Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite for orchestra No1-5; Herbert: Concerto for cello in Em

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Grofe lost no time capitalizing on the spectacular success of his Grand Canyon Suite, churning out several others, of which the Mississippi Suite is probably the best. Both pieces are very well performed by composer/conductor Howard Hanson and his excellent conservatory orchestra. The music itself is charmingly jazzy and very much of its period. Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto is a typically well written work by the famous operetta composer, and it has the singular distinction of having inspired Dvorák to compose his own Cello Concerto--the greatest ever written for the instrument. It's nice to have it back in the catalog in such a sympathetic performance. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Grand Canyon Suite: 1. Sunrise
Grand Canyon Suite: 2. The Painted Desert
Grand Canyon Suite: 3. On The Trail
Grand Canyon Suite: 4. Sunset
Grand Canyon Suite: 5. Cloudburst
Mississippi Suite: 1. Father Of Waters
Mississippi Suite: 2. Huckleberry Finn
Mississippi Suite: 3. Old Creole Days
Mississippi Suite: 4. Mardi Gras
Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 1. Allegro impetuoso
Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 2. Lento - Andante tranquillo
Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 3. Allegro

Amazon.com

Grofe lost no time capitalizing on the spectacular success of his Grand Canyon Suite, churning out several others, of which the Mississippi Suite is probably the best. Both pieces are very well performed by composer/conductor Howard Hanson and his excellent conservatory orchestra. The music itself is charmingly jazzy and very much of its period. Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto is a typically well written work by the famous operetta composer, and it has the singular distinction of having inspired Dvorák to compose his own Cello Concerto--the greatest ever written for the instrument. It's nice to have it back in the catalog in such a sympathetic performance. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Some wonderful performances in great old stereo.......2005-08-08

I concur with the other review to get Mercury CDs while they can be gotten. The early stereo sound on these 1958 recordings is valuable not only as a historic benchmark in early stereo production but for the way they project the orchestra in sections.

I find equally winsome the performances of Ferde Grofe's two symphonic suites about the Grand Canyon and Mississippi -- which is about the river, not the state -- and the Victor Herbert Cello Concerto No. 2, which I have heard in more recent recordings not done as well as here. Cellist Georges Miquelle emphasizes the songful aspects of Herbert's friendly score in this memorable performance.

Having just read a review of popular American music in a well-known American classical music magazine, I was displeased to learn they did not recommend this recording for the Grand Canyon Suite, which is surely the meatiest section. The performance here by the Eastman Rochester Orchestra are vividly done with sensitivity to the Wild West aspects of the music. You can probably find a better version of "On the trail" but you'll never hear better work in the Mississippi Suite, which with excellent bass response rises to a level of the better known composition.

I very much enjoyed this small tour of Americana through Howard Hanson's Rochester forces circa 1958. I found the recording not wanting in any area and the players -- with a small accommodation necessary for a thin string tone -- being otherwise up to the task and turning in really memorable performances of the Mississippi Suite and Herbert concerto.

Get Mercury Living Presence Before Its Dead.......2003-08-16

When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by amazon -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label?

The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. While MLP titles may not offer the best standard account of a work, they always surprise you and open you up to all the possibilities that the music has to offer. For example, this performance of Grofe's Grand Canyon and Mississippi Suites (and Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2) by Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra may not be the consensus first choice recording -- the composer himself made memorable recordings for EMI, which have been available on budget-line CDs. But I constantly come back to this disc for a different perspective, and its vibrancy and splendor never disappoint me. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.

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