Serenata for Orchestra (Piston)
Encyclopedia
Walter Piston
's Serenata for Orchestra is an orchestral suite or miniature symphony written in 1956
.
.
The outer movements of the Serenata are in D major, and the overall form resembles a miniature symphony lasting only twelve minutes. This, the title, and certain melodic gestures make this composition more Mozartean than any of Piston's neoclassical works from the 1930s, though it remains further from 18th-century styles than neoclassical works of Poulenc
, Prokofiev
, or Stravinsky
(Pollack 1982, 121). The first movement is reminiscent of the Ballando ("dancing") movement of Piston's Fourth Symphony
. The middle movement is dominated by a long-lined tune, and the work closes with a high-spirited, strutting finale (Powell 1960, 319). Tonal emphasis in the finale on the tonic minor, subdominant, and minor dominant lend an ambiguity to the D-major conclusion that is characteristic for Piston (Pollack 1982, 122).
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
's Serenata for Orchestra is an orchestral suite or miniature symphony written in 1956
1956 in music
-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
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History
Piston composed the Serenata in 1956, on commission for the Louisville Orchestra (Powell 1960, 319), and is dedicated to conductor Robert Whitney, who led the work's premiere on October 25, 1956.Analysis
The work is in three movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
.
- Con allegrezza
- Con sentimento
- Con spirito
The outer movements of the Serenata are in D major, and the overall form resembles a miniature symphony lasting only twelve minutes. This, the title, and certain melodic gestures make this composition more Mozartean than any of Piston's neoclassical works from the 1930s, though it remains further from 18th-century styles than neoclassical works of Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, or Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
(Pollack 1982, 121). The first movement is reminiscent of the Ballando ("dancing") movement of Piston's Fourth Symphony
Symphony No. 4 (Piston)
-History:Piston composed his Fourth Symphony on commission from the University of Minnesota to mark the centennary of the university's foundation in the following year...
. The middle movement is dominated by a long-lined tune, and the work closes with a high-spirited, strutting finale (Powell 1960, 319). Tonal emphasis in the finale on the tonic minor, subdominant, and minor dominant lend an ambiguity to the D-major conclusion that is characteristic for Piston (Pollack 1982, 122).
Discography
- Walter Piston: Serenata for Orchestra; David Van Vactor: Fantasia, Chaconne, and Allegro; Niels Viggo Bentzon: Pezzi sinfonici; Louisville Orchestra; Robert Whitney, cond. LP recording. Louisville Orchestra First Edition Records LOU-586. Louisville, Ky.: Louisville Orchestra, 1958.
- Walter Piston: Symphony No. 4; Capriccio for Harp and String Orchestra; Serenata for Orchestra; Three New England Sketches. Therese Elder Wunrow, harp; Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz. CD recording. Delos DE 3106. Hollywood, CA: Delos International, 1991.