American Orchestral Music

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is a giant collection of some of the best American symphonic work of this century. These are analog transfers from old mid-priced Turnabout recordings of the sixties and seventies and the folks at Voxbox should be congratulated for their engineering skills. These are excellent reproductions. The Rorem Symphony 3 is the one work here that should have more currency. It is a delightful update of the kind of symphony that was produced in the 1930s, except you can hear intimations of jazz and Broadway melodies at work. This is a major collection no library of American music should be without. --Paul Cook

Tracks:

Rhapsody in Blue
An American in Paris

Customer Reviews:

Gershwin/Bernstein: Rhapsody In Blue and American In Paris.......2007-01-16

In my opinion you just can't go wrong with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I have many of their recordings in addition to many recordings of other orchestras; some great, some not so much...but the New York Phil is cosistently great. This recording is a superb example of Gershwin's writing, thoughtfully reproduced by a fine orchestra. Both the brashness of the pieces and the subtleties are interpreted well by Mr. Bernstein and the orchestra. The soloists are nothing other than excellent. The brass section is easily as strong as the Chicago symphony's famous section, and the strings intonation is superb. The pathos and the humor of both pieces are readily projected by this sensitive orchestra and conductor. I couldn't recommend this recording higher!

A glorious tribute!.......2006-11-22

To play Gershwin accurately demands from the player, the absolute domain of an invisible taste, unsaid in the score. Few pianists (and Bernstein is among them) were able to convey the listener, this savoir vivre, humor, elegance, that idiomatic atmosphere that plainly justifies your effort.

To my mind, there just have been five pianists who have surmounted this peak: Oscar Levant, Jesus Maria Sanroma, Eugene List, Earl Wild and Leonard Bernstein.

So, under any pretext you should miss this invaluable musical gem.

A Truly Great Performance.......2006-08-19

I originally found this record in a used record store and purchased it for $1. This was not too long ago. After listening, i could not believe that this record only cost me $1 and that some idiot actually sold this to a used record store without listening first. I have never heard a performace of Rhapsody In Blue that is as powerful and heartfelt as this one. Bernstain melts into the piano, resulting in a performance that outshines so many Gershwin performances that exist. On the other side of the record is An American In Paris, a textbook tone poem, and i mean this as a great compliment. The images of Paris and a partially homesick/partially jubilant American strolling along exude from every note. When i found these great performances on CD, i snatched up a copy as quickly as i could. GET THIS RECORD. It is truly a Great Performance.

GLORIOUS!.......2006-07-21

This review refers to "Great Performances: Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue/An American In Paris"(CD)

Well, how can you go wrong when Leonard Bernstein, with the help of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, conducts(and performs brilliantly on piano)these two George Gershwin greats.You just can't. Even the quality of the CD is excellent.

Rhapsody will carry you away to some other place for a while. From that very first bluesy note, Bernstein and Orchestra will have you wrapped up in all it's jazzy glory. It's music that defines the word greatness and it's THE song I would pick (if I could only pick one) that exemplifies the masterfulness of American composers.

An American In Paris is wonderful. The feeling of a tourist on the loose in Paris is expertly portrayed through this recording. The highs, the lows and all the delights. I felt a part of it all(and I'm a long way from Paris!)

Now, if you have read any of my other CD reviews, you know that right about here is where I complain ,and sometimes even take a star off of my rating, when a CD is too short(considering how easy it is to get music elsewhere these days). But I have to say, even though the total time on this CD is only about 35 minutes, what a glorious 35 minutes it is.
Rhapsody a wonderful 16:26 and American In Paris a Yummy 18:22.
It's music that never gets old. It stands the test of time, and many repeated playings.

So you may want to keep a copy of this in your car. A great way to start your day. Listen on the way to work, and you'll have that "what? me worry?" attitude. Also fabulous for destressing on the way home from a long days work.It just seems to make everything okay.

As I said the CD has a nice quality. It also has a booklet with some notes on how Gershwin came to compose these songs.

Gershwin performed by Bernstein..it was meant to be!
Enjoy it...Laurie

The Definitive Version and Good Sound Quality!.......2006-06-06

This ADD recording has surprisingly good sound quality for an older recording that hasn't been remastered. The performance by Bernstein and both the Columbia Symphonic and the NY Philharmonic on the pieces is simply breathtaking. You'd be hard pressed to find better interpretations of these Gershwin masterpieces. The only problem with this album is that it's very short and although would have been the perfect length on an lp or cassette as it was originally, it seems to be a waste of cd space here. Sony should probably remaster this and add some tracks like perhaps "Porgy and Bess" to make it a better value proposition. I hope they re-release a remastered version on mini-lp sleeve replica packaging too.

Stars & Stripes Forever and the Greatest Marches

Average customer rating:

Album matches content hype
Fun
invigorating!
Totally awesome!

Stars & Stripes Forever and the Greatest Marches

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sousa's Greatest Hits
The Military Band: Salute to the Services
Salute to America
40 Famous Marches
Fiedler's Favorite Marches

ASIN: B000003F5U
Release Date: 1991-09-06

Tracks:

Aida: Grand March
Babes In Toyland: March Of The Toys
Semper Fidelis
Suite No. 1, Op. 43: Marche miniature
Yankee Doodle
Up The Street
The Damnation of Faust: Rakoczy March
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Sambre et Meuse
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Dixie
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Strike Up The Band
Radetzsky March
Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1
Algerian Suite: French Military March
Mlada: Procession Of The Nobles
Valdres March
National Emblem March
The Stars And Stripes Forever

Customer Reviews:

Album matches content hype.......2007-05-31

I intially bought this album for a few selections I had heard from Classical 102.1 (KDFC-FM). I was pleasantly surprised that the entire album has a very satisfying collection of the greatest marches. I am very pleased with this album, and would recommend it for anyone who likes a broad range of famous marches.

