Description
The First Symphony (1926-27), a work from relatively early in Roger Sessions’ career, is often cited as an example of the composer’s neoclassical style. The symphony was premiered in 1927 by Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Sessions, however, was dissatisfied with the work and withdrew it for revision. Though far from atonal, this energetic three-movement work employs an extended tonal language characterized by striking chromaticism and freely constructed sonorities. Movements: 1. Giusto, 2. Largo, 3. Allegro Vivace