William Henry Fry Louis Moreau Gottschalk Edward MacDowell - The Story of American Classical Music (30 tracks) +Album Reviews

Search - William Henry Fry, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell :: The Story of American Classical Music

William Henry Fry, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell
The Story of American Classical Music
Genres: Special Interest, Classical

Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
1. Overture to Macbeth
2. Symphony No. 1: 'La nuit des tropiques' (Night in the Tropics), for orchestra, D. 104 (RO 255): Finale: 'Feste Criolla'
3. Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 23: Finale: Largo - Molto allegro
4. Piano Quartet in C major, Op. 23: Movement 1: Allegro comodo
5. Angel of Death, symphonic poem for orchestra, L. 2/23
6. Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 64: Movement 3: South (Allegretto giocoso)
7. Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, Op. 45: Movement 3: Largo
8. Preludes (3), for piano, A. 86-88: Prelude No. 2
9. From the land of the sky blue water
10. Symphony No. 2, for orchestra, S. 2 (K. 1A2): Movement 4: Lento maestoso
11. The Unanswered Question (I & II), for trumpet, winds & string orchestra, S. 50 (K. 1C25)
12. Country Band March, for theater orchestra, S. 36 (K. 1C14)
13. King Cotton, march for band
14. Maple Leaf Rag, for piano
Track Listings (16) - Disc #2
1. Cuban Overture
2. Symphony for Five Instruments, for flute, bassoon, trumpet, trombone & viola (2nd Version, a.k.a. 'Quintette'), W. 129b: Movement 3:
3. The Incredible Flutist, ballet suite for orchestra: Spanish Waltz
4. Billy the Kid, orchestral suite from the ballet: Finale
5. Kitten on the Keys, for piano
6. New England Triptych, 3 pieces for orchestra or band: Movement 3: Chester
7. Knoxville: Summer of 1915, for high voice & orchestra (rev. for voice & chamber orchestra), Op. 24: Orchestral Introduction - 'It has
8. Totem Ancestor, for prepared piano
9. West Side Story, musical: Act 1: Tonight
10. Trio for piano, violin & cello: Movement 3: With Swing
11. Symphony No.22 ('City of Light'), Op. 236: Movement 2: Angel of Light (Largo)
12. Piano Concerto: Movement 1
13. Violin Concerto (rev. 2001 by Lyndon-Gee with composer): Introduction
14. Violin Concerto: Movement 3
15. Short Ride in a Fast Machine, fanfare for orchestra
16. Rapture, concerto for percussion & orchestra: Movement 3: Metals (extract)

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: William Henry Fry, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell, Arthur Foote, George Whitefield Chadwick, Henry Hadley, Amy Beach, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Charles Wakefield Cadman, Charles Ives, John Philip Sousa, Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, George Antheil, Walter Piston, Aaron Copland, Zez Confrey, William Schuman, Samuel Barber, John [1] Cage
Title: The Story of American Classical Music
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Naxos
Original Release Date: 1/1/2005
Re-Release Date: 6/21/2005
Album Type: Dual Disc
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
Styles: Instructional, Marches, Ballets & Dances, Ballets, Chamber Music, Forms & Genres, Concertos, Short Forms, Suites, Symphonies, Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Modern, 20th, & 21st Century, Instruments, Keyboard, Strings, Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 636943816424

CD Reviews

A Great Intro to American Classical Music - Almost a Short C

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 07/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many reasonably sophisticated American and European musiclovers still think there are really no American classical music composers of note other than perhaps Gershwin and Copland. It is to the credit of the Naxos label, via their 'American Classics' series, that the lie is put to that notion. Each month there are new issues from Naxos containing music by American composers. And it was a brilliant idea for them to take selections from their dozens of releases of this music to put together this sampler of such music to illustrate a 100+ page essay on the subject by an eminent writer on music, Barrymore Laurence Scherer. The combination of 2 CDs of music tracks, Scherer's essay, a chronological outline, suggestions for further listening, even a map showing where various composers were born helps the 'student' learn much about our nation's musical heritage.

There are selections by twenty-eight composers stretching from the amazing Wagnerian 'Macbeth' Overture by William Henry Fry (1813-1864) to the very recent 'Rapture,' a percussion concerto by Michael Torke (b. 1961). Some selections are complete movements, others are shorter passages from larger works. Included are such gems as the first movement of Arthur Foote's Piano Quartet, the third movement of Henry Hadley's Fourth Symphony, Charles Ives's 'The Unanswered Question,' 'King Cotton' by John Philip Sousa, 'Maple Leaf Rag' by Scott Joplin, a passage (the exciting Spanish Waltz) from Walter Piston's 'The Incredible Flutist,' the finale of Copland's 'Billy the Kid,' the opening of Samuel Barber's luminous 'Knoxville - Summer of 1915,' 'Tonight' from Bernstein's 'West Side Story,' the opening of George Rochberg's masterful Violin Concerto, and John Adams's incredibly popular 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine.' Plus selections by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell, George Whitefield Chadwick, Amy Beach, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Charles Wakefield Cadman, George Gershwin, George Antheil, Zez Confrey, William Schuman, John Cage, Gunther Schuller, Alan Hovhaness, Elliott Carter and Philip Glass. The performances are more than acceptable and in some instances ('Knoxville,' Rochberg's Violin Concerto) definitive.

I would heartily recommend this set (especially at its superbudget price) to anyone wanting to know more about the history of American classical music -- Scherer is a master of cogent, clear prose -- and wishing to hear examples of the broad range it has taken over the past couple of centuries. I can easily imagine this set being used in a music appreciation course. And I am sure it will spark interest in the newcomer to this branch of classical music.

2 CDs TT=ca. 160 mins.

Scott Morrison"