Symphonies 2 & 3 / Wood Notes

Symphonies 2 & 3 / Wood Notes

The life and career of the African-<br>American composer William Grant<br>Still qualifies as the quintessential<br>American 'success story.' Often<br>referred to as the 'dean of African-<br>American composers,' Still rose from<br>humble beginnings to work as an<br>arranger while studying composition<br>with Chadwick and Varèse. Still<br>embraced the blues, spirituals, jazz,<br>and other ethnic American musics<br>within classical forms. Wood Notes<br>musically depicts Still's love of<br>nature. Symphony No. 2, the last<br>of a trilogy of works depicting<br>the African-American experience,<br>presents the vision of an integrated<br>American society, while Symphony<br>No. 3 describes a spiritual 'day in the<br>life' of a devout worshipper. This disc<br>completes the Naxos cycle of William<br>Grant Still's Symphonies.