Track Listing

1. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: Movement 1
2. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: Movement 2
3. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: Movement 3
4. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: Movement 4
5. Divertimento, symphonic suite for orchestra from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
6. Divertimento, symphonic suite for orchestra from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
7. Divertimento, symphonic suite for orchestra from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
8. Divertimento, symphonic suite for orchestra from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
9. Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60: No. 1, "Birth of Kije"
10. Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60: No. 2, "Romance"
11. Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60: No. 3, "Kije's Wedding"
12. Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60: No. 4, "Troika"
13. Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60: No. 5, "Burial of Kije"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16132 in Music
• Brand: RCA
• Released on: 1995-03-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
Most people became acquainted with Hovhaness's greatest symphony, Mysterious Mountain (Symphony 2), through this recording when it appeared on vinyl during the Stone Age. It plays like an extended prayer and is oddly structured. It was an immediate hit when it appeared in 1955. Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss is a 1928 ballet commission that, quite intentionally, recalls Tchaikovsky and was written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death. Last here is a bang-up reading of Serge Prokofiev's classic Lieutenant Kije Suite. If you want to turn a young person onto classical music, play this disc. Worked with me. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews

I'm honored to write the first review for this masterpiece.
This album serves up a marvelous sampling of twentieth-century classical music. The first piece, "Mysterious Mountain" is a work of such aching beauty that once heard, it will be held in reverence forever. If you have any feeling for the wonders of nature, this piece will go straight to your heart.

The Stravinsky and Prokofiev works are also magnificent and provide a welcome counterpoint to the Hovhaness piece, but it is "Mysterious Mountain" that will live on in your memory.

The LP version of this album became a legendary collector's item prior to the CD release. One listen and you'll see why.

A Truly Mysterious Mountain
I first heard the music of Alan Hovhaness in 1971 and the piece which introduced me to his music was 'Fra Angelico'. I was an instant convert! I eagerly sought out Symphony No.2 as it was listed to be one of his most popular pieces. This recording is transcendent. I have the version on Delos by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony - but they romp through it as if it were a trip up a small mountain - rucksacks on our backs an all! Every other version that I have heard, via the Radio, treats it similarly. But the title of the piece is MYSTERIOUS Mountain and on this recording that is precisely what we get. Tremendous sensitivity pervades this performance whereby it is even possible to experience an Internal mountain through which we can leave all the troubles of the world behind. Hovhaness speaks of his being inspired by mountains as sources of spiritual sustenance and all of that is here too. If you're looking for a recording of this Symphony by one of the world's most uplifting composers - then look no further. This is IT!

A Glorious Recording Gloriously Re-Mastered
This is arguably one of the finest symphonic recordings made of any piece by anyone, anywhere. Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's rendition of Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2 is a worthy companion to their recordings of Strauss and Bartok - recordings that belong in the library of anyone who loves great music.

What's equally worth noting is the care that RCA took in transferring it to compact disk. They recruited John Pfeiffer, the engineer who made the original recordings, to do the re-mastering. Further, they rebuilt the original analogue recording equipment to transfer the tape master to digital format. Then, they made the brave decision to avoid all noise reduction post-processing, in order to preserve as much of the original performance as possible. As a result, you do hear tape hiss on this disk, as well as other extremely slight noise; but you also hear a beautifully detailed recording. For example, on one of the pianissimo trumpet passages, you can hear a very slight blurring of the trumpet tone, as Bud Herseth tightens his emboucher - a sound that contributes to the performance, but would have been scrubbed out by most noise-reduction systems.

If you love great music, buy this disk. And play it loud!