Fun.......2007-01-21

This CD would make a great gift for anyone who enjoys marches. Some of the marches are popular, others are not. All are well-performed and can be enjoyed - LOUDLY!

invigorating!.......2006-12-05

Great recordings of stirring music. I like to play it loud while my kids and I clean house. It makes it go by fast.

Totally awesome!.......2005-03-27

My father was a Marine in the ETC, he told me stories about how they went floor to floor checking for bad guys humming this music. I think it is great music to listen to, I really like track 3, it says so much in the title alone. I hope everybody like this music as much as I do!

Under the Big Top: 100 Years of Circus Music

Average customer rating:

perfect circus party music
Memories of Happy Times
Perfect!!!
Great cd!
just like being there

Under the Big Top: 100 Years of Circus Music
Great American Main Street Band , and Traditional/various
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Circus Music from the Big Top
The Grand Old Circus Band
Screamers (Circus Marches)
Circus Spectacular
Clown and Midway Calliope Music Vol. 1

ASIN: B000002SKA
Release Date: 1993-01-19

Tracks:

Entry Of The Gladiators
Memphis The Majestic March
Caesar's Triumphal March
Miss Trombone (A Slippery Rag)
The Cantonians March
Broadway One-Step
Wedding Of The Winds (Waltz)
Honey Boys On Parade (March)
Kentucky Sunrise (Two-Step)
Jungle Queen (Oriental Two-Step)
The Big Cage (Circus Galop)
Trombone Blues
Royal Decree (March)
The Booster (An American Absurdity Rag)
Russian Circus March
Olympia Hippodrome March
Clownette (Novelty)
The Circus King (March)
Walking Frog (Two-Step)
A Night In June (Serenade)
Stop It! (One-Step)
Folies Berg (Marach And Two-Step)
Fan-Tan (Chinese March Characteristique)
Copa Cabana (Samba)
Crimson Petal (Valse Caprice)
Circus Echoes (Galop)
Storming Of El Caney
Barnum & Bailey's Favorite (March)

Customer Reviews:

perfect circus party music.......2007-05-19

I purchased this for my daughter's 1st birthday party, and it was fabulous background music for the event.

Memories of Happy Times.......2007-04-11

Being a professional performer myself, I really enjoy listening to this music from the circus. It really puts you in a positive mood for the rest of the day no matter what happens. I will often play it when driving to one of my performances to put me "in the mood". I am so glad to have it on CD since my cassette of this item is rather frail. Highly recommended

Perfect!!!.......2006-11-18

I used this CD in a mix for a Big Top themed company picnic. The music was awesome and provided great atmosphere music and made you feel like you were at a real circus.

Great cd!.......2006-02-26

I ordered this so that I could use it at a circus-themed birthday party for one of my friends, and I am absolutely crazy about it! Even before it arrived, I became addicted to the songs; I would get on here and listen to the samples almost every day. After it arrived, not only was I delighted to find that the cd is great quality, but I was also delighted to discover just how great the musicianship is! One of my favorite features is that the little leaflet tells which songs are traditionally played with what kinds of acts, and as I listened, I was amazed at how fitting they each were. I can't decide which tune is my favorite and they are all really catchy. The only problem I have had with this cd is just that--- the catchiness. :) I have been whistling the songs "Clownette", "Wedding of the Winds", "The Booster" and "Broadway One Step" for about three or four days, unable to get them out of my head (my poor friends!). But it's totally worth it! :) I hope you will love this fantastic cd as much as I do!

just like being there.......2005-09-27

This group of performers is smaller and more intimate than the Eastman Wind Ensemble which recorded "Screamers," and therefore feels more like part of a smaller circus traveling the backroads, and performing at schools or in church parking lots. The musical content is just as well done, and just as pleasing. It makes a great compliment to "Screamers."

What a treasure of old style, authentic Americana this music presents. If you haven't been to this smaller type of circus in person, you've certainly seen it in the movies. And this puts you right in the front row. The liner notes are great, as you can picture the sequence of the performers; from their grand entrance, to the finale, with the clowns slipping in here and there.

Wonderful music. I am very happy that I now own it. And I become happier each time I listen to it!

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 60; Guitar Concerto; Khrimian Hairig

Average customer rating:

Illuminating music by the master musician of a generation.
Superb Introduction to Hovhaness
Hovhaness on Naxos

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 60; Guitar Concerto; Khrimian Hairig

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade
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Rorem: Flute Concerto; Violin Concerto
Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 22 ("City of Light"); Cello Concerto

ASIN: B000JVSVDI
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Tracks:

Khirimian Hairig, Op.49
Largo
Andante Espressivo
Allegro Moderato
Adagio Doloroso
Allegro
Senza Misura: Adagio
Finale: Andante - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Illuminating music by the master musician of a generation........2007-07-23

It will be another sleepless night. Quite by accident I stumbled upon this CD which contains excellent performances of several more works of Alan Hovhaness that I did not know. It arrived today in the mail with the last of the Harry Potter series. While my 11 year old daughter devours the words of the writer of her generation, I sit downstairs in my basement office, transported by the sounds of the master musician of my generation. The music coming from my aged stereo is music of such beauty, such grace and such wonder that it will not leave me. The sounds will play in my soul throughout the night: While others in the house sleep, I will hear in silence his Christmas Symphony, his haunting Prayer of St. Gregory, the mysterious and oh, so lovely, Khrimian Hairig, a testament to the faith of the Armenian people, so excellently performed on this CD, and the majesty of the 60th Symphony, now my favorite, and one of his later compositions.

