BERNARD HERRMANN: Symphony No. 1. WILLIAM SCHUMAN:...

BERNARD HERRMANN: Symphony No. 1. WILLIAM SCHUMAN: “New England Triptych.” Phoenix Symphony, conducted by James Sedares. Koch International Classics 3-7135-2H1. Herrmann’s Symphony, written in 1941 and revised in 1973, is an impressively accomplished, 36-minute abstract work in the neo-Romantic manner of the time, sharing similarities with, say, Shostakovich and Sibelius, but retaining a personal stamp. Bold, brooding and rugged in mood, dissonant and even abrasive in language (though basically tonal), the music communicates with immediacy and drama, but in a tightknit discourse. The Koch engineers resist the temptation to gussy up the sound of the Phoenix Symphony, which proves itself a fine, second-rank orchestra. A polished and energetic performance of Schuman’s “New England Triptych”--a remarkable modernization of music by William Billings--is the makeweight.