Symphony No. 5 (Sessions)

The Symphony No. 5 of Roger Sessions was commissioned in 1960 and completed in 1964.[1][2][3] It was commissioned by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the first movement only was premiered by them in February 1964,[3] the rest not being completed until that December.

It is in three connected movements, with a pause after the first.[2]

It is scored for three flutes, three oboes, four clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, percussion, piano, harp and strings.[4]

Andrea Olmstead describes all of Sessions's symphonies as "serious" and "funereal", with No. 5 being one of four with "quiet reflective endings."[5]

Discography

• Roger Sessions: Symphony No. 4, Symphony No. 5, Rhapsody for Orchestra. Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Christian Badea, cond. Recorded April 6, 1986, at the Ohio Theatre, Columbus Ohio. LP recording, 1 disc: digital, stereo, 12 in. New World NW 345-1; CD recording, 1 disc: digital, stereo, 4¾ in. New World NW 345-2. New York: Recorded Anthology of American Music, 1987.

References

1. "Sessions Society Worklist". Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
2. "Dialogues and Extensions". American Symphony Orchestra. March 1992. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
3. "Eugene Ormandy Information Site". Retrieved 7 June 2009.
4. "Presser Information for Sessions". Archived from the original on 26 May 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
5. Olmstead, Andrea (2012). Roger Sessions: A Biography, p.356. Routledge. ISBN 9781135868925.

Further reading

• Imbrie, Andrew (1972). "The Symphonies of Roger Sessions". Tempo (new series), no. 103 (December): 24–32.