The Symphonies of Roger Sessions (1896-1985)

[Balthazar]

I wrote this summary and have posted it elsewhere on the Web, but I don’t know how many of you here are familiar with the symphonies of Roger Sessions (1896-1985). He’s a woefully underrated composer, a high-profile American modernist who gave concerts with Aaron Copland. His works were too unconventional for the conservatives of his day, but not radical enough for the revolutionaries.

Sessions was a formidable composer, teacher, and theorist. He wrote nine symphonies full of vision, invention, and optimism for a more spacious artistic century. These works are neither nostalgic throwbacks to an old-fashioned musical tradition, nor perverse anti-symphonies meant to deconstruct the definition of the form. They are solid statements of intent from a master of symphonic forces, and they deserve to be heard and appreciated.

His neoclassical First (1927) shouldn't scare away anyone even mildly familiar with American symphonists like Piston. The energetic opening is rhythmically complex, yet contains the surreal woodwind interlude that would become a Sessions trademark. The Largo features another Sessions fingerprint: a heart-rending string theme developed with patience and sensitivity. A pastoral theme for oboe lightens the mood somewhat until the string theme returns to end the movement in despair. The piccolo drives the finale by dancing demonically over staccato horns and trading solos with oboe and clarinet.

The Second (1946) is a quantum leap forward in complexity. The opening Molto agitato alternates between chaos and calm. A baffling profusion of themes for brass and woodwinds leads to an abrupt collapse, after which the strings linger ominously. With each advance and retreat of the stormy opening material, the calm is more suspenseful than ever. The brief Allegretto Capriccioso is as charming as any Prokofiev trifle. However, this leads into the existential Adagio, where mournful strings and ominous brass overwhelm the initially hopeful oboe. A propulsive marching theme serves as the engine of the finale, leading the symphony to a thrilling close.

Sessions’s Third (1957) is a vast creation. The colorful opening Allegro bursts with energy and ideas, but the woodwind interlude leads to a quiet coda on low strings. The second movement is a busy scherzo, and the brass defends its forward motion from the same low strings that pulled the plug on the first movement. Woodwind whispers lead back to the insistent rhythms of the scherzo’s beginning, and flute and xylophone draw a question mark at the end. The Andante that follows takes its time: many voices contribute to the development, including a harp that creates moonlit ripples on the movement’s calm surface. After a brief detonation from the aggressive brass, the calm returns and the ripples slowly fade. The finale is a kinetic Allegro con fuoco. Despite occasional breathers, the symphony charges to its fiery finish with xylophone flourishes and blaring brass.

The Burlesque that begins the Fourth (1958) is another roller-coaster scherzo. This movement weaves themes together tightly, and never allows the orchestra’s energy level to drop. Despite nocturnal birdsong at the beginning as well as some lyrical passages, the Elegy is very energetic as well. The bright string theme intrudes every time things get too quiet, but finally a solo horn takes the movement back into the dark. Just as the horn is dying away, the night-birds return. The Pastorale is a strange finale for the symphony, a sensitive movement with soaring strings overwhelming the brass and woodwinds. There is one last burst of energy before the strings finally surrender.

Sessions’s Fifth (1964) was his most nocturnal symphony. The shadows that haunt many of his works were never more forbidding than in this streamlined work, played in three brief, continuous movements. The first movement begins with an undulating figure in the woodwinds that recurs throughout the movement, seen through curtains of strings or hidden behind aggressive brass outbursts. The transition to the second movement is marked by a flourish passed from piano to harp to xylophone. Then the muted brass announces the turbulent Lento, dominated by a sad string theme. A woodwind passage leads to the return of the strings, which die away into silence. The Allegro deciso climaxes almost immediately. Then a wealth of material becomes more and more complex until it unravels in a quiet, sinister finale for clarinets and low strings.

