Symphonies 2 & 3 / Wood Notes

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