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
Track Listings (11) - Disc #2
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
No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 13-MAR-2001
Joe Barron | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 08/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ives' four symphonies beautifully summarize his growth as composer. Unlike Brahms' four, they are not all fully mature works. Each one freezes a moment in his 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."
Do Not Hesitate!
Daniel R. Greenfield | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 03/20/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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.Based on the overall quality of these individual performances, I would give them four stars. However, considering that each of these two CD's contains almost 80 minutes of Ives, and considering the inclusion of these wonderful orchestral sets, this compilation is very worthy to be rated at five stars."
Amazing
Sungu Okan | Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey | 10/11/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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 orchestraAnd 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..."
Beautiful Music
Reader | Ohio | 05/13/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
A Great Place to Start!
Peter T. Gillette | IA | 07/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm really interested in Ives, and had been picking up recordings of symphonies one by one, and was really impressed with this set. Its programming is a bit courageous too in that it sidesteps the myth of Ives the autodidactic maverick by including the first symphony, rather than the Holidays symphony (for which I'd recommend Baltimore's impressive but somehow out-of-print [stupid Decca!] reading, although it duplicates the Three Places: http://www.amazon.com/Ives-Three-Places-England-Holidays/dp/B00020QWAA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248568445&sr=8-2).
The LA reading of the first symphony doesn't make any apologies for the work's conventionality within its genre, but treats it as, I don't know, it would treat any other symphony written in the 1890s. The Cleveland readings in particular are full-blooded and, to use an Ivesian term, quite "manly." The third symphony as well is played quite wistfully.
My only complaint is that there is no third disc, which could include Holidays, Central Park in the Dark, maybe the Pond, The Unanswered Question or a lesser known overture to make for one-stop shopping. But there are plenty of Michael Tilson Thomas or Bernstein collections to round those out (and pick up additional recordings of the symphonies), so I'll call this a bargain and a great starting place and be thankful for it!"