Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2 / Orchestral Set No. 2

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 2, for orchestra, S. 2 (K. 1A2)
Composed by Charles Ives
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Herrmann

2. Orchestral Set No. 2, for orchestra (& optional chorus), S. 8 (K. 1A6)
Composed by Charles Ives
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 1: II. Adagio molto (sostenuto) - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 1: III. Scherzo: Vivace - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 1: IV. Allegro molto - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 4: I. Prelude: Maestoso - The Cleveland Orchestra
Symphony No. 4: II. Allegretto - The Cleveland Orchestra
Symphony No. 4: III. Fugue: Andante moderato - The Cleveland Orchestra
Symphony No. 4: IV. Very Slowly - Largo maestoso - The Cleveland Orchestra
Orchestral Set No. 2: I. An Elegy To Our Forefathers - The Cleveland Orchestra
Orchestral Set No. 2: II. The Rockstrewn Hills Join In The People's Outdoor Meeting - The Cleveland Orchestra
Orchestral Set No. 2: III. From Hanover Square North, At The End Of A Tragic Day, The Voices Of The People Again Arose - The Cleveland Orchestra

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2: I. Andante moderato - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 2: II. Allegro - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 2: III. Adagio cantabile - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 2: IV. Lento maestoso - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 2: V. Allegro molto vivace - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 3 'The Camp Meeting': I. Old Folks Gatherin' - Academy Of St Martin - In - The - Fields
Symphony No. 3 'The Camp Meeting': II. Children's Play - Academy Of St Martin - In - The - Fields
Symphony No. 3 'The Camp Meeting': III. Communion - Academy Of St Martin - In - The - Fields
Three Places In New England (Orchestral Set No. 1): I. The 'St Gaudens' In Boston Common (Col. Robert Gould Shaw And His Colored Regiment) - The Cleveland Orchestra
Three Places In New England (Orchestral Set No. 1): II. Putnam's Camp, Redding, Connecticut - The Cleveland Orchestra
Three Places In New England (Orchestral Set No. 1): III. The Housatonic At Stockbridge - The Cleveland Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2003-10-11

This 2-CD set is really good, and contains his complete numbered symphonies (except, Holidays Symphony [No. 5]) and Orchestral Sets...

First Symphony (D minor!) is a study work, written in school years, so he didn't abandon the principles of harmony(!)

Second Symphony (F Major, except the last chord of music!) contains themes of some famous composers (Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak) and last chord is hysterical of course...

Third Symphony is a winner of Pulitzer, and written for a chamber orchestra

And Fourth Symphony is one of the best compositions by Ives.
Especially 2nd movement is terrific...He used some popular tunes and marches of USA (as usual!) and divide 2 part to the all orchestra. Even so, this movement requires two conductors for orchestra only (!). Orchestration is amazing (ex. quarter-tone piano, more two normal pianos, bells, gongs, large woodwinds, 6 horns, 6 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 tubas etc...) and choir requires...

All performers are very good. Especially Dohnanyi and his Cleveland Orchestra (in 4th Sym.), Zubin Mehta and his Los Angeles PO (in 2nd Symphony) are excellent...

In other words, this set is a must have for all Ives fans.
Highly recommended...

A great set.......2003-08-18

Ives' four symphonies beautifully summarize his musical development. Unlike Brahms' four, they are not all fully mature works. Each one freezes a moment in his musical development. The first is student work, much in the manner of Dvorak and Tchaikovsky (with paraphrases of each), and the most vibrant American symphony written to that time. The Second does what many musical nationalists of Ives' day thought an American symphony should do -- apply native themes to European models, but as much fun as the result is, it was a dead end for the composer, and he never attempted anything like it again. Mehta and the LA Philharmonic give energetic and fully romantic readings of each, which came as a pleasant surprise to an long-time Ives fan who thought he'd heard all these works have to offer.

The Third comes closer to the mark. It consists of American themes woven together with ingenious counterpoint into wholly original forms. It is a jewel, and just the kind of pretty, low-key piece that brings out the best in Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

The Fourth is the masterpiece, the work Ives struggled toward all his life. Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra do a creditable job that stands up well to the competition from Stokowski and Tilson Thomas. I especially liked the engineering in the second and fourth movements, which captures some details others don't. (I'd never heard the wind machine before.)

As a bonus, you also get Ives' great orchestral sets, both in fine performances with Dohnanyi. The No. 1, better known as Three Places in New England, is the more famous, but the Second is sublime.

This reasonably priced set is a great, convenient way to acquire some of Ives' best music all at once.

Beautiful Music.......2001-05-13

I agree with Daniel. I, too, had been looking for a compilation of all of Ives' Symphonies, to no avail. Thankfully, Decca has released this gorgeous compilation of Ives' four symphonies, as well as including two orchestral sets.

Ives was a genius at creating uniquely beautiful harmony. And this impeccable set of recordings is a must for any Ives admirer.

Do Not Hesitate!.......2001-03-20

For quite some time, I had been looking for just such a compilation of all the Ives symphonies. When I saw this newly released compilation from Decca, I bought it without a moment's hesitation. And I am very glad I did: This set has very quickly become one of my favorite recordings. Not only the four symphonies, but also the two great orchestral sets 1 and 2 are included as well. Unquestionably, it is these two orchestral sets that make this compilation such an outstanding bargain and, really, an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone even remotely interested in modern classical music.

