Don Satz:

>Louie Vierne, best known for his organ compositions, also wrote an
>orchestral symphony in A minor and various works for solo piano. The
>Timpani label released a disc of the Symphony and one for solo piano a
>few years ago.  Are any listmembers familiar with either of these two
>recordings? What's your opinion of the music?

I have a tape of an old recording of the symphony, conducted by Georges
Tzipine, who spent some years working in Australia, but haven't heard
the Timpani version.  I hadn't heard the tape in quite a while, and played
it through to refresh my knowledge of it.  As you might expect, the shade
of the Franck symphony, a work I know well enough but have never liked
much, is in evidence in places, especially in the slow movement, but in
general, it has more in common with the symphonies of such people as
Magnard, Chausson and Dukas.  There is also a degree of anger, even
violence, in the first and third movements, and the last has a tune which
has the same mood as that in the last movement of the Franck.  I think the
symphony is every bit as good as, say, the Chausson symphony, and I'll
certainly be interested in Don's opinion of it if he gets it.  I hope these
rather vague thoughts are of some use.

The scherzo reminded me of another work, and it took a lot of furious
concentration and a couple of false starts before I nailed it down to
the third movement of Alfven's 2nd.  Make of that what you will.

Richard Pennycuick
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