Hovhaness was a true artist. He was somehow able to go beyond composition; it is as if he revealed music itself, the purpose, the essence of music beneath the notes. I think I understand what his wife meant when she called him "music itself". So yes, I do indeed recommend this CD and pray that I will discover more like it. The music is illuminating; the performances are flawless. Surely there will be other nights in which to sleep.

Superb Introduction to Hovhaness.......2007-05-24

This is a superb introduction to the works of Alan Hovhaness, a long-neglected 20th Century American Composer. The Trumpet Concerto (Khrimian Hairig) is well-played and has a serious thoughtful quality to it. This work should be performed more often by orchestras. The Guitar Concerto is also entertaining and well-played and deserves more playing time with larger orchestras. The Symphony No. 60 (!) is a work more typically associated with Hovhaness - upbeat positive music with no ties to the modern school of classical music. The conductor Gerard Schwartz has spent much of his career championing the works of lesser known American composers and does a great job here. The recording is excellent as well.

Hovhaness on Naxos.......2007-03-07

The reputation of the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911 -- 2000) continues to grow. Hovhaness was a prolific composer of 67 symphonies and about 400 other works. He wrote in a highly personal, mystical style that emphasized his Armenian roots, his devotion to nature, and his interest in Eastern thought and music. His music is accessible and enjoyed substantial popular appeal during the later years of the composer's life. But it was not always well-received by critics.

This CD is the third that Naxos has devoted to the music of Hovhaness in its "American classics" series. It offers two world-premiere recordings. These releases offer an outstanding opportunity at a budget price to get to know Hovhaness' music. The first two CDs featured Hovhaness early cello concerto and symphony no. 22, the "City of Light" and a collection of three of Hovhaness' six symphonies for wind band. The most recent, CD offers three works in differing forms from relatively early in Hovhaness' career to near the end. Gerard Schwarz, music director of the Seattle Symphony (Hovhaness spent the final years of his life in Seattle) and long a champion of the composer conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. It is good to see a European orchestra offer sympathetic performances of Hovhaness in a short early work, and in the first recordings of a guitar concerto, and a late symphony. The composer's widow, Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness, has written excellent notes for the CD.

The CD opens with a work called "Khrimian Harig", opus 49, composed during the mid-40s. This is a work of about 8 minutes for orchestra and solo trumpet, played here by the orchestra's first trumpet, Lars Ranch. This is a highly lyrical, mystical work in which the trumpet represents an ancient Armenian prophet leading his people through persecutions to the path of faith. Much of the work is call-and-response between trumpet and orchestra. Hovhaness later adopted this work into a composition titled "Return and Rebuild the Desolate Places" opus 213 which appears on the earlier Naxos CD of Hovhaness' music for wind band.

Hovhaness' guitar concerto opus 325 was composed in 1979 and it is performed here by the American guitarist and composer David Leisner. This three movement work is highly idiomatic for the guitar and balances the voice of the instrument well against the larger forces of the orchestra. In the opening movement, slow, ominous statements of a theme for orchestra and bells alternate with long, guitar solos of a reflectively Spanish cast. The middle movement is in a concertante style as the guitar part alternates with a variety of solo passages for bassoon, cello, wind choir, and violin. The finale begins dramatically in a statement for the full orchestra. The stern orchestral writing alternates througout with softer, lyrical sections for the soloist. This is an intriguing, successful work in a difficult genre.

The final work on the CD is the Symphony no. 60 "To the Appalachian Mountains" opus 396 which also receives its first recorded performance. Hovhaness wrote this work in 1985 under a commission to celebrate the cultural heritage of the State of Tenessee. Apparently, the work was not well received in its opening performances, and that is unfortunate. This is one of Hovhaness' longer symphonies, over one-half hour in length, and it is lovely. Hovhaness combines his love for eastern music and nature with passages of distinctively American folk themes, virtually in the manner of Aaron Copland's popular works. With good reason, the composer referred to this work as his "Americana" symphony.

The work opens with a slow passage for flute and harp followed by a long flowing melody for strings. Near the end of the movement, the melody turns into a fugue, backed by pulsating drums and chimes. The second movement is an allegro which opens with a folklike mountain theme in the strings. This is followed by a melancholy English horn solo soon joined by the flute. After an outburst by the full orchestra, the folk theme returns to close the movement. The brief third movement opens with the harp and is based upon an old mountain tune called "Parting Friends." The finale opens with a large, slowly rocking theme in the strings followed by sections reminiscent of mountain dances before the opening material returns with brass and bells to close the work. I loved this symphony, particularly in its use of folk-sounding material (all of which were originally composed, with the exception of the tune in the third movement) and in its imaginative orchestration.

Listeners wanting to get to know Hovhaness and his distinctive style will enjoy this CD and its companions on Naxos. I am looking forward to further releases of Hovhaness' music in the "American classics" series.

