Customer Reviews

Alan Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountains

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those who have only heard Hovhaness' Second Symphony (and it arguably gets the most airplay on classical music stations) will find the other two symphonies on this disc hard to resist.

Hovhaness' "Mysterious Mountains" is still the best on Reiner's RCA recording, but the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, under the baton of Gerard Schwarz do a fine job of playing this piece, which is often most people's introduction to the wonderful works of Hovhaness.

But it's the recordings of the 66th Symphony "Hymn to Glacier Peak", and the 50th Symphony, "Mount Saint Helens" that will bring you back to wanting to not only listen to this disc over again, but wanting to add it to a good library of Classical Music.

It's easy for anyone to see the similarity between the 2nd and the 50th and the 66th. Hovhaness used the same type of spirituality in his earlier works as he did in his latter works. At once both haunting and beautiful, the same type of themes are heard on all three works, and it is interesting to see how Hovhaness developed his own techniques and themes over the course of his composition career.

The 66th, "Hymn to Glacier Peak" has several similarities to his earlier "Mysterious Mountains" - probably because Glacier Peak =is= a mountain. But the differences abound when concentration is given to a particular facet of the world's features. Well worth listening to.

But the 50th, "Mount Saint Helens" will challenge your stereo system like nothing you've ever heard before. It is quite obvious that Hovhaness was deeply moved by the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, especially when you consider that the vast majority of Hovhaness' work is musical interpretations of geological features, especially mountains. Be warned - don't turn the sound up before this symphony or you may disturb your neighbors.

Telarc has always been known for fine sounding recordings, and this one is no exception. Those who want to start looking into Hovhaness' work could find no better disc to start with.

If you don't know Hovhaness, you should, and this is the best CD of his works currently available. Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000), was born in Massachusetts but drew inspiration from several of the world's cultures, including Armenia (the homeland of his father). Hovhaness is one of the most prolific composers, ever, with 67 symphonies (!) to his credit. Many of his works contain subtitles making reference to nature ("Mountain of Prophecy," "Spirit of the Avalanche," "The Divine Fountain," etc.) Although this may seem a little corny, don't let this deter you from getting to know this lovely music.

One could describe his music as serene, haunting, ethereal and beautiful. His music is often compared to Vaughan Williams; however I believe that both are very different composers. Hovhaness' music contains more baroque influences, with the inclusion of chorales and fugues. Also, Hovhaness makes less frequent use of "traditional" melody. Although, I think it is fair to say that if you like Vaughan Williams you'll like Hovhaness.

I first came across Hovhaness' music several years ago which I dismissed as all sounding the same and being very boring. I now know much better, and realize that Hovhaness was actually a very gifted composer of beautiful music, and was actually ahead of his time, especially when considering the popularity of modern composers, such as Rautavaara.

The three symphonies on this disc are all outstanding. Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain" is his most frequently performed work, but I am not sure why, as the other two symphonies are equally appealing. The opening movements of each symphony are among the most beautiful symphonic pieces I have heard. My favorite is the opening of Symphony No. 50, with majestic string chords over pizzicato bass, followed by a woodwind solos over a moving harp part (this is typical of Hovhaness' technique). Each symphony is filled with beautiful and majestic solo playing (oboe, flute, horn, trumpet). As serene as all of this sounds, the music does occasionally build to great intensity. The "Volcano" movement of the "Mount St. Helens" symphony, for instance, shows Hovhaness at his most aggressive, with pounding drums, fanfaring brass and pulsating strings.

Hovhaness' reputation may be damaged by his own prolificy. If someone wrote 500 works, they are probably mediocre works at best, right? Well, I have purchased several Hovhaness CD's and have been uniformly impressed with this difficult to classify composer. It is a convenient assumption by the listening public, as well as the major CD labels, that Hovhaness only has a handful of works (ex: Symphony No. 2) worth hearing. This is a belief which, I believe, will be discredited, as enterprising artists and labels begin to shed light on Hovhaness' other works. The question is which label will be daring enough to issue the CD, "Hovhaness: The Symphonies, Volume I." I am partially kidding, but we do need more new recordings of Hovhaness' works.

Conclusion: Lovely, majestic music and fantastic playing on this CD!! Don't make the same mistake I initially did. Have an open mind and get to know the beautiful music of Hovhaness.

71:45

Audiophiles and music lovers will find that this is a must buy. The recorded sound is the best that is available with regular CD format. For those who have yet to experience Hovhaness' music, I envy your future delight in discovery.

This is the first CD from Hovhaness that I've ever bought. Well, obviously, this isn't going to be the last. The symphonies "Mysterious Mountain" and "Hymn to Glacier Peak" are two of the finest 20th-Century Classical pieces ever written and performed. The composer's love for mountains are really apparent here, and you could almost picture yourself on these peaks when the music drives into your ears. The most powerful on this CD is "Mt. St. Helens". At the time when the moutnain erupted, Hovhaness brings a more sophsticated and dramatic quality. It's riveting, all right.

I think now is the time to see which Hovhaness CD I should purchase next. I think I'll go with "And God Created Great Whales" next time. A+

Even the quiet passages send chills down my spine (good); resemblance to Vaughn Williams as to accessible melodizing noted elsewhere is most true, even tho some melodies are in Central Asian(?) mode. When the mountain erupts all bets are off and your system/apartment walls will be tested for breakup. Fans of 1812 you-know-what should purchase this one while it is in print.

I didn't know what to expect when I bought this CD, basing my interest on the reviews of others, but if you are a fan of symphonic music, you will enjoy the works of Alan Hovhaness.

For those who don't know his music, Hovhaness was an Armenian-Amercian who wrote like a sort of middle-eastern cut-priced cross between Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Howard Hanson and Mussorgsky. Sometimes the results are melodious and spectacular-sounding, and at times these peices contain some of those results. At others, and at too many times in the pieces on this cd, the results are trite and embarrassing and more reminiscent of Leroy Anderson (of playful pizzicato infamy) and Ferde Grofe (Grand Canyon suite) as well as a particularly trite (or comedy) western. There are times when you just know he didn't know what to do next so just threw in a glockenspeil or the tubular bells or a couple of harps for a bit of colour and effect.

It is true that there are some lovely sounds here, but you're still better off with RVW and co, - get the real thing, accept no substitutes.

And the sound is very good, with a natural soundstage. The recording copes well with some demanding passages, but to be honest, I didnt find it up to the best standards of the Telarc house. Not only does Hovhaness overuse pizzicatos on double basses and cellos but the recording gives them a fairly homogenous reverberant sound which tends to blur other string detail.

The performances are good, - Schwartz loves this music and has passed some of that affection on to his excellent Liverpool orchestra, just as he did in Seattle.

Until the recording companies, including Telarc start to give us real music of quality on SACD, instead of potboilers and sonic spectaculars, this'll do for a few plays.