Persichetti was a prodigiously fluent composer, performer, writer and teacher based all his life in Philadelphia, although he had considerable influence as a faculty member of the Juilliard School in New York. This seems to be the first recording of the Piano Concerto (1962), although there are recordings of the better known Concerto for piano duet, which the composer played with his wife. The Symphony for Strings (1953), his Fifth, is for the same medium as William Schuman's Third Symphony but lacks its brilliance and sharp motivation. Both the Persichetti works were recorded live at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The sound is slightly dull but the performances make out the best possible case for the music.
Some composers can cross their national boundaries: others can't. It seems to be accepted that Copland is international: so is Barber. Piston, Thomson and Harris get abroad with some of their output, but Persichetti is struggling. He was fluent to a fault and wrote too much too easily. Even on the strength of his more substantial and serious works—the symphony is neo-classical, the Piano Concerto more rhetorical—I find little to come back to. Walter Simmons's insert-note claims that: ''Persichetti's stylistic breadth has prevented some casual listeners from recognizing a personal profile or unifying character in his music.'' I am afraid that includes me, even though I find his smaller, functional works justifiable—and certainly some of his songs.'