Robin Friedman

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully American
A Gersh-winner
Interesting... but I think I'd prefer a good Gershwin interpreter
Gershwin's playing overated
The jazzy Gershwin. What a CD!!!!!!!

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005J1I
Release Date: 1993-11-09

Tracks:

Sweet And Lowdown
Novelette In Fourths
That Certain Feeling
So Am I
Rhapsody In Blue
Swanee
When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em...
Kickin' The Clouds Away
Idol Dreams
On My Mind The Whole Night Long
Scandal Walk
An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully American.......2007-05-14

I've had a copy of this CD for years and love it. The power and optimism of the music is really quite remarkable... regardless of who or what is actually playing here. The arrangement of Swanee is light but rich with major chord trains like you just want to go marching around the room. And American In Paris leads you on a swaying, dischordy journey the deeper you go, as the narrative begins to trade delicacy for passion. (and I love renditions where you can hear the MUSIC and the instruments don't get in the way, like four-voice midi versions of Bach which reveal the eloquence).

When I listen to this CD now, and which is most surpring to me, I hear a profound pride in America - back "before." I play it when I have people over and we put burgers on the grill. This CD is the song of sitting in my back yard with the clouds blowing by and for the moment things feel OK.

"Before" - OK, there is no old perfect Amercia; but I'm thinking of the time before we learned to distill petroleum into toxic pollution, before pride meant vanity and thuggery, before hate-filled invective became public amusement, and before presidents went to war because it was good for business.

A Gersh-winner.......2007-01-07

George Gershwin had a long association with the mechanical device known as the player piano. At the age of ten, Gershwin used a neighbor's pianola to teach himself how to play, by very slowly pumping the foot pedal that advanced the hole-punched rolls, and placing his fingers on the depressed keys. His parents were so impressed by his abilities they enrolled the boy in formal piano studies when he turned 13. Thus, an American genius was born.

The existing films of Gershwin (who died of a brain tumor at age 38 in 1937) show him to be a virtuoso at his instrument. His 1924 acoustic recording of Rhapsody In Blue (with the Paul Whiteman orchestra) is further evidence of this. But no film or recording has what is contained within the album GERSHWIN PLAYS GERSHWIN: THE PIANO ROLLS, and that is-- full fidelity range.

The CD comes in a standard jewel case packaged in a heavy paper slipcover. Biographical liner notes are included along with details on the rolls. The earliest performance in this set is from 1916, made when Gershwin was an 18-year-old song plugger. My favorites here are "Swanee," from 1920, and "An American In Paris," from 1933, which is undoubtedly one of the last significant piano rolls ever made.

Gershwin's dynamic performances are not in the least obscured by the few extra notes added to the piano rolls (such practice was standard in those days). Listening to these recordings is like sitting next to this brilliant man, observing his fingers fly over the keys as he plays some of his best work.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 60:36

Interesting... but I think I'd prefer a good Gershwin interpreter.......2006-05-14

Composers are not necessarily the best performers of their own work. A songwriter's songwriter like Jules Shear or Jimmy Webb comes to mind -- surely the best representations of their songs are on other artist's albums.

This album is charming in its own way -- a taste of the music and performance style of a bygone era. Someone complained that these rolls were edited. So what? I'm going to review the final product, now how it was made. Do you eat sausage? Ask not what's in it!

I like to listen to this CD in short bits -- a few songs at a time. For some reason I find it to be fatiguing if I listen for more than 20 minutes or so. I'm not absolutely sure why this is so. Possibly the meter is just a little too metronomic on many of the songs. This lends a "mechanical" quality to the performances.

Additionally, I felt that the dynamic range was restricted. The music does get louder and softer, because of the piano rolls themselves and because of the computer programming used to read the piano rolls -- the dynamics were deliberately adjusted by the record producers in some spots, if I read the liner notes correctly. And yet. And yet. Still these songs do not dynamically "breathe" fully in and out the way they ought to. I find this disappointing, but I think it has something to do with inherent limitations in piano roll recording technique. I'm guessing.

Taken for what it is, it is an interesting concept, and the sound quality is very pleasant. The performances are very good for piano rolls, but fall short of what a good interpreter could do. Take, for example, the Rhapsody in Blue from Woody Allen's Manhattan soundtrack. Listen specifically to the piano part -- the dynamics and variations in rhythm. This is not by any means the best performance of Rhapsody, but it is better than the Gershwin rolls.

Gershwin's playing overated.......2006-04-09

After I heard this cd I bought Gershwin plays Gershwin on the naxos label which arn't piano rolls. Any pianist can tell that many of these rolls are heavily edited and can't be played by a pianists with two hands. On the naxos album that has some of these same songs Gershwin's actual playing doesn't sound very good. Many of Gershwins contempories such as James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Luckey Roberts and even Zez Confrey were much better pianists than he was, however they didn't have his melodic gifts as a composer. I would recommend Artis Whodhouse's
transcriptions of Jelly Roll Morton's piano rolls (on the same label) instead because most of those are exactly how he played them and in my opinion Morton was a better musician in every way than Gershwin.

