Persichetti · Divertimento · Masquerade · Parable IX

Persichetti was an inventive and powerful symphonies who followed the traditions of Piston, Roy Harris and William Schumann. He was a particularly distinguished composer for wind ensemble, and these inventive and vital works are well worth exploring, particularly given the competitive price. The playing of the LSO Winds under David Amos is virtuosic and infectious. Let us hope Naxos will give us some of the symphonies. -- *** Penguin Guide

A dissertation by Williams Nicholls notes that Vincent Persichetti never forgot the apparent disrespect of music educators who, at a national conference in 1956, came and went during the first performance of his Band Symphony. Perhaps he didn't know how things go at conferences, but I would also surmise that the music did not compel them to stay. Persichetti is given much credit for writing music that introduced young musicians to modern music, but to me, that's as far as it went. While his slow, expressive music is often beautiful, the exuberant works are shallow, producing their dissonance almost entirely through bitonality and mirroring. There is nothing wrong with these devices until you hear them in one piece after another.

Listening to Eugene Corporon's student ensembles from Cincinnati OH and Denton IX is always a pleasant task, but this time, comparison puts them in perspective. Of course it would not be fair to expect a college group to meet the same standard as the London Symphony Winds, but they offer almost the same program. The students sound very good, but the world-class professionals have uniformly solid, beautiful tone, stable pitch, and security at all dynamic levels. They also take the fast music much faster, and it helps. -- American Record Guide