Jordan College. Jeter has guest conducted numerous orchestras in the US and Europe. His music education programs for schools reach up to 10,000 students annually. He is also involved in a number of music and wellness projects, and has a long history as a media guest and host. He is the recipient of the Governor’s Award for “Individual Artist of the State of Arkansas”, and the City of Fort Smith Mayor’s Achievement Award.

https://www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/John_Jeter/31451

https://fortsmithsymphony.org/music-director/

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