The jazzy Gershwin. What a CD!!!!!!!.......2006-02-23

I got this CD as a gift. I am all for the austrogerman post- romantic music and as imagined Gershwin is not my favourite composer. I know him from his best known works such as the 'Rhapsody", the 'American' and his great songs. This CD is a treasure as mentioned from other reviewers of this site. Gershwin full of passion, his music being jazzy to the very end and that great feeling you get after a great live performance is present all over the length of this 'treasure'. No question about the presence of the music. Not to be missed

The Military Band: Salute to the Services

Average customer rating:

Marching along
Traditional American marches
GREAT MUSIC!
Why not ZERO?
Great Military Music

The Military Band: Salute to the Services
Francis Saltus Van Boskerek , Robert M. Crawford , John Stafford Smith , John Philip Sousa , American Traditional , Joseph Franz Wagner , Charles A. Zimmerman , and Felix Slatkin
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000006OGX
Release Date: 1998-06-02

Tracks:

Reveille
Salute To The Services: The US Field Artillery March
Salute To The Services: Anchors Aweigh
US Marines On Parade
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Salute To The Services: Semper Paratus
Salute To The Services: The Stars & Stripes Forever
Salute To The Services: Semper Fidelis
Salute To The Services: National Emblem
Salute To The Services: El Capitan
Salute To The Services: Washington Post
Salute To The Services: The Thunderer
Salute To The Services: Under The Double Eagle
Salute To The Services: American Patrol
Salute To The Services: The Star Spangled Banner
Taps

Customer Reviews:

Marching along.......2007-05-12

I am a walker..(up to 15 miles per week) Having made this purchase... I now march along with Sousa and the other greats on this fine album....I heartily recommend it to all....as well as Amazon's timely and fairly priced services...

Traditional American marches.......2007-03-22

These are traditional American marches well played and stirring. The CD and case are of good quality, and the sound is excellent.

GREAT MUSIC!.......2007-03-11

This is an unusual Music CD to a great price.
Something to celebrate July 4 and our nation.
Highly recommended.

Why not ZERO? .......2007-01-27

I would give this one ZERO.....absolutely waste of money. The sound quality is terrible on my Made in Japan SONY / Kenwood / Panasonic CD / MP3 Players. Also, the collection of the noise is not all that impressive, I have seen much better calming peaceful MUSIC. Do not waste money, I think it is rediculous to have a band for military, How about a band for PEACE?

Great Military Music.......2007-01-11

The CD was just what I needed for a special memorial tribute to our service people that have passed on. The recording was clear and bright. The music selections were well performed and TAPS was especially evoking.

Average customer rating:

Salute to America
A good choice but...
Ho-Hum
"Boston Pops".. Alway's do the Job!
Full-Spirited

Salute to America

Manufacturer: Mca Special Products
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Very Best Of The Boston Pops
I Love a Parade John Williams
Stars & Stripes Forever and the Greatest Marches
Swing Swing Swing
Sousa's Greatest Hits

ASIN: B0000047JW
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Candide (Overture)
New York, New York (America Medley)
Lonely Town (America Medley)
America (Ameriaca Medley)
Battle Hymn of the Republic
American Salute
America the Beautiful
This Land is Your Land
76 Trombones
St. Louis Blues March
Strike Up the Band
When the Saints go Marchin' In

Customer Reviews:

Salute to America.......2006-07-27

Very similar in quality and music to I Love A Parade and a very upbeat reminder of why we are a patriotic nation. The arrangements and quality of the songs are great.

A good choice but..........2005-06-29

It is not the best CD that I have bought but it is an honest one. The orchestration is good, the choice of tunes is excellent and the tunes are well played. As you know, it is always difficult to say : I like it or I hate it because hearing a CD is a question of personal point of view. In my case, I may not say that I like it or I hate it, I prefer some other orchestration but it us a good CD.

Ho-Hum.......2005-06-08

I wanted some rousing marching music. This album is half asleep. The sound quality is poor. Apparently Mr. Williams writes better music than he conducts.

"Boston Pops".. Alway's do the Job!.......2001-10-03

John Williams/Boston Pops.. Salute to America.

And they do! They salute America! This is a wonderful C.D
Battle Hymn of the Republic, is great..

New York, New York,will bring tears to your eyes!
12 renditions in all..

All these are performed wonderfully, and well worth the money!

I would recommend this to anyone who loves patriotic music, it will stir the heart and soul of Americans....

Full-Spirited.......2000-09-02

I'm a classical music/opera person for the most part. But I find this CD entralling. Even the organization of the CD is ideal-almost like a symphony--with the rousing Candide Overture and the musical medleys at the beginning, the patriotic songs as the B section, and the Dixieland and other music from American musicals to finish up. And I particularly like the orchestration of the medleys. A wonderful CD.

Average customer rating:

Excellent, but one missing...
Simply a Fun Set of Marches
Great Marching Music
Great

Fiedler's Favorite Marches

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Stars & Stripes Forever and the Greatest Marches

ASIN: B000003F2V
Release Date: 1990-11-20

Tracks:

Aida: Grand March
Babes In Toyland: March Of The Toys
Semper Fidelis
Suite No. 1, Op. 43: Marche Miniature
Yankee Doodle
Up The Street
The Damnation Of Faust: Rakoczy March
Caucasian Sketches: Procession Of The Sardar
Sambe Et Meuse
The Ruins Of Athens: Turkish March
Colonel Bogey
Dixie
American Salute
Strike Up the Band
Radetzsky March
Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1
Algerian Suite: French Military March
Mlada: Procession Of The Nobles
Valdres March
National Emblem March
The Stars And Stripes Forever

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, but one missing..........2007-03-07

These are fabulous marches played with huge amounts of zest, but one of Fiedler's best RCA marches - the Zacatecas March - was left out!!! Why??? There would have been plenty of room, and it seems to be available on a Japanese release - why not this one?