Each of the symphonies is very well performed, though none of these are what I would call the Definitive Recordings. However, the Mehta performance of the First is exceedingly good, and I don't really see how it could possibly be improved on. . . Dohnanyi's performance of the Fourth is a little restrained for my tastes, but it is nonetheless an interesting interpretation. Dohnanyi more than proves himself a able interpreter of Ives in his performances of the two orchestral sets, which are, without a doubt, the highlights of this album. J. P. Burkholder's liner notes add some very interesting insights into each of the works.

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2: 1. Andante moderato
Symphony No. 2: 2. Allegro
Symphony No. 2: 3. Adagio cantabile
Symphony No. 2: 4. Lento maestoso
Symphony No. 2: 5. Allegro molto vivace
The Gong On The Hook And Ladder Or Firemen's Parade On Main Street: Allegro moderato
Tone Roads No. 1: Allegro
'A Set Of Three Short Pieces': Hymn: Largo Cantabile
'Three Outdoor Scenes': Hallowe'en
Central Park In The Dark: Molto adagio
The Unanswered Question: Largo molto sempre

Customer Reviews:

The perfect introduction to Ives........2006-08-04

In brief, this may be the best single album to jump start the novice on Ives -- and a great ride for the already converted among us. The comprehensive reviews in this thread say it all; I won't repeat. Let me add this, though: the earlier, excellent recording on Columbia (SONY) coupled with the 3rd Symphony, has a cut in the 4th movement, which Lenny opens up in this more recent recording. So, if you have the earlier recording this one is still something of a 'must have.' Buy it for that 'alternate' library of special recordings, like the Tatrai set of Bartok Quartets, Furtwangler's Beethoven Symphonies from the war years, Toscanini's recordings of OTELLO and FALSTAFF -- and Benny Goodman live at Carnegie Hall, 1938.

An Answer to the Unanswered Question.......2006-03-14

Often faced with the question from friends who are just beginning a classical music collection and want to try the 'American school' - the question being which of the many Ives recordings is a solid groundwork for understanding and appreciating Ives' importance - this is the recording I recommend. Despite the now gratefully multiple recordings of all of the works on this CD (especially the Symphony No. 2), this collection surveys Charles Ives well.

Leonard Bernstein was a champion for Ives performances both in this country and abroad. This recording shows why. His approach to Ives' work is not only diligent in his preparation of the orchestra, but it also programs a spectrum that allows each of the works to enhance the others. Here the Symphony No. 2 begins the survey, finding within the work the humor and nostalgia that abounds. And as if to recapitulate Ives' thoughts, Bernstein follows with the quirky 'The Gong on the Hook & Ladder or Firemen's Parade on Main Street', the 'Tone Roads No. 1, for chamber orchestra', a perfectly infectious 'A Set of 3 Short Pieces, for string quartet, double bass & piano',
Hallowe'en, for string quartet, piano & optional drum, the luminous 'Central Park in the Dark', and of course ends with the now American iconic 'The Unanswered Question (I & II).'

This recording may be dated in sound, but the performances remain definitive. And as for a fine introduction to both the well-known side of Ives as well as the slightly esoteric aspect of the genius' music, this well curated selection fits the bill. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

brilliant idiosyncrasies.......2004-05-20

Ives was an uncommon, refined distillate. Much like Wallace Stevens, another Connecticut Yankee insurance specialist thoroughly out of step with his environment, Ives's structural and thematic advances foretold radical new worlds. Many liner notes to recent Ives releases talk about his work as if it were like most other orchestral offerings--in reality, few touch upon how cataclysmic and inventive his realizations were.

Bernstein, conversely, grasps Ives in totality and advances the cause of this frighteningly bold new music, both in practice and in writing at length about these scores and the Protean imagination that engendered them. Bravo, Lenny.

Great Performances Of Ives From Bernstein And the NYPO.......2003-09-02

Towards the end of Leonard Bernstein's career he made several distinguished recordings of 20th Century American classical music for Deutsche Grammophon featuring the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This splendid recording of Ives's 2nd Symphony, several other orchestra works and chamber pieces is yet another remarkable testament to Leonard Bernstein's empathy and understanding of 20th Century American classical music composed by such distinguished composers as Charles Ives, and, of course, Aaron Copland. No other conducter truly understood 20th Century American music as well as Bernstein. Here he leads the New York Philharmonic in one thrilling performance after another, starting with Ives's 2nd Symphony in a swaggering, convincing interpretation. He follows with a hauntingly beautiful "Central Park in the Dark" and ends with an appropriately brooding "The Unanswered Question"; between the symphony and these orchestral works are sandwiched some fine chamber pieces too. Although these were recorded at live performances, the sound quality is that from a studio. Absolutely a necessary CD for admirers of Charles Ives, Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic and anyone interested in 20th Century American classical music.

Uniquely American Ives Recordings.......2002-08-09

This is great American music in the truest sense. I was nurtured on movie soundtracks and scores from the likes of Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alex North and others. As we have lost many of these composers and music that they may have left us through the years, I have been methodically looking at American "Twentieth Century" composers from the "classical" arena to fill that void from that great era. I discovered Charles Ives after reading up on Aaron Copland and his foray into many diverse areas of musical composition. One thing leads to another. Ives' Symphony No. 2 seems to have come up very frequently. It certainly doesn't have the melodic quality of Copland yet it does seem to have roots resulting in American musical motifs very strangely orchestrated resulting in some twisted profoundness. What attracts me is how the music almost seems as if it were composed for film. The technical qualities of this recording are marvelous. Leonard Bernstein's intuitive and vibrant interpretation of this music is effectively felt.

Average customer rating:

A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades
Something of a disappointment
a wonderful summary
Ives is Ives
The Mood of Time

Ives: An American Journey
Michael Tilson Thomas , Charles Ives , San Francisco Symphony and Chorus , and Thomas Hampson
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Ives: Symphony No. 2 & Symphony No. 3/Bernstein Discusses Charles Ives
Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2 / The Gong on the Hook & Ladder, or Firemen's Parade on Main Street / Tone Roads No. 1 / Hymn: Largo Cantabile, for String Orchestra / Hallowe'en / Central Park in the Dark / The Unanswered Question - Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic
Ives: Holidays Symphony
Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4/Hymns
Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2

ASIN: B00005UED6
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

From The Steeples And The Mountains
The Things Our Fathers Loved
The Pond (Remembrance)
Memories
Charlie Rutlage
The Circus Band
The "St. Gaudens" In Boston Common
Putnam's Camp
The Housatonic At Stockbridge
In Flanders Fields
They Are There!
Tom Sails Away
Fugue From Symphony No. 4
Psalm 100
Serenity
General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
The Unanswered Question

Amazon.com

Michael Tilson Thomas is an expert Ivesian. His 1970 recording debut was with Three Places in New England, still available from DG. Here, he redoes the work with the interpolation of a chorus singing the poem on which the last movement, "The Housatonic at Stockbridge," is based--unusual, not as effective as the orchestral version, but fascinating. Tilson Thomas cites Ives's desire for performers to creatively shape his music, and this disc vindicates his editorial liberties by making Ives's surprising music even more unpredictable. The choral contributions are fine, too, but baritone Thomas Hampson steals the show with seven songs that display his empathy with Ives's varied styles and the range of the composer's music, from cowboy songs to touching elegies. The way Hampson bellows a Brooklynese "Coytin" (for "Curtain") at the end of the first song of Memories is worth the price of purchase. Here's a disc to be entertained by, and moved as well. The recording was made at SFS concerts, and we're privileged to share the audience's experience. A must-have for Ivesians and the curious. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades.......2005-12-18

Tilson Thomas's PR team should put out a ocntract on me; I rarely express enthusiasm for him. So let me bow especially low to this superlative 1999 concert of Ives as viewed from his most melodic, least revolutionary perspective. This is Ives as recording angel of ice cream socials and Fourth of July parades.

In the Seventies MTT made good but not exceptioanl recordings of Ives's major orchestral works. Here he concentrates on songs and orchestral bits and pieces, except for the extended Three Places in New England, which is x-rayed with exceptionally detailed sonics. Thomas Hampson secures his position as the best singer of American songs with highly dramatized, unbuttoned singing--his Charlie Rutlage, a Texas-accented elegy for a fallen cowpoke, and the familiar General William Booth Enters Into Heaven are instant classics. Chorus and orchestra enter in the spirit of bumptious good cheer, and overall a good time was had by all, even though the crowd was sent home sobered up by the supernaturally melancholy Unanswered Question, which never fails to send a shiver through the listener.

Something of a disappointment.......2004-01-12

I was very much looking forward to the latest Ives recording from Michael Tilson Thomas, whose reputation as an Ives specialist began with his first recording of the Three Pieces in New England, made in 1970 when the conductor was only in his mid-20s. That this disc came some way from living up to my expectations is perhaps due to a combination of over-optimism, uneven performances and what I feel is a less-than-ideal selection of works.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the opening of the disc: a fine performance of the craggy, dissonant brass and percussion work From the Steeples and the Mountains, a highly impressive miniature which swells from its dissonant opening to a climax where sound seems to echo off in all directions. However, I'm less convinced with the rest of the purely-orchestral program: this reading of Ives' classic Three Pieces of New England lacks a little of the gracious flowing lines of Tilsom Thomas' earlier 1970 recording; in addition the experiment of adding a recently-found choral part to the finale merely demonstrates how right the composer was to leave it out. For his extract from the Fourth Symphony, Tilson Thomas chooses the slow movement fugue. I am guessing this choice was to emphasise the "accessible Ives", but this is by far the weakest movement of the work (it was in fact arranged from the first movement of Ives' then 20-year-old First String Quartet), and even a good performance--as here--can't entirely hide up its conservative, almost academic writing. That perennial Ives classic The Unanswered Question, which closes the work, is an infinitely finer work, but unfortunately Tilson Thomas cannot match the transcendence of his own--distinctly slower--Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording from 1986.

The rest of the disc concentrates on various incarnations of Ives' bewildering variety of songs, and as a result comes into partial competition with what is to my mind one of the finest Ives discs around--a recording of selections from the songs and the sets for orchestra with Susan Narucki, Sanford Sylvan and Music/Projects London under Richard Bernas (if you're an Ives fan and don't have this disc, I suggest you rectify this immediately). The songs are extremely uneven in quality--ranging from trivial kitsch to outright masterpieces--and their styles vary just as much.

Most of these songs appear here in orchestral garb, but in three of them Tilson Thomas accompanies Thomas Hampson's baritone on the piano himself. The salon song The Things our Fathers Loved is one of the examples of irreparable kitsch, but rather better is the bipartite Memories which switches from camp to sentimental at its midpoint. In contrast, Tom Sails Away is one of Ives' finest songs, but in this recording its effect is compromised by Tilson Thomas' rather insensitive playing in the piano part.

The Pond (Remembrance)--another of Ives' finest songs--appears here in a version for women's chorus and orchestra. This transcendental homage to the composer's father is in fact much more subtle and rhythmically complex than it appears at first, and it has appeared in a bewildering variety of versions (three of which appear on the Bernas disc mentioned earlier). Similarly restrained in means is John Adams' careful baritone-and-orchestra version of the touching song Serenity: it's well-judged and well-sung here, and Adams avoids the pitfalls that David Del Tredici walks into in his entirely unnecessary orchestration of In Flanders Fields.

By contrast, Charlie Rutlage is an absurdly over-the-top piece of cowboy kitsch that disintegrates into violent discords as the words describe Charlie's death: this voice-and-orchestra version isn't half as good as Sanford Sylvan's voice-and-piano reading on the Bernas disc. Similarly eccentric is The Circus Band, a bizarrely outrageous confection for chorus and orchestra (based on an early orchestral march) that lacks some of the lustre of similar Ives effects. The bizarre Ives is also at work They are There! This near-hysterial rant (not actually as militaristic as it sounds at first) is heard in a chorus-and-orchestral version that lacks something of the sheer outrageousness of Ives' own voice-and-piano recording (even though Tilson Thomas takes an effort to try to copy the style of that reading).

The chorus-and-organ setting of Psalm 100 ("Make a joyful noise unto the Lord") is an intriguing piece of writing that well merits its exposure here, though it can't match General William Booth Enters Into Heaven for sheer unbuttoned craziness. This setting of Vachel Lindsay's poem, heard here in a version for baritone, chorus and orchestra is one of Ives' most endearing creations: its remarkable mix of modernism, bizarre wit and sentimentality, topped off with the sudden introduction of a hymn tune at the climax, is typical of the composer at his best. Unfortunately, this performance misses out on the last edge of hysterical ecstasy that is so necessary for the work to have its full impact (in my opinion it's easier to bring off in the voice-and-piano version).

I realise I am perhaps being overcritical of this disc, but it seems to me that a disc by such a fine Ivesian as Tilson Thomas should be held to a very high standrd. Though I was personally disappointed by this recording, it may well appeal to those who know little of the composer: however, I fear that Ives specialists are likely to be underwhelmed.

a wonderful summary.......2002-12-21

Charles Ives has always been a puzzle to me. From time to time I have listened to his music with a complete lack of resolution. Did I actually like it? Is it just an American marketing phenomena? Would we hear as much of him if he were, say, an Australian composer? I am still totally uncertain, but I love this CD for its variety of styles, variety of forces and general good humour. If you are immediately dismissive of Ives, can I suggest you start with the two songs called 'Memories'? Have a listen to this CD with an open mind - you may not like it all - even most of it - but one thing is certain and that is that this is not run-of-the-mill music.

Ives is Ives.......2002-06-15

I grew up on movie soundtracks and scores from the likes of Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alex North and others. We have lost many of these composers but not their music they have left us through the years. That's a gift to all of us. I have been slowly looking at "20th century" composers from the "classical" arena to enhance my listening pleasure and my nature or "quest" to always seek out music that I am certain I must have passed over. I discovered Charles Ives after reading up further on Aaron Copland and his foray into many diverse areas of musical composition. One door opens another. Ives' name and compositions seem to have come up frequently. So far Charles Ives' music doesn't have the melodic quality of Copland or many contemporaries yet it does seem to have roots resulting in American musical motifs very strangely orchestrated resulting in some twisted profoundness. What attracts me is how Ives' music almost seems as if it were composed for film. Ives is Ives as I have found out. I enjoy this recording. It is strange, contemplative and definitely esoteric. Abrupt turns abound but that is the strength of Ives.

The Mood of Time.......2002-06-15

This collection of Ives compositions is exceptional. This CD makes for very good listening. I play it when I am alone in the car. The pensive music realy captures the mood of time.

American Portraits-The American Music Sampler

Average customer rating:

A Must-Have CD

American Portraits-The American Music Sampler
Gian Carlo Menotti , Paul Creston , Bernard Herrmann , Quincy Porter , Franz Waxman , Howard Hanson , Miklos Rozsa , William Schuman , James Sinclair , James Sedares , Andrew Schenck , Donald Teeters , Jordania, Vakhtang , Clark, Richard Auldon , and Falletta, Joann
Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Country Band March - J. Sinclair/Orch New England
Fall River Legend Movt III-Church Social - J. Sedares/New Zealand SO
Sym No.3 in a Movt III-Allegro vivace - A. Schenck/New Zealand SO
Christmas Cantata Movt III-Allegro - B. Cecilia/D. Teeters
To the Green Mountains Movt I-Prelude - V. Jordania/KBS SO
Adagio for Strs - J. Sedares/New Zealand SO
Persian Set Movt IV-Presto - R.A. Clark/Manhatten CO
I Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Alexa Still/Susan DeWitt Smith
The Last Judgement Movt I-The Resurrection of Eve - J. Falletta/London SO
Three Latin American Sketches Third Sketch-Danza de Jalisco - J. Sedares/Pheonix SO
Some Other Time - New York Festival of Song
Apocalypse Movt III-Gli Angel Militanti - J. DePreist/Oregon Sym
Fanfare for Paratroopers - J. Mester/London PO
The Lovers-Close Your Eyes - A. Schenck/Chicago SO & Chorus
Sym Movt II-Scherzo - J. Sedares/Pheonix SO
Blue Lontains - Alexa Still/Susan DeWitt Smith
Sin for Str Orch & Timp Movt II-Lento - I. Jackson/Berliner Sym
Serenade, Op.35 - N. Braithwaite/A. Still/New Zealand CO
The Vintner's Daughter Variation 7-Alla marcia ongarese - J. Sedares/New Zealand SO
New England Tryptich Movt III-Chester - J. Sedares/Pheonix SO

Customer Reviews:

A Must-Have CD.......2000-11-14

This is a must-have album. Why is this not available? You have Copland, Ives, Gould, Herrmann, Moross and others. These are great American composers. I have never seen such a well rounded and representive body of works from so many great Americans. Go out and find a copy of this one. It's great!

Charles Ives: Symphony No. 3; Orchestral Set No. 2

Average customer rating:

Well Done, Well Played!

Charles Ives: Symphony No. 3; Orchestral Set No. 2

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4/Hymns
The Orchestral Music of Charles Ives: World Premieres and First Editions

ASIN: B0000025Q9
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3: I - Old Folks Gatherin' - Andante maestoso
Symphony No. 3: II - Children's Day - Allegro
Symphony No. 3: III - Communion - Largo
Orchestral Set No. 2: I - An Elegy To Our Forefathers - Very Slowly
Orchestral Set No. 2: II - The Rockstrewn Hills Join In The People's Outdoor Meeting - Allegro
Orchestral Set No. 2: III - From Hanover Square North, At The End Of A Tragic Day, The Voice Of The People Again Arose - Very Slowly

Customer Reviews:

Well Done, Well Played!.......2002-01-20

Another stunning recording by Micheal Tilson Thomas and the Concertgebouw Orchestra!! Sony has done a great job with thier series of recordings of Ives's music. I have been more than satisfied in owning this disc. Even those new to the sound and genius of Charles Ives can easily appreciate his third symphony. Unknown and unplayed for almost forty years, Ives 3rd Symphony was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1947. He promply sent his prize money back saying "prizes are for boys...". Who can blame him?!This work, completed in 1909, contains harmonies and melodic treatments that stand out as assuridly ahead of thier time. In true Ivesian fashion this symphony is meant to reflect the religous atmosphere of nineteenth centurey Connecticut including tent revivals, children's singing, and familular hymn tunes. Grown up in the "Bible Belt" or ever attended an old fashioned "sangin'"? If so, you are sure to delite in hearing tunes like 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' and 'There is a Fountian Filled With Blood' treated with such depth and thematic variation. Throughout the 3rd Symphony there are at least five hymns represented. Each movement has an earthy American quality that is continually refreshing and exciting. The orchestra sparkles and weaves its way around the thick textures and modulations with notable precision and passion for this Ives' masterpiece. Listeners only need be sentimental for the good old days of Lowell Mason and William Bradbury to indentify with the symphony's message. Some will also begin to appreciate Ives as one of the first innovators of American music for his polyrythms and dissonances. Reason #2 to buy this disck is the coupling with his Orchestral Set Number 2. This fascinating exercise in tonality and polytextures is impressive. Each movement is distinctly different in thematic material and focus. The imagery of the third mvmnt will send chills up your spine. Bravo to this fine orchestra and conductor for bringing such depth and vurtuosity to every note and beat. Anyone interested in learning something new about music should give these peaces a hearing.

Ives: Symphony No. 2; The Unanswered Question

Average customer rating:

Ives: Symphony No. 2; The Unanswered Question

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Ives: Symphony No. 1; Three Places in New England
Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2
Ives: Holidays Symphony
Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4/Hymns

ASIN: B000AARL1Q
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Andante Moderato
Allegro
Adagio Cantabile
Lento Maestoso
Allegro Molto Vivace
The Unanswered Question For Trumpet, Flute Quartet & Strings
Central Park In The Dark
Tone Roads No.1
From The Steeples And The Mountains
The Rainbow
Ann Street
Scherzo: Over The Pavements
Tone Roads No.3
The Pond
Scherzo: All The Way Around And Back
Chromatimelodtune

Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks

Average customer rating:

An American sampler
Hanson's MLP Gems Are Back!

Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Howard Hanson Conducts Howard Hanson

ASIN: B00035VV82
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

An American sampler.......2006-06-21

My wife and I often eat at a local restaurant that offers what it calls an "American sampler" of shishkabob, Hawaiian chicken and Louisiana Gulf shrimp. I liken that plate to this collection by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and longtime conductor-director Howard Hanson. Based on the quality of much of this music, I think the title could more readily have been "Howard Handson Conducts An American Sampler" rather than American masterworks, for the quality of some of this music is arguable in that respect.

Hanson was not only a composer and conductor, he was a great champion of American music in the 1950s, when its profile and exposure were much less than today. Many of the compositions included in this anthology have since been recorded in DDD in the Maxos American music series. Others have been recorded on other labels in newer, sometimes better, recordings. This does nothing to diminish these recordings or to dampen the memory of Hanson and his band.

However, many of the more well known recordings in this set have been re-done either more artistically and/or in better sound since these recordings first appeared the better part of 50 years ago. In particular, Barber's Capricorn Concerto and Medea suite, Ives's Third Symphony & Three Places in New England, Piston's Incredible Flutist and Schuman's New England Triptych have all been recorded many times in the intervening years. The recordings here sometimes magnify the thin and wiry sound coming from the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra. Some are simply not very well played, either.

That said, there are still five decade old gems to be located here. Among my favorites are William Bergsma's "Gold and Senor Commandante" ballet suite, a delightful nine-movement ballet suite that is clearly meant for the concert hall and not the stage. I also enjoy Morton Gould's "Sprituals" and George Whitfield Chadwick's "Symphonic Sketches" that merges British stoicism with American melody-making.

Best for me is the performance of Peter Mennin's Symphony No. 5. This 1962 recording was probably the first of a Mennin symphony and it still stands up well to competition. The dramatic three movement edifice is completely engaging. Its syncopated rhythm on an ostimato E-F-G-F sharp-A-E theme in the closing movement is catchy and stays long in memory.

Another important and rarely recorded piece is Johann Friedrich Peter's "Sinfonia in G". Peter was an early American composer from the Classical period; he was born 1746 and died 1813. The sinfonia mimics the CPE Bach crossover from Baroque to Classical early symphony with modular thematic development in each of its four movements.

There are other memorable chunks of Americana on this collection and everything sound wonderful, captured in ultra-clear and well-defined three channel tapes (produced here in stereo and not SACD) from the 1950s and early 1960s. The notes are very helpful and the bookelt details the origin of each recording. There is a very high level of nostalgia evident in this grouping that adds much to its appeal.

I think this collection is best suited to people that want to recapture the nostalgia of these great old recordings. Today's DDD technology has nothing on these fine sounding CDs even though Mercury missed an opportunity to release these as three channel SACDs. Perhaps that is coming in the future?

Another group of listeners that will most appreciate this collection are people that want exposure to many American composers and don't want to pay a lot to get it. The modest list price for this five CD collection is usually reduced by 40-50 percent when purchasing used from an Amazon vendor. I bought mine for about $20, the cost of less than three new Naxos CDs. This set is certainly worth more than that. Even veteran collectors (who didn't buy the original LPs or individual CDs) will probably find something new and different here.

Hanson's MLP Gems Are Back!.......2005-06-09

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. However, they are unfortunately now being sold at full-price, despite a competing Living Stereo hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items receiving their CD debut in this series.

These performances of American Masterwoks by Howard Hanson are in most cases definitive accounts of rarely recorded pieces by many of our country's too often neglected composers -- Barber, Chadwick, Piston, Moore, Carpenter, Rogers, MacDowell, etc. While three of these recordings continue to be available in their original CD incarnations, the remaining two discs featuring Ives and Gould have been out-of-print for some time. Now with this box set they are deservedly restored to the catalog. Even better is the fact that the 5CD box sets being reissued have been reasonably priced because they are not SACD Hybrids. This set and three others (see my reviews) have a total cost cheaper than the original single issue CDs! Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

The Americans: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon

Average customer rating:

Very Good To Memorable Recordings of Bernstein's American Composer Recordings

The Americans: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001WGDXU
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

Very Good To Memorable Recordings of Bernstein's American Composer Recordings.......2007-07-01

This is yet another superb box set of Bernstein's Deutsche Grammophon recordings, emphasizing his strong affinity and interest in the work of such great American composers like Charles Ives, Aaron Copland and William Schuman. The best recordings are those with The New York Philharmonic of Charles Ives's orchestral works and Aaron Copland's Third Symphony, "Quiet City" suite for horn and strings, and the El Salon de Mexico ballet suite. But I also admire Bernstein's recordings with the Los Angeles Philharmonic of Gershwin's great classical/jazz orchestral works like "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris", and the recordings of several other Copland scores, most notably, "Appalachian Spring". Like virtually all of the other recordings in Deutsche Grammophon's "Collector's Edition" series of Leonard Bernstein, these were recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in the 1980s, often during live concert performances held in Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and New York City (Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall). While some may prefer Bernstein's classic recordings of Copland and Ives for CBS Masterworks (now Sony) in the late 1950s and 1960s, these have the benefit of being digital recordings made by Deutsche Grammophon's then state-0f-the-art recording processes. Without question, anyone who is a fan of Copland's, Gershwin's or Ives' scores and of Leonard Bernstein will surely cherish this fine 6 CD box set.

Ives: Three Places in New England, Ruggles: Sun Treader, etc.

Average customer rating:

Quintessential Ives, Ruggles, Piston, and MTT
win some, lose some

Ives: Three Places in New England, Ruggles: Sun Treader, etc.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Uncovered Ruggles
Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4/Hymns

ASIN: B000056TKF
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Three Places In New England (An Orchestral Set): I. The 'St. Gaudens' In Boston Common (Col. Shaw And His Colored Regiment)
Three Places In New England (An Orchestral Set): II. Putnam's Camp, Redding, Connecticut
Three Places In New England (An Orchestral Set): III. The Housatonic At Stockbridge
Sun-treader: (Beat) = 69 Poco accelerando (Bar - Takt - Measure 1)
Sun-treader: Tempo (Beat) = 126 (Bar 51a)
Sun-treader: Lento (Bar 119)
Sun-treader: A Tempo (Bar 138a)
Sun-treader: (Beat) = 69 Poco accelerando (Bar 169)
Sun-treader: Serene, But With Great Expression (Bar 191)
Symphony No. 2: Moderato
Symphony No. 2: Adagio
Symphony No. 2: Allegro

Amazon.com

Originally recorded in 1970, this is a welcome reissue of superb performances by the young Michael Tilson Thomas in his Boston Symphony days. The Ives is one of his best-known pieces and the crack orchestra plays it to the hilt. Ruggles's Suntreader is the work of another American loner, full of stark contrasts and uninhibited sound explorations--with a brass and percussion opening that'll make you sit up. Piston is often written off as an academic craftsman but his Second Symphony, like most of his works, makes such stereotyping patently absurd. He may not have been as idiosyncratic as Ruggles or Ives, but he was a creative composer whose poised, warmly gracious music should be better known. The three-movement Second Symphony is typical Piston in its classic framework, well-molded melodies and orchestration, and the way it slides effortlessly between the lyrical and the dramatic. It's hard to imagine better performances of these important American works. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Quintessential Ives, Ruggles, Piston, and MTT.......2004-08-09

I must confess a bit of biographical prejudice in reviewing this disc. It was the original DG LP incarnation of the Ives included here--"Three Places..."--and its Ruggles discmate "Sun Treader" that opened my eyes to both composers back in high school. That worn library copy, with its glorious DG sonics captured in Boston Symphony Hall in the early '70's, was returned overdue more than a few times. I'd investigated it hot on the heels of seeing MTT conduct the Ives on one of the New York Philharmonic's "Young People's Concerts" televised by CBS, a series which Thomas took over from the departing Leonard Bernstein. Hearing MTT and the BSO on the LP confirmed what I'd learned from the television presentation, and the Ruggles companion piece gave me yet another foothold in 20th century American music.

While MTT doesn't really enjoy the comparisons, it would be less than truthful to say that not a little of Lenny's knack with American symphonic writing, as well as the barely-controlled histrionics of Gustav Mahler, rubbed off on him during their professional association in the '60's and '70's. And, even today, you can see it with Thomas's growing cycle of Mahler symphony performances with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Ives' and Mahler's contemporary popularity owe more than a little to Bernstein's advocacy, and it's this tradition that MTT falls into. Likewise, one must admit that he often surpasses his mentor.

While Ives was often quite specific in his musical notation and verbal playing instructions, he also encouraged performers to explore the implied "possibilities" of the piece. To understand Ives is to understand musical Americana. Charles Ives, growing up in Danbury, CT, in the late Victorian era under the tutelage and example of his bandmaster-father George Ives, absorbed several American music traditions: traditional hymnody and choral music, small-town brass bands with their often-times less than perfect pitch and ensemble, and the omnipresent European-based symphony orchestra with its established expressive vocabulary. These traditions, focused and remolded under the spell of New England Transcendentalism as expressed in the writings of Emerson and others, become the key ingredients of the Yankee musical "stew" which is quintessential Ives. Therein lies his genius, something which MTT understands deeply.

The turgid, brooding orchestral color of "The 'St. Gaudens' in Boston Common," the incredible mix of Fourth of July pomp and a schoolboy's daydreaming that make up "Putnam's Camp," and the wistful yet powerful evocation of the newlywed Ives couple's walk along "The Housatonic at Stockbridge," all receive their due here in a performance that I return to again and again with pleasure. The added bonus, of course, is the recorded sound, coming as it does from a vintage period of recordings made by DG at Boston Symphony Hall, the acoustic of which can become an ambient swamp if not as successfully managed as it is here. Contrary to an earlier reviewer's remarks, MTT truly "gets" Ives; one only has to hear that moment in "Housatonic" when the swirling string textures give way to the introduction of the "Contented River" theme, one of the most magical moments in all of American symphonic literature. I've never heard another performance match it.

The Ruggles "Sun Treader," as thorny and imposing an opus as one can find, offers equal rewards in MTT's hands, again with the BSO's performance on its home turf yielding major dividends. Ruggles was strongly championed by Thomas, an effort which resulted in a multi-disc LP set of Ruggles' complete works recorded with the Buffalo Philharmonic by CBS/Sony which has yet to see the light of day on CD, a travesty both for collectors and fans of this important American voice. "Sun Treader," the title of which is drawn from Robert Browning's tribute to Percy Shelley, draws its inspiration not from the latter (Ruggles had absolutely no interest in Shelley), but from Browning's verbal imagery...think of a titan's thunderous striding--tympany strokes--across a landscape of barely-contained orchestral movement. Browning, like Emerson, was also an interest of Charles Ives; perhaps a new recording by MTT and the San Francisco Symphony of "Sun Treader," coupled with the Ives "Robert Browning Overture," might by suggested by the A&R folks at BMG/RCA? Sometimes these things just suggest themselves.

Coming at the close of the present disc, the Piston Symphony #2 represents a somewhat less craggy musical lineage. Maine native Walter Piston achieved an almost Italianate elegance in his marriage of New England economy and French musical training. Within the symphony there is warmth, heart, reason, civility, all energetically presented by MTT in the present performance. A fitting finale, then, to a wonderful reissue by DG of spendid readings of 20th century American masterpieces.

win some, lose some.......2003-03-24

Tilson Thomas has done a fine job in rendering the demanding music of Ruggles and his reading of the Piston is well done. His Ives, however, is lacking. The orchestra, a superb orchestra as any, plays this music as if they just don't get it. Is it some notes, wanting to be free of the page or is it the job at hand? Who knows? The pacing, tempi and *feel* of the work in the second movement is hurried. Compare this to the later versions recorded by the conductor's mentor, L. Bernstein and FEEL the difference; the pacing, the ensemble sound, the sense of narrative and imagination. I can only wonder also of the difficulty and choices in recording this ensemble for the Ives as well; I suspect that a more unorthodox solution was needed and no one figured it out! This is why recording orchestras is such a challenge for anyone attempting such. For the Ives, I recommend Bernstein if not another version for this piece. I rate this 4 stars only for the Piston and Ruggles, which are better rendered and good examples of their work.

Average customer rating:

An "Orphic egg" laid

A Set of Pieces: Music by Charles Ives

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000001GLV
Release Date: 1994-07-19

Tracks:

Three Places in New England: The 'Saint-Gaudens' In Boston Common
Three Places in New England: Putnams' Camp, Redding, Connecticut
Three Places in New England: The Housatonic at Stockbridge
The Unanswered Question
A Set Of Pieces: In The Cage
A Set Of Pieces: In The Inn
A Set Of Pieces: In The Night
Symphony No.3 'The Camp Meeting': Old Folks Gatherin'
Symphony No.3 'The Camp Meeting': Children's Day
Symphony No.3 'The Camp Meeting': Communion
Set No.1: The See'r
Set No.1: A Lecture (Tolerance)
Set No.1: The Ruined River (The New River)
Set No.1: Like a Sick Eagle
Set No.1: Calcium Light Night
Set No.1: Allegretto Sombreoso

Customer Reviews:

An "Orphic egg" laid.......2005-12-17

Back in the '70s Decca put out a budget US label called "Orphic Egg." My title utilizes this as a pun for what Orpheus did with Ives's Set No. 1.

The person who advised Orpheus on this music did a really poor job. Never mind the HOWLER in the top Violin in an early-on measure in "The St. Gaudens" (A-sharp instead of A-natural -- WHOA!). I'm here to write about this version of Set No. 1: The See'r, A Lecture, The Ruined River, Like a Sick Eagle, Calcium Light Night, and Incantation.

First off I'll point out the most obvious blooper. The Solo horn part in Incantation is played in the wrong key! It is supposed to start on E-flat, but sounds a 5th lower on A-flat. The reason this happened is that the person who advised them didn't notice that in the score it says "actual sounds" above the Solo staff, but this note was omitted from the part (publisher's error). So the English Horn plays it as if it is a transposing part, and thus it sounds a 5th lower than it should be! All that needed to be done was to check the version for voice and piano -- but their advisor didn't bother to do that.

The versions of The See'r and Like a Sick Eagle are the ones made by Gunther Schuller for his Columbia LP. They're "all right" but Schuller based his scores solely on the old 1934 copyist scores that perpetuate significant if minor errors. This version of A Lecture is the one made by Gregg Smith for his second Columbia LP which also has minor errors and changes the Solo cornet to clarinet.

Now comes the true joke of the album (a sad joke poorly played on Orpheus): these versions of The Ruined River and Calcium Light Night are not just in critical error, at times they are just plain crazy! The score used for CLN is almost funny for me to listen to --- wrong rhythms, sometimes bizzare rhythms, especially in the solo cornet part, and a few completely incorrect parts for the instruments. Reading an Ives sketch can be deceiving, and one shouldn't always rely on alignment of one part against another, or hastily-sketched fragments of parts duplicated by a later addition, but this is what was done when this score was made by the group's advisor. It doesn't even sound, to my ears, like a march anymore, and this piece is supposed to represent the members of Psi Upsilon and Delta Kappa Epsilon marching across the Old Yale Campus initiating new members and singing uproariously. They could have used Ken Singleton's score, which is a good score and appears on Jim Sinclair's Koch CD, but I hear it's unavailable. They might have even used the now-discredited Henry Cowell "arrangement" and done better, but they didn't!

Now I say all this because I have some inside information. I was commissioned to do a critical Ives Society edition of this Set in the 1980s, and Ensemble Modern used that edition in their now (unfortunately) out-of-print EMI CD. One day I was called up by the person advising Orpheus and asked if I would send them my edition, in score and parts, because this person thought it would be "wonderful" to have these pieces fill out the CD (in other words, I was sweet-talked into providing these materials). I did so, at my own expense and without asking for any remuneration. I checked with Orpheus a few days later and they had received my materials. Within a few minutes I was called back by the person who had asked for the materials and was seriously cussed out for daring to call Orpheus on my own. I was a little stunned. I was even more stunned when this CD came out with this travesty of an edition on it! (I also had a good laugh over how truly awful it was!)

I wrote Orpheus telling them how they had been taken in (my first use of the "Orphic egg" metaphor) but they didn't seem to care. It's their misfortune that they put their trust in someone who didn't merit it.

The CD has a wonderful rendition of Symphony No. 3 and the Theater Orchestra Set, and the other two movements of "Three Places." But don't buy it for Set No. 1! You can do better with Richard Bernas's "When the Moon" CD (even though he was made to use Cowell's score fof Calcium Light Night).

Music Review:

Music Review

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