History

Piston's Seventh Symphony was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...

 Association, and was premiered by that orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...

, on February 10, 1961. The symphony was awarded a Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 in 1961, which was the second time for Piston—his first was in 1948 for his Third Symphony

Symphony No. 3 (Piston)

The Symphony No. 3 by Walter Piston was composed in 1946–47.-History:The Koussevitzky Music Foundation commissioned the Third Symphony and Piston began work on it in 1946 , completing the score at Woodstock, Vermont, in the summer of 1947...

 (Archibald 1978, 266–67). It bears some resemblance to Piston's Three New England Sketches

Three New England Sketches

Three New England Sketches by Walter Piston is a symphonic suite dating from 1959.-History:The Sketches were commissioned by the Worcester County Musical Association for its 100th Annual Music Festival, and is dedicated to the conductor Paul Paray...

, composed in 1959, and for this reason as well as for parallels of structure has been compared to Beethoven's

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

 Pastorale

Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony , is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, and was completed in 1808...

Symphony (Pollack 1982, 133).

Analysis

The work is in three movements

Movement (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 moto
• Adagio pastorale
• Allegro festevole

A typical performance will last around 22 minutes.

When Piston was composing his Seventh Symphony he took into account the particular sonic character of the Philadelphia Orchestra's rich string timbres, as well as the acoustics of the Philadelphia Academy of Music where it was to be premiered (Archibald 1978, 267).

The first movement begins with a large, soaring theme, featuring a propulsive rhythm in fast triple meter. The minor mode, forceful rhythms, and cumulative contrapuntal density in both the exposition and recapitulation lend this movement a vehemently passionate character. The second movement, Adagio pastorale, similarly is dominated by serious but not solemn broad melodies. The finale, as in Piston's other symphonies, is sunny and brilliant, including a passage of syncopated wind melodies accompanied by pianissimo percussion, and pizzicato strings, which recalls the scherzo of Piston's Sixth Symphony (Archibald 1978, 266).