Track Listing

1. Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op 22 'Nordic': 1. Andante solenne - Allegro con forza
2. Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op 22 'Nordic': 2. Andante teneramente, con semplicita
3. Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op 22 'Nordic': 3. Allegro con fuoco
4. Symphony No. 2 ('Romantic'), Op. 30: 1. Adagio; allegro moderato
5. Symphony No. 2 ('Romantic'), Op. 30: 2. Andante con tenerezza
6. Symphony No. 2 ('Romantic'), Op. 30: 3. Allegro con brio
7. Song of Democracy for chorus & orchestra, Op 44

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105035 in Music
• Brand: Philips
• Released on: 1990-09-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

Especially For The Romantic
Confession time: my first exposure to Hanson's music was in a movie theatre in downtown Boston. The year was 1979, and the movie was Ridley Scott's terrifying sci-fi film "Alien." At the film's conclusion, when Sigourney Weaver finally vanquishes the deadly creature, the life-affirming strains from the 2nd mvt. of Hanson's "Romantic" Symphony suddenly filled the theatre. As soon as I was back on the street, I headed immediately for the nearest record store (the late lamented Discount Records chain) and bought the composer's performance on Mercury LP (now on this excellently re-mastered CD). I've been utterly hooked on this gorgeous music ever since.

Hanson conducts his own music in a manner that is highly charged and dramatic. I suppose you could call this music's style neo-Sibelian, though to my ears it sounds more warmly lyrical and more colorfully orchestrated than the Finnish composer's. While Hanson's account of "The Nordic" is of course indispensable, I slightly prefer Kenneth Schermerhorn's slower and better-recorded account with the Nashville Symphony (Naxos). In the "Romantic," there are excellent alternatives from Leonard Slatkin/St. Louis (EMI, perhaps a little too slow) and Gerard Schwarz/Seattle Symphony on Delos (in a complete set of Hanson's symphonies). But my favorite "Romantic," along with Hanson's own, is the beautiful account by Charles Gerhardt and the RCA Symphony. It has absolutely stunning 1967 sound on Chesky (CD 112) in a collection called "Great American Composers." Also featured are works by Copland, Gould, and Griffes (including the latter's "White Peacock" and "Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan," fascinating works by a composer who died all too young).

Recommended, especially for the composer-led "Romantic."

Postscript: As it turns out, the "Romantic" was inserted as the end music for Alien without film composer Jerry Goldsmith's permission. Apparently the film's producers thought Goldsmith's own spare, abstract music was too much of a "downer." The latter can be heard on a separate track in the movie's 20th Anniversary Edition DVD, and also on a Silva CD of the complete soundtrack (including other music not used in the film), conducted by Lionel Newman.

A Fine Example of Classical Americana
This collection is desirable because Hanson directs the Rochester Orchestra himself, and the digital sound reproduction on this particular recording is exceptional. There are few pieces of music by American composers as definitive of the national spirit as Symphony no. 2. Lyrical, easily accessible to the classical neophyte, evoking universal emotions, this piece feels like a film score. The real jewel on this disc, however, is the impassioned performance of 'Song of Democracy.' Borrowing from two Walt Whitman poems, it is a work of extreme irony. It expresses the highest aspirations of a young republic, and given the moral direction taken by this country over the past 40 years, becomes a bittersweet reminder of shattered dreams.

Classics revived
These two well-known works and performances arrive beautifully refurbished by Wilma Cozart from her own taping sessions, for the world's delectation and simple delight.

Curiously, the Nordic seems somewhat dated now, more of an occasional piece in the vein of Harris's Folksong Symphony and others from the 1930s and 40s. In this time of cultural diversity as an everyday American discussion point, the work seems a tad ethnocentric, culturally correct, and postsecondary-academic. There's no question as to the quality of the performance which makes you give the work your heartfelt consideration.

There is no question about the Second being one of the great American symphonies (and there's a huge list of them). It is superbly elegant, musical, rapturous, and rewarding. It is a hauntingly restorative work that, with its breadth and sweep, propels you out and above the mundane cares of your own squalid and routine sphere, and builds your resolve to strike out of and live more fully. As such, it's a remarkable musico-philosophical example. Again, the performance is above reproach, thrilling, virtuoso, full of comittment, fully up to the considerable merits of the material.

The Lament is a fine example of Hanson's choral production. The music is remarkable in how it follows the text closely (and reminds one strongly of the composer's opera Merry Mount and its textual integrity). I can't imagine this great work being performed by any group other than a university or even high school chorus...it cries out for youth's optimism and desire for accomplishment. The Eastman chorus is brilliant, with well-expressed enthusiasm and outstanding tone, diction and mimicry, all the qualities of a fine Italian opera chorus. The orchestra is no less, but less-featured, and one would be hard-pressed to come up with one to suggest as an alternative!

Overall, this is an outstanding disk that can be welcomed with relief as the performances' initial vinyl issues languish and deteriorate on world collectors' shelves.