Symphony No. 50 (Hovhaness)

[1][2] Mount St. Helens has a duration of roughly 31 minutes and is composed in three movements: Like much of Hovhaness's work, the symphony blends elements of Western music with Eastern scales and melodies.

In the program notes for the symphony, Hovhaness wrote:When Mount St. Helens erupted on the morning of May 18, 1980, the sonic boom struck our south windows.

[1]Herbert Glass of the Los Angeles Times lauded the work, saying, "It's wonderfully natural, even simple-sounding, music--but set on a foundation of vast skill in manipulating the orchestra and formal savvy.

Insistent, strangely Sibelian pizzicatos form a background against which lonely woodwind sing out their expressive runes..." Achenback added, "... the last movement, 'Volcano', erupts with a vengeance [...].

The pounding central portion achieves a frightening momentum, and Hovhaness's sense of orchestral spectacle (such as those odious, yet startlingly effective trombone glissandos from 2'48" onwards) produces some often thrilling sounds—no wonder the symphony went down so well with the public at its Seattle premiere.