American Orchestral Music

Virgil Thomson (Composer), Ned Rorem (Composer), William Schuman (Composer), Howard Hanson (Composer), Gunther Schuller (Composer), Edward MacDowell (Composer), Siegfried Landau (Conductor), Maurice de Abravanel (Conductor), Donald Johanos (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Siegfried Landau, Maurice de Abravanel, Donald Johanos
• Composer: Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, William Schuman, Howard Hanson, Gunther Schuller, et al.
• Audio CD (September 6, 1994)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Vox (Classical)
• ASIN: B000001K3Z
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,746 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of important works, execution uneven., March 23, 1999

By A Customer

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This review is from: American Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

This is an excellent compilation of important American symphonic works at a nice price (it is a double CD from VOX recorded [analog] in 1971 and 1973). The program content far outweighs the intonation problems (mostly in the winds and brass), and usually from the Westphalian Symphony Orchestra. The standard of the Utah Symphony is quite high, making the Rorem and Schuman Symphonies very worthwhile! Bravo to VOX for this series-- if you enjoy Copland, Barber, and other perhaps more well-known American composers, you will get your money's worth here!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific performance of under-rated Rorem Symphony, June 7, 2001

By 

Greg Nyquist (Eureka, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

The other reviewers have pretty much stated what I believe most intelligent listeners would say about this vox release: it is important for the Rorem and Schuman symphonies, both of which are played and recorded at a high level. The Schullur symphony, however, is also played and recorded well, but it is an atonal horror hardly worth a listen. The other items, from the infamous Westphalian Symphony Orchestra, are not bad performances, but the recordings are dry and a little bit harsh, and the orchestra is obviously not of the first rank. The Thomson and Hanson pieces are both superb works and hard to come by this cheaply. But there are performances in much better sound to be found elsewhere--the Hanson 6th with Schwartz and the Seattle S0 and the Thomson on a hyperion recording with an English orchestra. The Rorem, however, which may be the best work on the disc, can only be found on this release alone. And the Rorem piece is good enough to by itself to warrent purchase this item.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cracker Jack and the Prize, too., June 12, 2002

By 

Ypres1918 (Western Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Orchestral Music (Audio CD)

5 stars, though the Virgil Thompson piece is outright banal. But here's the payoff:

The higher points on this set are Schuman 7th, the Schuller Symphony 1965, and to a much lesser extent, the Hanson. These works alone make this a super buy, but then there's the Rorem 3rd. Zounds! Why this work has never gotten wider circulation is beyond me. It's thoroughly tonal, and far from being a challenging listen, but in every way satisfying in a modern sense. It turns out to be a pure delight, even for hardened listeners of 20th Century fair, while yet appealing to those whose 20th Century exposure is limited.

Were the Schuman and Schuller missing, this set would be worth having just for the Rorem. Were the Rorem missing, it would be worth having for the Schuman and Schuller. Altogether, then, this is one of the better buys in 20th Century American Classical Music. Don't put off buying this disc another second.