Tony Duggan wrote: >I want to hear more Paul Creston. Can I? I want to hear >more about Paul Creston. Tell me. From the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music: Creston, Paul (orig. Joseph Guttoveggio) (b NY,1906 d 1985). Amer. composer and organist of It. origin, Self-taught in harmony and comp. Organist St. Malachy's, NY, 1934--.67. Comps. incl.: Orch.: 5 syms. (1941-56), Walt Whitman (1952), Pavane Variations (1966); Concertos: sax. (1941), harp (Poem)(1945), tb. (Fantasy) (1947), pf. (No.1 1949, No. 2 1962), 2 pf. (No. I 1951, No. 2 1968), vn. (No. I 1956, No. 2 1960), accordion(1958). Also choral works, chamber mus., songs, pf.pieces. From the G. Schirmer web page (http://www.schirmer.com/composers/creston_bio.html) Paul Creston was born 10 October 1906 in New York of Italian parentage. Entirely self-taught with the exception of piano and organ lessons in his youth, Creston pursued studies in theory, composition, literature, and philosophy while working to support himself and his poor immigrant family. Fiercely independent by nature, the composer developed his style free of any particular school of thought or teacher's influence and made rhythm a cornerstone of his work, often emphasizing shifting subdivisions of regular meters. He created works in many genres including five symphonies, concertos for violin, piano, saxophone, and marimba, several dance works, songs, and choral, chamber, and instrumental pieces. Creston considered his greatest "teachers" to be Bach, Scarlatti, Chopin, Debussy, and Ravel. He wrote in an accessible, conservative style that incorporated song and dance idioms and often featured unusual instruments like the trombone, marimba, or saxophone. Lush harmonies and expansive orchestrations characterize an often brash and spontaneous body of work, organized around a remarkable mastery of thematic development evident in works such as the Symphony No. 2 and Chant of 1942. Creston was the recipient of many awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the New York Music Critics' Circle Award for his Symphony No. 1. He is the author of Principles of Rhythm and Rational Metric Notation as well as numerous articles analyzing four centuries of rhythmic practice. Chant of 1942, Op. 33 Crystal CD 508 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/David Amos Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra, Op.42 BIS CD-628 Christian Lindberg, trombone; Malmo Symphony Orchestra/James DePreist Invocation and Dance, Op. 58 First Edition Recordings LCD005 Louisville Orchestra/Lawrence Leighton Smith Delos DE 3114 Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Gerard Schwarz Symphony No. 2, Op. 35 Koch International Classics 3-7036-2H1 Krakow Philharmonic/David Amos Chandos CHAN 9390 Detroit Symphony/Neeme Jarvi Symphony No. 3, Op. 48 and Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 Delos DE 3127 Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz Toccata, Op. 68 Delos DE 3127 Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz Walt Whitman, Op. 53 Koch International Classics 3-7036-2H1 Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra/David Amos Some of my own comments: His Dance Overture and Invocation and Dance were popular among american orchestras at one point. His Saxophone concerto, Marimba concerto, and Trombone Fantasy remain popular as solo pieces for secondary and college students. The New York Phil performed a number of his works during the 1940s. His first symphony I believe was premiered by a Mahler (Sorry, it was Fritz, not Gustav). There's also an AS disc of Cantelli conducting the Dance Overture and 2 Coric Dances (AS 515). I also have some old NY Phil program notes if your interested. Aloha and Mahalo, Eric Nagamine