Symphony in Three Movements Buffalo, NY, April 1 and 3, 1973, Buffalo Philharmonic, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor Buffalo Courier-Express, April 2, 1973, Thomas Putnam Lesemann's score came across with clarity and strength. … The first movement is tensely harmonic, and rhythmically energetic. The second is more expressive, with beautiful lines (a Mahlerian luxuriance in which are set three-flute chords) songful cellos, and wind solos that are lazy, tranquil. The "sigh" is stretched to span an octave, a Stravinskyan displacement. The "silent" theme of the finale is introduced after a massive chord and timpanum shot, whose resonance invades the silence. These are not fermata pauses, but measured time; we watch the conductor beat. Gradually the "silent" theme is filled with sound, variation. Silence is Lesemann's weakest theme; his music is sounder, embodied by mass and sock. Lesemann is a composer of considerable craft and sensibility. |