American Dreams: Barber's Adagio & Other American Romantic Masterpieces

George Whitefield Chadwick (Composer), Samuel Barber (Composer), Arthur Foote (Composer), John [Classical] Alden Carpenter (Composer), Thomas Canning (Composer), George Gershwin (Composer), Hoagy Carmichael (Composer), Raymond Leppard (Conductor), Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Raymond Leppard
• Composer: George Whitefield Chadwick, Samuel Barber, Arthur Foote, John [Classical] Alden Carpenter, Thomas Canning, et al.
• Audio CD (August 10, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000JSAK
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,945 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #48 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Lullabies & Berceuse

Track Listings

1. Symphonic Sketches: Noel

2. String Quartet, Op.11 Mvt.II: Adagio For Strings

3. Suite In E Major For String Orchestra, Op.63: Pizzicato A nd Adagietto

4. Sea Drift

5. Fantasy On A Hymn Tune

6. Lullaby

7. Johnny Appleseed Suite: Prayer & Cathedral Vision

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Performances from this smaller American Orchestra, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Dreams: Barber's Adagio & Other American Romantic Masterpieces (Audio CD)

This recent release from Decca Records has some of the familiar but also relatively unknown American works. The recorded sound is quite lovely, a very warm string sound, and some charming solo playing, especially coming from the English Horn player in the work by Hoagy Carmichael. In a era when most recordings and artistic attention is awarded to the largest American orchestras, having a chance to hear what some of the smaller and lesser known ensembles in the USA can do is quite amazing and well worth having available. Many of these works have never been recorded before, and they as a collection represent a slice of America that many people having been yearning for and have been missing. HATS OFF TO THE INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOR THIS PROJECT!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enthusiastic, December 20, 1999

By 

M. Seeley (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Dreams: Barber's Adagio & Other American Romantic Masterpieces (Audio CD)

This is a very lovely collection of underplayed and under appreciated American works. I concure with the other reviewers. Leppard leads the Indianapolis Symphony in some sumptuous playing of these tender but emotionally charged works. Especially the Fantasy on a Hymn Tune which is deftly performed. If your are looking for an alternative to Ives and Schuman, this is a great disk to expand your horizons.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, August 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Dreams: Barber's Adagio & Other American Romantic Masterpieces (Audio CD)

American Dreams is a perfect title to this wonderful CD from the Indianapolis Symphony. With the exception of the Barber Adagio for Strings, the CD presents American Romantic masterworks that are rarely played and recorded. Leppard and his orchestra play the sweet melodies with the sincerety characterized by the state with which they are from, America's heartland state of Indiana. The most famous of the pieces recorded, the Barber, is given a new interpretation that does not allow the music's intensity to overwhelm. The most wonderful piece on the CD is Gershwin's Lullaby for strings - called Gershwin's first classical piece - is absolutly breathtaking. If this program were played at their summer venue at Conner Prairy, it would make for one incredible evening of music; therefore, if you are looking for music under the stars of an Indiana Summer from your home, this is the CD to buy.