Howard Hanson - Orchestral Music Vol. 2 (Gerard Schwarz)

Information

Composer: Howard Hanson

CD1:

• Symphony No. 1 in E minor, 'Nordic'
• Piano Concerto in G major, Op. 36
• Suite from the Opera 'Merry Mount', Op. 31

CD2:

• Symphony No. 3
• Lament for Beowulf, Op. 25
• Symphony No. 5, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 43

Carol Rosenberger, piano

Seatle Symphony Orchestra

Gerard Schwarz, conductor

Date: 1998

Label: Delos

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Review

It is good to welcome the second Delos Double, grouping the symphonies of Howard Hanson, and his concertante and orchestral works, in these magnificently played and recorded performances from Gerard Schwarz and his fine Seattle orchestra, with its superb body of strings. The First Symphony, alongside the Second (which is included, with Nos. 4 and 7, on the companion Delos Double, 9/98) is memorable in every bar. Without the neurosis of Mahler, it is deeply felt, and has the same indelible melodic flow as its predecessor, a sombre Nordic ambience and a main theme which holds the structure firmly together. These are the two works most likely to enter the repertoire. Yet No. 3 has much the same atmosphere and confidence, and No. 5 concentrates six sections into a single movement of about a quarter-of-an-hour’s duration. Hanson’s harmonic progressions are instantly recognizable, as personal as those of Grieg, and it is very easy to get hooked on his music, with its broad, sweeping paragraphs and haunting nostalgia.

The opening Lento of the Piano Concerto is compelling, but energy soon takes over, quickly contrasted with lyrical delicacy. In four movements, it too, is succinct: the overall playing time is 23 minutes. Carol Rosenberger is a strong, spontaneous soloist, and she makes as much of the biting, syncopated Allegro feroce scherzo as the expressive Andante, moving easily from tranquillity to ardour, and the buoyant giocoso finale. The suite from the opera Merry Mount is lightweight but engagingly scored. The Lament for Beowulf is powerfully elegiac and lingers in the memory. Everything here rewards the listener who is seeking music which has a personal voice, but which does not seek dissonance for its own sake.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone

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Howard Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981) was an American composer, conductor, educator, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music. He was also the first director of the Institute for American Music at the University of Rochester. As a composer, Hanson won a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his Symphony No. 4, and received numerous other awards including the George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Music in 1946.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hanson

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Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947 in Weehawken, New Jersey) is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. He graduated from New York City's High School of Performing Arts and Juilliard School of Music and began his musical career as a trumpeter, performing until 1977 as co-principal of the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez. Schwarz champions American composers, past and present. He has made more than 100 recordings with the Seattle Symphony including many American works. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Schwarz

http://www.gerardschwarz.com/

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