Simply a Fun Set of Marches
Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 10/18/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In the 5th grade, I tried out for Little League. My desire to play baseball was not rooted in any love for the sport. I thought my father wanted me to play a sport. I was so great at the tryouts; he said some memorable words to me. "Tim, I think you ought to stick with playing the clarinet." I am sure he was trying to spare me humiliation on the athletic field. Little did he know he was starting my love affair with music, a far greater gift.Perhaps because I was in the school band, I gravitated toward marches, and this collection of marches conducted by Arthur Fielder was one of the first recordings I purchased (6th or 7th grade I believe). At the time (the mid 1970's) it was only available on LP. As soon as the CD was available, I purchased it for nostalgic reasons. This collection had many popular marches such as the Grand March from Aida, Stars and Stripes Forever, Pomp and Circumstance, as well as some lesser known marches. This was one of the collections that piqued my interest in orchestral music. Though the marches could probably best be termed "light classical," it was an introduction to more serious music. Many years later I used this same recording when I taught as background music during art or spelling lessons. Again, it served as an introduction to more serious music.This is not a complicated set; it is simply a little jewel that is a joy to listen to and a fun addition to a music collection."
Excellent, but one missing...
Bruce H. Jensen | San Lorenzo, CA United States | 03/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These are fabulous marches played with huge amounts of zest, but one of Fiedler's best RCA marches - the Zacatecas March - was left out!!! Why??? There would have been plenty of room, and it seems to be available on a Japanese release - why not this one?
Otherwise, no hesitation at all."