Otherwise, no hesitation at all.

Simply a Fun Set of Marches.......2003-10-18

In the 5th grade, I tried out for Little League. My desire to play baseball was not rooted in any love for the sport. I thought my father wanted me to play a sport. I was so great at the tryouts; he said some memorable words to me. "Tim, I think you ought to stick with playing the clarinet." I am sure he was trying to spare me humiliation on the athletic field. Little did he know he was starting my love affair with music, a far greater gift.

Perhaps because I was in the school band, I gravitated toward marches, and this collection of marches conducted by Arthur Fielder was one of the first recordings I purchased (6th or 7th grade I believe). At the time (the mid 1970's) it was only available on LP. As soon as the CD was available, I purchased it for nostalgic reasons. This collection had many popular marches such as the Grand March from Aida, Stars and Stripes Forever, Pomp and Circumstance, as well as some lesser known marches. This was one of the collections that piqued my interest in orchestral music. Though the marches could probably best be termed "light classical," it was an introduction to more serious music. Many years later I used this same recording when I taught as background music during art or spelling lessons. Again, it served as an introduction to more serious music.

This is not a complicated set; it is simply a little jewel that is a joy to listen to and a fun addition to a music collection.

Great Marching Music.......2000-11-14

Even though I am a Yankee I still love "Dixie." This is great music for pre-school children and those just entering school. I think it helps build character. I like this album.

Great.......1999-05-23

I have had this tape for years and it just got torn, so I have to replace it immediately because my granddaughter, age 3, also loves it.

The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection

Average customer rating:

Sad Really Sad
An excellent movie themes antology by ELMER BERNSTEIN
Excellent
Great Film Music
Fun, Powerfull music

The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0007XTQ14
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Tracks:

The Magnificent Seven
To Kill A Mockingbird (Suite)
The Buccaneer (Overture)
Walk On The Wild Side
An American Werewolf In London (Metamorphosis)
The Age Of Innocence (End Titles)
The Comancheros
Ghostbusters
Heavy Metal (Taarna's Theme)
Johnny Staccato
True Grit (Rooster Cogburn/A Warm Wrap-Up)
Hollywood And The Stars
Zulu Dawn (River Crossing)

Tracks:

The Great Escape
The Man With The Golden Arm
Far From Heaven
The Sons Of Katie Elder
Airplane (Suite)
The Shootist (Main Title)
Hawaii (Overture)
The Birdman Of Alcatraz (Finale)
The Hallelujah Trail (Overture)
The Bridge At Remagen
Thoroughly Modern Millie (Sky-Hi)
The Scalphunters
The Ten Commandments (Overture)

Album Description

*A specially priced 2CD set with over 110 minutes of some of the greatest film music in the history of cinema.

*New digital recordings in spectacular and sound performed by the acclaimed City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and National Youth Jazz Band.

*Includes world premiere recordings from "The Birdman Of Alcatraz," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Airplane!" and "An American Werewolf In London."

*In 2004 the world of cinema lost one of the most iconic figures in film composing. In a career that spanned half-a-century and over 250 films, Elmer Bernstein was responsible for writing the music to many of the greatest and most loved movies of all time ranging from "The Ten Commandments," "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape," through to "True Grit" and "Airplane!" This collection has been lovingly created and compiled as a tribute to a genius and true master of the art of film scoring.

Customer Reviews:

Sad Really Sad.......2007-05-13

These CDs don't meet the standards I would have expected from Elmer Bernstein's wonderful film music.
*Boring*
It just didn't have the energy one would expect from "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Man with the Golden Arm". I think the City of Prague and National Youth Jazz Orchestras were bargain orchestras used to make an inexpensive CD set of one of my favorite film composers. The conducting and arrangements were what made this an obviously bad album.

An excellent movie themes antology by ELMER BERNSTEIN.......2007-05-10

Silva Screen Records, presents this antology of the music from the late great composer/conductor ELMER BERNSTEIN, who supervised this recording just before die.
Played the The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by his one time assistant James Fitzpatrick
Recorded in HDCD and Dolby Surround

Excellent.......2007-04-22

it's unfortunate that more tracks weren't able to be recorded as theree was a good 15-20 minutes of space remaining on both discs. Regardless, this is an excellent sampler, especially in conjunction with Varese's Bernstein sampler including rare stuff like the Black Cualdron.

With regards to this silva set, these recordings range back to 1994, with Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit being recorded for a John Wayne CD and Bridge At Remagen for a CD of classic War themes. The Great Escape was also recorded for that CD, but producer James Fitzpatrick opted to record a new arrangement (same with Magnificent Seven). In '97, The Buccaneer for included on a Swashbucklers disc, while Heavy Metal was on the popular 'Space and Beyond' compilation. In '98, the world premiere recording of Airplane first appeared on a DISASTERS film disc. So while it may technically be the world premiere RECORDING it certainly is not the world premiere CD RELEASE of that recording. Ghostbusters was included on Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier, the second followup to the popular 'Space and Beyond'. Fast forward to 2002 and 4 recordings first appeared on WAY OUT WEST: ESSENTIAL WESTERN FILM MUSIC COLLECTION VOLUME TWO, those being The Comancheros, The Hallelujah Trail, The Scalphunters and The Shootist. Man With the Golden Arm and Walk on the Wild are from Silva's JAZZ IN FILM cd.