The remainder of the Sixties saw Sessions composing symphonies that conveyed his anger at the Vietnam War. His Sixth (1966) starts with a furious Allegro, which contains mournful passages amid its rage and ends very emphatically. Plaintive reeds introduce the Adagio, then lush strings join in, but the tone is despondent all the way to the close of the movement. The closing Allegro seems frustrated and collapses in despair, but then Sessions increases the suspense and mounts a robust, drum-heavy finale.

The structure of the Seventh (1967) is reminiscent of its predecessor: two energetic Allegro movements flanking a contemplative slow movement. However, this symphony is an even more profound accomplishment. The opening Allegro is a complex, kaleidoscopic movement that begins with resolute brass exclamations. After a sprint through a percussion-laden minefield, the movement stops briefly to admire faraway birdsongs before rushing to its abrupt end.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gTEiio-ZdU&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gTEiio-ZdU&feature=related[/ame]

The desolate Lento has the strings playing mournful themes to accompany some stunning woodwind solos.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEnjZqCyNE&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEnjZqCyNE&feature=related[/ame]

The closing Allegro starts with a woodwind-and-xylophone theme that sounds like a cry of despair. Then a rhythmically complicated ballet develops, driven by honking brass and insistent percussion. The symphony ends with a subdued epilogue that is the opposite of the finale of the Sixth: here, a solitary horn dies out over a drum that beats slower and slower.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uq-o4JnVQ&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uq-o4JnVQ&feature=related[/ame]

The Eighth (1968) is a strange creation, a very dramatic work in two movements. The Adagio first has the strings announcing a theme accompanied by maracas. The movement spends most of its time in the shadows, with only occasional relief from the oppressive sense of dread. The Allegro begins emphatically with loud brass and percussion determined to lead the work out of the dark even after woodwinds manage a brief retreat into the shadows. Then the entire orchestra unites in a dance of defiance, with blaring horns, shrieking strings, booming percussion, and bleating woodwinds. Finally the maracas return, the string theme recurs, and there are muted farewells from the woodwinds before the strings bring the work to a subdued close.

Sessions’s Ninth (1978) is in three movements, a vast work in his expansive late-period style. The suspenseful beginning of the Allegro explodes into drama, but soon becomes exploratory. The solo instruments are allowed more space than in previous works. Finally, the explosive brass and percussion announce the close of the movement, but the woodwinds and low strings have the last word. The Adagio is relatively compact, starting with a trombone solo and moving through a bustling interlude and quiet woodwind solos before ending with the trombone song again. The final Allegro’s stormy opening drifts off and reveals beauty in its wake: a sensitive woodwind interlude accompanied by strings. The brass and percussion build again, a sardonic dance breaks out and dies away, then we hear a slow funeral march on horns. The symphony ends on an optimistic note, however, as the woodwinds lighten the mood before the final exclamation.

I also highly recommend When Lilacs Last In the Dooryard Bloom’d, the immense cantata Sessions composed for vocalists, chorus, and orchestra. A setting of the poem by Whitman, this late-period work is a ravishing love letter to Nature, a meditation on mortality, and a musical masterpiece.

[Herzeleide]

Thanks for this. Like a 101 other composers he's someone about whom I've only read. I recall that he was a highly intellectual and precocious man (Harvard at the age of 17 or something like that). One can see why he wouldn't have had as much attention as other comparable composers. Like Babbitt he was a Schoenbergian, but unlike Babbitt he didn't construct any new theoretical system or any new integral serialism, and wasn't as rhythmically as radical as Carter. He's someone - like Perle - who I ought to own something of. Oh, and as you have rightly mentioned, his music wouldn't fit in with the European avant-garde either.

[Balthazar]

Originally Posted by Herzeleide

Like Babbitt he was a Schoenbergian, but unlike Babbitt he didn't construct any new theoretical system or any new integral serialism, and wasn't as rhythmically as radical as Carter.

He laid a lot of the groundwork for those later pioneers. Babbitt studied with Sessions. Carter didn't assume his iconoclast persona until well into the 1950's. Carter's first symphony was composed around the time Sessions composed his second: Carter's is a conventional, nostalgic work, while Sessions' is much more audacious.

