Peter Mennin On Naxos
Over the years, the American Classics series on Naxos has introduced me to many American composers, the most recent of whom, in this CD, is Peter Mennin. This CD is also part of a retrospective on Naxos of recordings by the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz, a longtime champion of American music. Initially released in 1996 on Delos, the CD includes Mennin's "Moby Dick", and his symphonies number 3 and 7. Mennin composed nine symphonies over his career.
Mennin (1923 -- 1983) was one of a number of American composers, including David Diamond, William Schumann, and Vincent Persichetti, who came to prominence during the WW II years. Mennin served as Professor of Composition at Juilliard before becoming Director of the Peabody Conservatory. In 1962, he became President of the Juilliard School of Music and held this position until his death.
Mennin composed "Moby Dick" subtitled "Concertato for Orchestra" in 1952. He had been approached about writing an opera based on Melville's novel and decided, wisely I think, against this project. This ten-minute orchestral work does not try to capture scenes from Melville's wide-ranging book but rather attempts to describe the emotional impact the work made on the composer. The work opens with a slow, foreboding and intricate introduction. It leads into a faster body of the work in which dramatic music is cast against music of the sea in the form of a sailor's hornpipe. The music is contrapuntal in character as is much of Mennin. I have been rereading Melville myself this year and exploring the broads broad influence of "Moby Dick" on American culture. George Cotkin's recent book on "Moby Dick" mentions Mennin's work as among a number of symphonic treatments of the novel. "Dive Deeper: Journeys with Moby-Dick" Although I enjoyed the music, it did not capture for me the metaphysical, protean character of Melville.
Other than "Moby Dick", most of Mennin's music is abstract and self-contained with no literary references to guide the listener's imagination. The music is angular, sharply rhythmical and contrapuntal.
Mennin's Third Symphony was written in 1946 when the composer was 23 and was presented as his doctoral dissertation at the Eastmean School of Music. The symphony formed the basis of Mennin's subsequent academic appointment to Juilliard's composition faculty. The work is in three movements with a dramatic, rhythmical first movement full of brass and woodwinds, a slow lyrical second movement in which the flute is given prominence, and an energetic, nervous third movement which leads to a triumphal close. This is an accessible, well-constructed symphony. In my listening, I did not find much in the work which differentiated it from other American neoclassical music of the time.
Over the years, Mennin's music developed into a more austere, individual voice. The Seventh Symphony was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and received its premiere in January, 1964 under George Szell. Subtitled, "Variation Symphony" the single-movement work of about 26 minutes takes its opening theme, stated in the lower strings, and builds and embroiders around it. The work has a tragic cast, possibly inspired by the assassination of President Kennedy.
In the music, slow and fast sections alternate with much imaginative scoring. Throughout, the music is contrapuntal. The harmonic language of this work takes it beyond Mennin's earlier compositions. It is as if Mennin wanted to push beyond the neoclassicism of his earlier music and come to terms with serialism. The initial theme of the work has a serial character but Mennin develops it tonally. The symphony thus is modernist, tonal, and individual.
Subsequent to his death in 1983, Mennin's music has fallen into obscurity. Several earlier recordings of his music, including the original Delos release of this one, have received some highly perceptive online reviews from listeners,which have helped me with this music. This CD will interest listeners wanting to get to know the still under-appreciated world of American classical music. I found it valuable to get to know the works of this unfortunately little-known composer.
Total Time: 57:37
Robin Friedman
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