Music of William Schuman
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCR791     Release Date: 1998-01-01
Eastman Philharmonia; David Effron, Conductor; Endymion Ensemble; Jon Goldberg, Conductor; Rosalind Rees, soprano; Orpheus Trio; Paula Robison, flute; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Heidi Lehwalder, harp

William Schuman is remembered today chiefly for his concert scores, which include ten excellent symphonies and several concertos and overtures. But throughout his life he maintained a keen interest in music for theater and dance, and the present disc brings together three works with origins in stage music: the ballet Judith (1950), one of the composer’s most acclaimed scores; Night Journey (1947), composed for the dance but heard here in the composer’s concert version of 1981; and In Sweet Music, which grew from Schuman’s own incidental music for a 1944 production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII. The first two works were created for Martha Graham, whom Schuman once called “the preeminent seminal force in the development of American modern dance.” The third brings together the multifarious strands of Schuman’s outlook, in a taut, focused chamber work that must count among the best Shakespearean settings by an American.

This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

Various Artists

Music of William Schuman

MP3/320 $9.99
FLAC $9.99
WAV $9.99
CD-R $9.99
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Judith: Choreographic Poem for Orchestra
William Schuman
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Night Journey
William Schuman
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In Sweet Music
William Schuman
Buy