[Mischa]

I love to listen to the only two Session recordings I have, the outstanding Concerto for Orchestra and his violin concerto. One of these violin concerts which makes you wonder why they aren't performed more often, it's a stunning piece. Extremely demanding though, certainly one of the most difficult concertos for violinists.

Thanks a lot for your introduction, makes me want to listen to more. Is there any recording of his symphony cycle you'd recommend?

[Balthazar]

Originally Posted by Mischa

Thanks a lot for your introduction, makes me want to listen to more. Is there any recording of his symphony cycle you'd recommend?

Unfortunately, his symphonic oeuvre is infrequently performed and not well represented on CD. But even though there's not a lot of different versions to choose between, they're all currently available on CD.

There's [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Symphonies-Nos-3/dp/B000005TU1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234411066&sr=8-1"]a CD of his first three symphonies[/ame] that's well-played indeed, but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. The San Francisco Symphony recorded the Second in the 90's.

The American Composers orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies recorded authoritative interpretations of the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Symphonies-9/dp/B000004CWC/ref=pd_sim_m_2"]Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth[/ame] on CD.

And the only version of Lilacs on CD is the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Lilacs-Dooryard-Bloomd/dp/B0000030D0/ref=pd_sim_m_2"]Boston SO/Ozawa's fine rendition[/ame], available on New World Records.

[haydnguy]

Originally Posted by Mischa

I love to listen to the only two Session recordings I have, the outstanding Concerto for Orchestra and his violin concerto. One of these violin concerts which makes you wonder why they aren't performed more often, it's a stunning piece. Extremely demanding though, certainly one of the most difficult concertos for violinists.

Thanks a lot for your introduction, makes me want to listen to more. Is there any recording of his symphony cycle you'd recommend?

Mischa, could you advise what CD the violin concerto is on? Thanks....SG

[Mischa]

Thanks a lot, Balthazar! I'll hold out for them next month!

Mischa, could you advise what CD the violin concerto is on? Thanks....SG

I have a recording with Ole Bohn and a mp3 with Paul Zukofsky (both available on Amazon). Both recordings are not the cream of recording history, both orchestras do not take advantage of the colorful orchestration. Technical issues aside, in some passages you might think orchestra & soloists play an etude. It's a pity, the last movement is so rich of orchestral raffinesse.

But judge yourself: listen to the Zukofsky recording in
this radio program
(it starts at 28:00).

This concerto (esp. the 3rd & 4th movement) really deserves a fine recording. Perfect concerto for Hillary Hahn: frisky & lyrical music, tough score, American composer.

[SW1]

I seem to recall, maybe in the 80s, Sessions once being labelled "America's senior composer". But at some point that changed to Elliott Carter.

I too have the Concerto for Orchestra (Hyperion recording) and it is indeed quite a remarkeable piece, though I find there is even more meat to chew over in Carter's similarly titled work.

[Despina41]

Originally Posted by SW1

I seem to recall, maybe in the 80s, Sessions once being labelled "America's senior composer". But at some point that changed to Elliott Carter.

Well, I hope so. He just turned 102 last month!

[Roehre]

Originally Posted by Balthazar

Unfortunately, his symphonic oeuvre is infrequently performed and not well represented on CD. But even though there's not a lot of different versions to choose between, they're all currently available on CD.

There's [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Symphonies-Nos-3/dp/B000005TU1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234411066&sr=8-1"]a CD of his first three symphonies[/ame] that's well-played indeed, but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. The San Francisco Symphony recorded the Second in the 90's.

The American Composers orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies recorded authoritative interpretations of the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Symphonies-9/dp/B000004CWC/ref=pd_sim_m_2"]Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth[/ame] on CD.

And the only version of Lilacs on CD is the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Sessions-Lilacs-Dooryard-Bloomd/dp/B0000030D0/ref=pd_sim_m_2"]Boston SO/Ozawa's fine rendition[/ame], available on New World Records.

Balthazar,
have you got a recommendation for the eight?