The remaining tracks were all newly recorded for this release. They are of course the strongest tracks, seeing as the City of Prague Philharmonic has improved over time. I do wonder though why they did not include the older arrangements of Great Escape and Mag. Seven as bonus tracks.

I also recommend the simultaneously released '40 years of Film Music: Jerry Goldsmith' for another great set honoring a late great film composer.

Great Film Music.......2007-03-09

This is a great recording of some of the best film music ever. From the
great westerns to the Theme from Airplane to music he did for television,
Bernstein was one of the greatest.

Fun, Powerfull music.......2007-02-17

It's great! It brings back memories of my dad. He loved John Wayne and the old cowboys of the Magnificent Seven. But it's nice just to listen and relax (it's not all cowboy music).

Average customer rating:

A Great Addition to the World Premiere Recording
At Long Last!

Howard Hanson: Merry Mount

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000OQDRZA
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Amazon.com

This is the first modern recording of Howard Hanson's opera. A broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera in terrible sound, where it was premiered in 1934, is available in Europe, but this recording makes it redundant. The opera, based on a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, concerns the clash between New England Puritans, with their rigid religiosity, and a group of Cavaliers who come to their town and scandalize everyone with their Maypole dancing and merry-making. There is an interrupted Indian massacre, a scene in Hell for the town's fanatical preacher, Wrestling Bradford, and a self-immolation at the opera's close. While it's good to have such a fine recording of this work available - and this performance, with Richard Zeller as a passionate Bradford, the remarkable Lauren Flanigan as Lady Marigold (the object of Bradford's desire), and a fine cast of American singers, is nothing if not superb - it is impossible to avoid the fact that the work is bloated, lacks true melodies, relies too heavily on repeated drumbeats for effect, and does not offer any appealing vocal writing for the principals. The music adds up to something vaguely cinematic and, more vaguely, true background. It's clearly a work that was probably better seen than just heard. This recording was taken from two concert performances in 1996. It will be of interest to fans of American opera who should not expect a forgotten masterpiece. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Great Addition to the World Premiere Recording.......2007-06-12

For a number of years in the 1920s and 30s, the MET opera was looking to premiere *the* American opera, in a period where American culture wanted to exert its identity separate from European influences and culture. This was a time of isolationist ideology wedged betweeen two world wars. After a number of unsuccessful commissions, one opera finally emerged in the mid 1930s that had promise: Howard Hanson's Merry Mount.

The premiere of Merry Mount brought such an enthusiastic response from the audience, that applause broke out on several instances in the middle of acts, often after a rousing chorus. And the shocking progression of events in the second act floored the audience then as well as listeners today.

As noted in other reviews, another recording of the opera exists, also produced by Naxos, but is unavailable in the US due to legal issues with the release of any live recordings of MET operas from the time. By today's standard, the recording quality is poor, but the engineering on the recording is phenomenal enough when taken into context: it was on mid-1930s 78 rpm acetate and metal discs. Yet about all scratches and surface noise is absent, though there are still dents in the recordings that make an unfortunate explosion at times.

Levine, in his editorial review, says that this recording makes the earlier one redundant; I would differ. The premiere performance is scads better in orchestral and vocal quality than the Schwartz/Seattle Symphony recording. The premiere features Lawrence Tibbett, who executed the main role with both focal force and dramatic passion. His expression creates the character of Bradford. Gota Ljunberg also has a stellar performance of Marigold, and the Metropolitan Orchestra produces a reading of the opera score that tops about every recording I've heard of the Merry Mount Suite.

Thus, I find this new recording as a compliment to the other. For those not interested in acquiring both CDs, I would of course recommend the Schwartz CD because of its sound quality.

Schwartz's recording is also performed live, and that being about ten years ago. It was not performed as a full-blown stage opera, and the vocal performance quality is set back a bit because of this. The roles don't hold the passion and character development that the earlier one does, and the recording is free from the "additional" expressions of gasps, shouts, etc... from a staged performance that add to the drama. Yet, the vocal quality is by no means poor, and Scwartz's interpretation is equivalant to the quality of his other Hanson recordings. And with Scwartz's performance being live, there are moments of applause.

The music itself may appear relatively simple to some, and yet it is captivating. Many of the orchestral techniques Hanson uses for effect were innovative for the time, and if we are worn out by them, it is only because of their abuse by many lesser composers since. While the highlights of the opera are the choruses (especially the Hellish Rendezvous), Hanson does write several good arias, such as in the last scene for Marigold.

So what happened to the opera? While enjoyed by the audience, the critics were less merciful, and as has happened to so many enriching pieces of music throughout history, the opera fell victim to the saber of criticism, and has only been rediscovered recently. In addition, Hanson's music was influenced by Scandinavian style, so was to some not a true American opera. Still, in most written discussions of great American operas, even brief discussions, mention is made of Merry Mount alongside Susannah, Porgy and Bess, Baby Doe, Amahl, Candide, and Vanessa.

My primary disappoint with this recording is the absense of a libretto. While the scene synopsis is good, I've longed for a libretto; it is available in neither this recording nor the earlier one. And even the synopsis is nothing new, as it is the same synopsis given in the earlier recording. This is my main reason for giving four stars instead of five, but I still offer my deep thanks and gratitude for the present recording. It has helped me hear parts of the orchestra I couldn't hear in the other recording, and has broadened my comprehension of the earlier recording. While I wish the strengths of each recording could be brought together for a stellar performance, I am glad for the strengths of each; not much is left lacking between the two.

