Symphony No. 3 (Schuman)

American composer William Schuman's Symphony No. 3 was completed on January 11, 1941,[1] and premiered on October 17 of that year by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitsky, to whom it is dedicated.[2]

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for an orchestra consisting of piccolo (doubling flute), 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, clarinet in E♭, 2 clarinets in B♭, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 4 trumpets in C, 4 trombones, tuba, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, xylophone, timpani and strings. Third flute (doubling second piccolo), third oboe, third clarinet in B♭, third bassoon, contrabassoon, 4 more horns in F, and piano are also listed as "optional, but very desirable".[3]

Structure

Rather than the usual four movements, the symphony is in two parts, each consisting of two continuous sections in a tempo relation of slow-fast and given titles suggesting Baroque formal practices, though Schuman does not follow these forms strictly:

References
  • Schuman, William (1942). Symphony no. 3 (score). G. Schirmer

Notes
  1. The date and place (Larchmont, New York) of completion are printed in the margin on the last page (p. 82) of the score.
  2. The dedication "For Serge Koussevitsky" appears on p. 1 of the score.
  3. From the score's "List of Instruments"
  4. (Letter designations are from the score.)

Further reading
  • Clark, John W., and William Schuman. 1986. "William Schuman on His Symphonies: An Interview" American Music 4, no. 3 (Autumn): 328–36.
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