An All American programme with three Gershwin works wrapped around Harris's 3rd Symphony in 1 movement and a world premiere of Frenzy composed last year by John Adams. Both are contrapuntal works and each lasts 17- 18 minutes. Both works have pretentions to be symphonies . Harris's work was considered to be the quintessential American Symphony after its premiere in 1939 and despite its welter of themes, its journey feels symphonic as the composer forces all together in the troubled conclusion of its final, fifth, section. Like Harris, Adams starts with a sinuous theme on strings. This melody is at the core of the whole piece. At times it dominates with 'noises off,' at others it is secondary; reduced to a motif or merely a rhythm. The piece is beautifully scored and its frenzy never descends into noise. It is in sections with the middle movements more spectral and less busy. Adams uses varied pulses to ensure forward momentum.
'Diversions' came to my mind in the sense used by BB and RVW. Adams prefers the German term fortspinnung: theme spinning, dangerously close to "note-spinning' which has negative connections. In honesty, I did not feel that Frenzy was Essential Adams: it was more of the same. More assured but less quirky.
To sum.up: Knowing the 3rd symphony is essential to appreciating Harris' ouevre, if you miss Frenzy on BBC Sounds, fret ye not
'Diversions' came to my mind in the sense used by BB and RVW. Adams prefers the German term fortspinnung: theme spinning, dangerously close to "note-spinning' which has negative connections. In honesty, I did not feel that Frenzy was Essential Adams: it was more of the same. More assured but less quirky.
To sum.up: Knowing the 3rd symphony is essential to appreciating Harris' ouevre, if you miss Frenzy on BBC Sounds, fret ye not