Walter Piston - Fantasy for English Horn, Harp & Strings

Walter Hamor Piston Jr., or more simply Walter Piston, (January 20, 1894 - November 12, 1976) was a notable American composer, music theorist and influential professor of music at Harvard University whose many students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter.

Fantasy for English Horn, Harp & Strings (1953)
Glen Danielson, English Horn
Therese Elder Wunrow, harp
Seatlle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz

Piston studied the twelve-tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg and wrote works using aspects of it as early as the Sonata for Flute and Piano (1930) and the First Symphony (1937). His first fully twelve-tone work was the Chromatic Study on the Name of Bach for organ (1940), which nonetheless retains a vague feeling of key. Although he employed twelve-tone elements sporadically throughout his career, these become much more pervasive in the Eighth Symphony (1965) and many of the works following it: the Variations for Cello and Orchestra (1966), Clarinet Concerto (1967), Ricercare for Orchestra, Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (1970), and Flute Concerto (1971).

In 1943, the Alice M. Ditson fund of Columbia University commissioned Piston's Symphony No. 2, which was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra on March 5, 1944 and was awarded a prize by the New York Music Critics' Circle. His next symphony, the Third, earned a Pulitzer Prize, as did his Symphony No. 7. His Viola Concerto and String Quartet No. 5 also later received Critics' Circle awards.

Piston wrote four books on the technical aspects of music theory which are considered to be classics in their respective fields: Principles of Harmonic Analysis, Counterpoint, Orchestration and Harmony. The last of these went through four editions in the author's lifetime, was translated into several languages, and (with changes and additions by Mark DeVoto) is still widely used by teachers and students of harmony.

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Music

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• Harp & Strings

[oboistreceng1]

After listening to some pretty poor playing on several of the other postings, this performance is like a breath of fresh air. This is one of the few examples on youtube of what studying with Ray Still and listening to Robert Bloom records (at the U. of I.) can do for you!. From an old friend, of course. Listen particularly to the dynamic range. Best wishes, Glen.

[Philobiblion]

Isn't this as great as any Howard Hanson? Piston creates spaces, not just moods. Like the architect Louis Kahn who said that all spaces were rooms, whether in buildings or on streets. Great American composition. Philip Tramdack

[Malloyism]

@RustyInSeattle So am I, and no I dont. I have been tring to do some araingments tryng to apply EH to modern Jazz. So far nothing decent has happened. My spare time is valuable so I dont need the instrument practise because its so hard learning new peices anyway you get that as a matter of course. I our managers to get back to real stuff rather tham modern. in classical that is.

[FilmComposeRaHoppe]

Wow. Many thanks for cheering me up. ;)

[RustyInSeattle]

I'm an English Horn player. Does anyone know where I can get the printed music in order to perform this piece, i.e. Conductor, E. Horn, Harp, strings? Thanks.

[jamiebyrne77]

thanks - i am not familiar with any of his music - seeings as it is his birthday today i thought i'd listen

[skynyrdjeepamn]

piston loves piston!