PROGRAM NOTES
by Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Symphony No. 2, Op. 35
Paul Creston (1906-1985)

Composed in 1944.
Premiered on February 15, 1945 in New York City, conducted by
Artur Rodzinski.

Paul Creston, one of America’s most distinguished composers, was born Giuseppe Guttoveggio in New York on October 10, 1906 to a family of Sicilian immigrants. When he was six, his mother took him on a visit to Sicily, where the songs and dances of the people ignited a love of music in the boy. Soon after his return, Paul persuaded his father to purchase a piano and find him a teacher, though he recalled that his early training was “most mediocre,” claiming that he learned more by reading books on music fundamentals and piano playing on his own. He started composing soon after he began lessons, around the age of eight, but his real ambition at the time was to become a concert pianist. He had to leave school at fifteen, however, to supplement the family’s income with various office jobs, but he continued to compose and perform. Though Creston had no formal training as a composer, by 1932, he had decided to dedicate himself entirely to music, so he discarded most of what he had previously written and issued a set of Five Dances for Piano as his Opus 1. His music began to draw notice and performances in the late 1930s — his Symphony No. 1 of 1940 received the New York Music Critics Circle Award. He went on to write five other symphonies, the last of which was premiered in 1981, and much other music, including concertos, many pieces for voices with and without instrumental accompaniment, chamber music, several scores for symphonic band, and some twenty independent compositions for orchestra. Creston was also a leading educator, holding positions at Swarthmore College, New York University and Central Washington State College; his textbooks include Principles of Rhythm and Creative Harmony. Among his many awards and honors were two Guggenheim Fellowships, a citation from the National Association for American Composers and Conductors, the Music Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and an Emmy citation for his score to the television documentary In the American Grain. He also served as president of the National Association of American Composers and Conductors and director of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and was a life fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters.

Creston wrote of his Symphony No. 2, completed in June 1944 and premiered by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Artur Rodzinski on February 15, 1945, “In the opening of the Introduction are presented four themes as a cumulative ground bass [repeating element], i.e., successively superimposed. Theme 1, played by cellos, and Theme 2, played by violas, are the main basis of the entire Symphony. Whatever new thematic material emerges is either a ramification or a development of these two themes.

“The Song is largely built on a variation of Theme 1, tender and simple in character, presented first by the flute and then by the horn. After a minor climax, the inversion of Theme 1 is presented by violins and is followed by Theme 2, with the mood gradually increasing in intensity. A short, agitated episode leads to the varied Theme 1 with the whole orchestra participating and played with great breadth and majesty. The movement closes quietly with the original flute theme, this time played by the oboe, slightly varied rhythmically but equally tender and simple in feeling.

“The Interlude opens with a completely transformed Theme 1, quite aggressive and defiant, leading to a rather quiet section, but soon returning to the aggressive character. This last merges into the Dance without pause, which after a rhythmic introduction begins with another variation of Theme 1 (muted trumpet). Each appearance of this variation of Theme 1 alters further the rhythm and contour of the melody. As the excitement mounts, Theme 2 soars above the ever-recurrent rhythmic pulses, developing to a climax and into the next section of the Dance. In the second section, based on a variation of Theme 1 inverted, the rhythmic pattern has changed and there is a greater sense of driving forward. This theme variant goes through several metamorphoses as the section builds to the major climax and then subsides to an altered version of the original cumulative ground bass. Above three concurrent rhythms that were presented separately earlier in the Dance, the flute theme of the Song (now played by violins), becoming more and more intense, brings the composition to a close.”

MORE NOTES ON THIS PROGRAM

COPLAND - Billy the Kid Suite
FORTNER - Fantasma (World Premiere)
GERSHWIN - Variations on "I've Got Rhythm"
ADAMS - The Chairman Dances
GERSHWIN - Rhapsody in Blue

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