ELLEN ZWILICH: SYMPHONY NO. 1; PROLOGUE AND...

ELLEN ZWILICH: SYMPHONY NO. 1; PROLOGUE AND VARIATIONS; “CELEBRATION.” Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Nelson. New World NW-336 (digital). Zwillich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning symphony (1982) deploys its thematic material and reiterated intervals in ways both striking and translucent over its 17-minute span, although the composer doubtless did not reap her award for her skills in working within conventional symphonic form. Even better is the Prologue and Variations, in which an organic structure vies with an original gift for lyric expansion. For an occasional piece, “Celebration” is rather muted in festive extroversion, but it skirts the obvious in its wide dynamic extremes and unusual combination of instrumental forces. Nelson led the premiere in 1984, and his performances here lack nothing in sheen or fervor.