The outer movements of the Serenata are in D major, and the overall form resembles a miniature symphony lasting only twelve minutes. This, the title, and certain melodic gestures make this composition more Mozartean than any of Piston's neoclassical works from the 1930s, though it remains further from 18th-century styles than neoclassical works of Poulenc, Prokofiev, or Stravinsky.[2] The first movement is reminiscent of the Ballando ("dancing") movement of Piston's Fourth Symphony. The middle movement is dominated by a long-lined tune, and the work closes with a high-spirited, strutting finale.[1] Tonal emphasis in the finale on the tonicminor, subdominant, and minor dominant lend an ambiguity to the D-major conclusion that is characteristic for Piston.[3]
Discography
Walter Piston: Serenata for Orchestra; David Van Vactor: Fantasia, Chaconne, and Allegro; Niels Viggo Bentzon: Pezzi sinfonici; Louisville Orchestra; Robert Whitney, cond. LP recording. Louisville Orchestra First Edition Records LOU-586. Louisville, Kentucky, 1958.
Walter Piston: Symphony No. 4; Capriccio for Harp and String Orchestra; Serenata for Orchestra; Three New England Sketches. Therese Elder Wunrow, harp; Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz. CD recording. Delos DE 3106. Hollywood, California: Delos International, 1991.
References
Pollack, Howard (1982). Walter Piston. Studies in Musicology. Ann Arbor MI: UMI Research Press. ISBN9780835712804.
