Symphony No. 1 (Piston)

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The Symphony No. 1 by Walter Piston was completed in 1937.

Contents

History

By the time Piston finished his first symphony, he was 43 years old. It was premiered on April 8, 1938, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer. [1] [2]

Structure

Like most of Piston's symphonies, the work is in three movements:

As with the much later Symphony No. 8, twelve-tone technique is incorporated into a broader palette of compositional elements. The first movement begins with a rare example, for Piston, of an ostinato, presented in the pizzicato basses. This ostinato consists of nine of the twelve chromatic notes, and the remaining three are found in the theme played above it. The mood is somber and poignant. Despite the chromatic saturation, this movement (as well as the finale) is in the tonality of C. This slow introduction is followed by a vigorous sonata-allegro movement with a main theme based on the ostinato figure. The ostinato also returns at the end of the movement, and its chromatic nature helps make a transition to the tritone-related key of F-sharp for the second movement, whose thematic material is also derived from the ostinato. The finale is in rondo form, with the main theme once again taken from the beginning of that ostinato, only in inversion. [3]

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Symphony No. 2 by Walter Piston is a symphony composed in 1943.

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The Symphony No. 5 by Walter Piston was composed in 1954.

The Symphony No. 7 by Walter Piston is a symphony dating from 1960.

The Symphony No. 8 by Walter Piston is a symphony dating from 1965.

The Symphony No. 3 by Walter Piston was composed in 1946–47.

Walter Piston's Serenata for Orchestra is an orchestral suite or miniature symphony written in 1956.

String Quartet No. 2 by Walter Piston is a chamber-music work composed in 1935.

String Quartet No. 4 by Walter Piston is a chamber-music work composed in 1951.

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References

  1. Anon. 1979.
  2. Carter 1946, 374.
  3. Carter 1946, 364–365.

Sources