Kevin Sutton wrote:

>New to my cd inbox:
>
>Paul Creston, Symphonies 1-3, NSO of Ukraine, Theodore Kuchar, cond.
>Naxos 8559034.
>
>This is a little gem!

For me, it is a substantial gem.  While the reading of the Second Symphony
suffers a bit by comparison to the Jarvi recording, it is quite wonderful.
There is also much merit in the Mitchell recording, less so in the Amos
version.  For me, Monteux leads the pack in the Second Symphony.  His
performance with the New York Phil is available on their American Music
set.  A broadcast with the Boston Symphony (my favorite), remains unissued.

After having lived for many years with only a poor sounding air check
of Ormandy doing the First, I find this new recording to be most welcome.
Aside from a Stokowski version of the Scherzo, this is, to the best of my
knowledge the first recording of the First Symphony.  It is a good starting
place for listening to Creston as it is the most clearly structured of his
symphonies.  The orchestration sounds a bit lighter than his usual style,
which also helps to define the thematic material more clearly to my ear.

I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite for the Third Symphony.
Mitchell, Schwarz and Kuchar do an excellent job.

The Naxos disc is wonderful and at the price, incredible.

karl