Paul Creston’s Second Symphony: A Celebration of Song and Dance
The Second Symphony of American composer, Paul Creston (1906-1985), celebrates the fundamental musical building blocks of melody and rhythm. These elements are expressed in the Symphony’s two movements, “Introduction and Song,” and “Interlude and Dance.” Through a process of thematic transformation, the theme which opens the Symphony is developed adventurously throughout. This theme first appears as a wandering shadowy single line in the low strings. The violas enter in fugal counterpoint, soon …