The First Recordings of Paul Creston's Music

The American composer Paul Creston is not entirely neglected - his Second Symphony has been recorded several times - but he also is not a household name even in musical domiciles. This present LP, the first of his music, is a worthy testimonial to his impressive skills.

Creston (1906-85), who was almost entirely self-taught and did not become a full-time composer until 1932, somehow was able to gain notice in a relatively short time. An early advocate was fellow composer Henry Cowell. Soon his music was being programmed by the biggest batons of the day - Toscanini, Ormandy, Stokowski - as well as the lesser known Howard Mitchell, music director of Washington, D.C.'s National Symphony Orchestra.

Paul Creston

This Westminster LP, presented by request, is one of the relatively few from Mitchell's two decades at the National Symphony's helm. A cellist, Mitchell rose from the orchestra's ranks to succeed Hans Kindler as the chief conductor in 1949. He had a reputation as more of a fund-raiser and socialite than as a great conductor - the download includes a photo of him yucking it up with Dwight D. Eisenhower - but this particular record is quite well done.

Howard Mitchell

Mitchell was strongly committed to American music in general and Creston's music in particular. Not only was he the first to record Creston, in 1956 Mitchell and the National Symphony were to commission the composer's fifth symphony.

Creston's Symphony No. 2 dates from 1944 and the third symphony from 1950. Both are strong, characteristic works that alternate lyrical passages that may bring to mind Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2, with more forceful music which betrays a love for the early Stravinsky. The third symphony bears the title Three Mysteries, with the movements named "The Nativity," "The Crucifixion" and "The Resurrection." The music is not programmatic, however. For whatever reason, the title is mentioned nowhere on the record.

The recordings, made in the Holton-Arms School Auditorium in Washington, date from several days in December 1953, when the orchestra also recorded music by Copland, Shostakovich and Brahms (the violin concerto with Julian Olevsky). Westminster did not engage Mitchell again, but he was able to tape two albums for RCA Victor in 1957 - more Shostakovich and works by Morton Gould. In 1960 he backed Jaime Laredo in two concertos and embarked on a series of educational records, also for RCA.

I have had this particular record for at least 40 years. I remember buying it in an extremely hot antique store, and being excited to get it. Back then, very few records of 20th century American music were available. My excitement turned to disappointment, however, when I played the disc. It was riddled with pops and thumps that neither Creston nor Mitchell intended. These days most of the superfluous noise can be eradicated via software, with the remainder done by hand. As a result, Westminster's very good sonics now come through unimpaired.

The download includes a PDF of the August 1956 edition of High Fidelity magazine, which contains an article on LP recordings of American music, including Creston.