Gentle and Lyrical Symphonies by James Cohn - heard by PATRIC STANDFORD '... persuasive championship of new music ...'

Almost four years ago I was able to review the Naxos recording of James Cohn's second and seventh Symphonies for M&V. It is a further pleasure to find three more Cohn symphonies added to the catalogue. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1928, and with a generous body of work that includes eight symphonies, Cohn stands out as one of America's major living symphonists, a gentle and lyrical composer who is rarely stimulated to prolonged aggression, though the first movement of the Eighth Symphony, completed in 1978, has a far more energetic character than many. The nine Miniatures, which are also included on this CD, inhabit another more economic world, neatly orchestrated in 1975 from piano pieces written for the Polish pianist Maryla Jonas, whose escape from war-torn Poland and establishment in New York was cut short by a tragically early death in 1959...

KIRK TREVOR

SLOVAK RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MSR CLASSICS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC