Album

All of the material on the five-CD Mercury set, Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks, has been previously released as single discs in exactly the same configuration. Most of the older issues, however, are out of print and are unlikely to return, given the availability of this box set. This is no reason to mourn, for this set is retailing at a bargain basement price, working out to roughly a "five for the price of four" ratio. Some collectors may welcome the added shelf space.

As to the performances themselves, they are all outstanding, with several performances being definitive, such as the Ives Three Places in New England, Barber's Capricorn Concerto, Douglas Moore's Pageant of P.T. Barnum, and many others heard here. Howard Hanson with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra was just simply a hard act to follow. Hanson's performances have hardly dated at all sonically, thanks to Mercury Living Presence's pioneering attitude toward sound quality and the careful maintenance accorded the master tapes of these early stereo recordings, which date from 1957 to 1966.

Not all of the pieces heard here are "masterworks"—one would be hard pressed to apply such an adjective to such pieces as William McCauley's Five Miniatures for Flute and Strings or the greatly enlarged orchestral arrangement of one of Moravian composer Johann Friedrich Peter's six chamber sonatas as a "Sinfonia in G." There are still some excellent Hanson recordings for Mercury Living Presence that have never appeared on CD, presumably because they were made in mono; this would include his superb renderings of Griffes' The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan and Sessions' Suite from The Black Maskers. It is unfair, nevertheless, to complain about that which is not present; besides, the new disc does include greatly improved notes, detailing recording dates and locations, microphone setups and includes a well-written, conversational liner by Bill Newman, a producer and engineer who worked on a lot of these sessions. Unless one has already acquired all five of these single discs, the American concert music fancier can hardly afford to pass up Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks.

© Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 5
Samuel Barber Composer Capricorn Concerto, for flute, oboe, trumpet and strings, Op.21 Work Recorded 1959 15:09 Robert Sprenkle Oboe, Joseph Mariano Flute, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor, Sidney Mear Trumpet
1	1.Allegro ma non troppo	7:12			$1.49
2	2.Allegretto	2:57			$0.99
3	3.Allegro con brio	5:00			$0.99
Walter Piston Composer The Incredible Flutist, ballet suite for orchestra Work Recorded 1958 16:23 Joseph Mariano Flute, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
4	Suite: I. Introduction - Siesta in the Market Place	1:09			$0.49
5	Suite: II. Entrance of the Vendors	2:15			$0.99
6	Suite: III. Entrance of the Customers	0:29			$0.49
7	Suite: IV. Tango of the Merchant's Daughters	3:27			$0.99
8	Suite: V. Arrival of the Circus	0:30			$0.49
9	Suite: VI. Circus March	0:34			$0.49
10	Suite: VII. The Flutist	1:36			$0.49
11	Suite: VIII. Minuet	0:40			$0.49
12	Suite: IX. Spanish Waltz	0:52			$0.49
13	Suite: X. (Eight o'clock strikes)	0:19			$0.49
14	Suite: XI. Siciliano	2:29			$0.99
15	Suite: XII. Polka Finale	2:03			$0.99
Charles Tomlinson Griffes Composer Poem, for flute and orchestra, A.93 Work Recorded 1963 Joseph Mariano Flute, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
16	Poem, for flute and orchestra, A.93	9:09			$1.49
Kent Kennan Composer Pieces (3) for orchestra, Nos 1-3, complete Work Recorded 1957 8:50 James Austin Trumpet, Francis Tursi Viola, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
17	#1.	1:56			$0.49
18	1.Promenade	4:35			$0.99
19	3.Il Campo dei Fiori	2:19			$0.99
William McCauley Composer Miniatures (5) for flute & string orchestra, Nos 1-5, complete Work Recorded 1959 8:22 Joseph Mariano Flute, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
20	1.Adventurous	1:34			$0.49
21	2.Dolorous	1:42			$0.49
22	3.Dextrous	1:22			$0.49
23	4.Languorous	2:15			$0.99
24	5.Capricious	1:29			$0.49
William Bergsma Composer Gold and the Senor Commandante, ballet Work Recorded 1957 13:53 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
25	Suite: I. Siesta	1:48			$0.49
26	Suite: II. Parade	1:06			$0.49
27	Suite: III. Elegant Dance	0:40			$0.49
28	Suite: IV. Furious Dance of the Bearded Russians	2:36			$0.99
29	Suite: V. Sinister Dance	0:48			$0.49
30	Suite: VI. Chinese Dance	0:56			$0.49
31	Suite: VII. Tender Dance	2:02			$0.99
32	Suite: VIII. Chase Music	1:50			$0.49
33	Suite: IX. Happy Dance	2:07			$0.99
CD 2 of 5
Charles Edward Ives Composer Orchestral Set No.1: 3 Places in New England, S.7 Work Recorded 1957 18:26 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
1	1.The St. Gaudens in Boston Common	8:54			$1.49
2	2.Putnam's Camp, Redding, Connecticut	5:40			$0.99
3	3.The Housatonic at Stockbridge	3:52			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Symphony No.3: The Camp Meeting, S.3 Work Recorded 1957 20:56 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
4	1.Andante: Old Folks Gatherin'	7:05			$1.49
5	2.Allegro: Children's Day	7:02			$1.49
6	3.Largo: Communion	6:49			$0.99
William Schuman Composer New England Triptych, 3 pieces for orchestra or band Work Recorded 1963 15:37 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
7	1.Be Glad then, America	5:33			$0.99
8	2.When Jesus Wept	7:02			$1.49
9	3.Chester	3:02			$0.99
Peter Mennin Composer Symphony No.5 Work Recorded 1962 22:02 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
10	1.Con sdegno	4:44			$0.99
11	2.Canto	9:42			$1.49
12	3.Allegro tempetuoso	7:36			$1.49
CD 3 of 5
Morton Gould Composer Spirituals Work Recorded 1959 17:29 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
1	1.Proclamation	5:02			$0.99
2	2.Sermon	3:43			$0.99
3	3.A Little Bit of Sin	1:53			$0.49
4	4.Protest	3:08			$0.99
5	5.Jubilee	3:43			$0.99
Morton Gould Composer Fall River Legend (suite from the ballet) Work Recorded 1960 20:34 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
6	Suite 1: Prologue and Waltzes	3:30			$0.99
7	Suite 2: Elegy	2:55			$0.99
8	Suite 3: Church Social	4:02			$0.99
9	Suite 4: Hymnal Variations	3:57			$0.99
10	Suite 5: Cotillion	3:31			$0.99
11	Suite 6: Epilogue	2:39			$0.99
Samuel Barber Composer Medea: Cave of the Heart (suite), Op.23 Work Recorded 1959 25:03 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
12	1.Parodus	2:29			$0.99
13	2.Choros 1: Medea and Jason	4:01			$0.99
14	3.The Young Princess. Jason	3:03			$0.99
15	4.Choros 2	3:10			$0.99
16	5.Medea	6:20			$0.99
17	6.Kantikos Agonias	2:57			$0.99
18	7.Exodos	3:03			$0.99
CD 4 of 5
George Whitefield Chadwick Composer Symphonic Sketches, L.2/15 Work Recorded 1956 31:15 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
1	1.Jubilee	8:36			$1.49
2	2.Noël	8:48			$1.49
3	3.Hobgoblin	5:54			$0.99
4	4.A Vagrom Ballad	7:57			$1.49
Edward MacDowell Composer Suite No.1 in A-, Op.42 Work Recorded 1961 19:38 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
5	1.In a Haunted Forest	3:58			$0.99
6	2.Summer Idyll	2:10			$0.99
7	3.In October	5:18			$0.99
8	4.The Shepherdess' Song	3:32			$0.99
9	5.Forest Spirits	4:40			$0.99
Johann Friedrich Peter Composer Sinfonia in G Work Recorded 1957 18:23 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
10	1.Presto	8:24			$1.49
11	2.Polonaise	3:05			$0.99
12	3.Menuet (vivace)	4:14			$0.99
13	4.Presto	2:40			$0.99
CD 5 of 5
Douglas S. Moore Composer The Pageant of P. T. Barnum, for orchestra Work Recorded 1958 17:43 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
1	1.Boyhood at Bethel	2:46			$0.99
2	2.Joice Heth - 161-year-old Negress	4:03			$0.99
3	3.General and Mrs. Tom Thumb	2:21			$0.99
4	4.Jenny Lind	4:38			$0.99
5	5.Circus Parade	3:55			$0.99
John Alden Carpenter Composer Adventures in a Perambulator, suite for orchestra Work Recorded 1956 27:02 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
6	1.En Voiture!	2:57			$0.99
7	2.The Policeman	3:37			$0.99
8	3.The Hurdy-Gurdy	3:44			$0.99
9	4.The Lake	5:12			$0.99
10	5.Dogs	3:43			$0.99
11	6.Dreams	7:49			$1.49
Bernard Rogers Composer Once Upon A Time (5 Fairy Tales) for orchestra Work Recorded 1957 13:11 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
12	1.The Tinder-Box Soldier	1:40			$0.49
13	2.The Song of Rapunzel	2:58			$0.99
14	3.The Story of a Darning Needle	1:29			$0.49
15	4.Dance of the Twelve Princesses	3:56			$0.99
16	5.The Ride of Koschei the Deathless	3:08			$0.99
Burrill Phillips Composer Selections from McGuffey's Reader for orchestra Work Recorded 1956 16:07 Eastman-Rochester Orchestra and Chorus Orchestra, Howard Hanson Conductor
17	1.The One-Horse Shay	4:38			$0.99
18	2.John Alden and Priscilla	6:04			$0.99
19	3.Midnight Ride of Paul Revere	5:25			$0.99