In addition, for those familiar with the earlier recording, you'll be pleased to know this new recording has more music; the prelude to Act III is now 7:30 instead of 1:29. There is a 'forest' chorus in addition to a more dramatic and longer development of the Indian war theme.

Now that Merry Mount has a clear-sounding recording available, I have but one more request for the record industry regarding forgotten American operas: will we have the chance to hear Douglas Moore's Pulitzer Prize-winning Giants in the Earth?

This recording is highly recommended for lovers of romanticism, tonality, passionately engaging music, and sweeping Scandinavian styles of Sibelius and Atterberg.

At Long Last!.......2007-06-08

Have you ever listened to Howard Hanson's Merry Mount Suite and wished there was more of it. If so, you need to buy this 2-disc set of the most complete and best sounding recording of the full opera. The Suite kind of compiles and summarizes much of the best music in the opera but there is a lot more fine music as well as many variations on themes included in the Suite.

Is it a great opera!? I wouldn't know. I am not particularly a fan of opera and opera makes up a very small portion of my collection. But I really like Hanson, and I love this opera. And my collection does include 4 versions of this opera.

This is first commercial recording of Merry Mount. Naxos has also issued a recording, available in Europe, but apparently not in the USA, of the premier performance of the opera, the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of February 10, 1934, with Lawrence Tibbet, but the sound on that is bad for its time. If you want to hear how the leads sing their rolls and listen to their performances, you can do it, because if you want to listen to those singers, you have undoubtedly listened to others of their recordings of the period and can make the mental adjustments necessary to enjoy their performances. In that case the 1934 recording is recommended to you. But if you want to hear what the orchestra is doing, it is a real stretch, even if you are used to listening to orchestral recordings from the early 1930's or even acoustic orchestral recordings, as I am. In 1955, Hanson conducted several concert performances of Merry Mount at the Eastman School of Music with students and faculty performing the singing and orchestral parts. An experimental stereo recording of (at least) one of the performances was made at the time. I suspect it was done by the Mercury recording team since Hanson recorded exclusively for Mercury at the time--and it sounds Mercury-like. This recording was never released commercially--and hopefully the masters are in the Mercury vaults--but some copies were made, perhaps for Hanson and the performers, and copies do exist. It is worthy of commercial release, especially as a composer's recording. It is a wonderful performance, but Hanson made some significant cuts, and also added a scene--what this Naxos release of the Seattle performance calls Act III, Scene I. This scene does not appear in the original libretto or in the Premier recording. When the Seattle Symphony did its two dress rehearsals and two evening performances back in 1996, the opera was broadcast either live or tape-delayed. At least one someone recorded that off the radio, unfortunately in mono, and that recording has also been circulated somewhat, but its sound pales in comparison to this long delayed official issue of the Seattle performances. If you have that, you still want this. And this performance is probably somewhat different, being taken, apparently, from the two evening performances, whereas the broadcast is probably just one evening or the other. There were also performances by the San Antonio Opera with Beverly Sills as Lady Marigold in 1964, directed by the composer, I believe, and by Rochester's Opera Under the Stars in 1976 with the composer present, but apparently not conducting. I know of no recordings of those two performances. Hanson also recorded about 35 minutes of excerpts from the opera about 1964, released on Mercury LP and long out of print, and the Suite from Merry Mount, currently available on a 4 disc Mercury box set which is most highly recommended and which also contains his first 3 symphonies and a variety of other shorter works. That Mercury recording of the Suite also includes on a separate disc Hanson doing a lecture/demonstration/deconstruction/reconstruction of the themes, orchestral colors, and construction of the music in the Suite which is quite fascinating as well as beautifully and naturally recorded.

This Seattle Symphony version has slightly more very minor cuts than the Tibbet version, but includes the extra scene that Hanson apparently added years later, so it is the most complete version, as well as being the best recorded and only one readily available in the United States. The orchestral writing is very important and always clear. The singers and chorus are quite clear and their voices are always well balanced with the orchestra. The opera contains much beautiful orchestral and choral writing. I wouldn't presume to speak about the quality of the operatic writing, but there is much beautiful music there, too. And Hanson's music is so powerful that one really grows to care about the characters and their plight, even the aptly named Wrestling (with his personal demons) Bradford. Despite the clarity of the voice recording, it is still really helpful to have a libretto (though no performance I am aware of follows the original exactly), but unfortunately, that is long out of print, probably for decades. Mine dates from 1933 and cost 50¢ when new (I paid considerably more and counted myself lucky). When the performances were done in Seattle, rather than passing out a libretto, supertitles were used which presumably followed the performance exactly. Naxos should get rights to make a transcription of the supertitles available online or by mail order since they don't include a libretto with the discs. However, the summary of Merry Mount that they do include in the booklet is the best I've seen and really enhances one's enjoyment of the opera.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Mask of Smiles/Rover's Return

Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words, Vol. 1

International Velvet (+4 Bonus Tracks)

Gotcha!

Albion Pt.2 [CD-single] [Import]

Nightchaser

On Eagle's Wings

Masters of the Opera, Vol. 4, 1820-1831

Live: a Ticket for Everyone [Import]

Masterworks of the New Era - Volume Five

Music from (the Connection) [Import]

La Duena de Mis Quincenas

La Carcacha

Until Then I'll Suffer

Resolve