Walter Piston: Serenata (1957), Symphonies Nos. 5 (1956), 7 (1960), 8 (1965). The Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney (in Serenata, Symphony No. 5), Jorge Mester. First Edition Music FECD-0010 (2002) barcode 809157000105
Augmented reissue of Albany First Edition Series AR011 (1988) barcode 034061001126:
Serenata recorded 16.XII.56, Columbia Auditorium, Louisville
Symphony No. 5 recorded 24.II.65, Macauley Theatre, Louisville
Symphony No. 7 recorded 12.XI.74, Alumni Chapel, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville
Symphony No. 8 recorded 15.V.75, Macauley Theatre
The reissue offers slightly more
17 July 2025
This is an augmented reissue of an earlier Albany CD from 1988, First Edition Series AR011 (link will open a new tab to my review), with only the three Symphonies, but already a generous TT of 66 minutes, now with the addition of the Serenata for Orchestra, a composition from 1957, for a TT of 77:30. All four pieces were originally published on LP on the Louisville Orchestra’s own and famous label, Louisville First Edition Records : Symphony # 5 came out in 1965 on LOU 653 with Wiliam Kraft’s Concerto Grosso (not reissued to CD), Symphonies # 7 & 8 were released in 1975 on LS 746 and the Serenata came in 1959 on LOU 586 with David Van Vactor’s “Fantasia, Chaconne & Allegro” and Nils Viggo Bentzon’s “Pezzi Sinfonici” (neither reissued to CD, but they can be found on download or streaming). For evertying on the CD reissues of the Louisville catalog, see my Louisville CD-discography.
See my (very positive) review of the earlier Albany release for longer comments on these three fine symphonies. I capsuled my reaction under the title “Rare recordings of these three superb symphonies and one of the best possible introductions to the art of Walter Piston”.
Does the addition of the 11+ minute Serenata tip the scale in favor of the reissue? In my review of the symphonies I commented that “Piston has been coined a neo-classicist, and he might be in his approach to symphonic architecture, but I think the term is misleading, in that neo-classicism is often associated with a kind of emotional detachment that goes with rhythmic spikiness and Bach-inspired formal processes. There is nothing emotionally uninvolved in Piston’s Symphonies.”. But the Serenata is, of the four on First Edition Music’s reissue, the work of Piston that most deserves the description of neo-classical, with its jaunty, syncopated rhythms, boisterous moods and woodwind filigree in the outer movements. But the piece’s highlight is the slow movement, beginning a little like Mahler’s Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony and developing to great emotional intensity. The 1956 sound is mono and somewhat unidimensional and distant.
I have compared only short samples of the sonics of both releases and they sound to me, in general, to be the same (level is slightly boosted in Symphonies No. 5 and 8), except in the first movement of Symphony No. 8, where First Edition Music’s transfer relocates the stereo separation (and also, to a lesser degree, in the slow movement). That brings back to mind some complaints found online that the people in charge of First Edition Music weren’t technically inclined and botched some of their transfers. However, I don’t think this here is a transfer mistake, because the transfers in the third movement are the same. In themselves I have no objection to the First Edition Music transfers, and all things considered, I’d recommend the reissue – the rest is a matter of price for which you’ll find it on the marketplace.