Fennell Conducts Sousa

John Philip Sousa (Composer), Frederick Fennell (Conductor), Harold Lawrence (Conductor), Eastman Wind Ensemble (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Eastman Wind Ensemble
• Conductor: Frederick Fennell, Harold Lawrence
• Composer: John Philip Sousa
• Audio CD (March 10, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000057LB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,220 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MASTERFUL RENDITIONS IN GLORIOUS RECORDED SOUND, November 15, 2001

By 

jayeldee (WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fennell Conducts Sousa (Audio CD)

An utterly masterful set, containing many of Sousa's unjustly neglected works. (An integral recording of his complete marches is overdue by a good half-century.*) Fennell conducts with incredible verve, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble responds in kind, with immaculately tight and polished performances. The recording is demonstration-class. Sousa has never sounded better, and probably never will.

*EDIT: Actually, a nearly-complete recording of the marches has been available, as of the time of this review, for at least a good quarter-century--first on LP, now on CD: that being, a series of analog recordings by The Detroit Concert Band, led by Leonard B. Smith. Currently available from Walking Frog Records (on five CDs), the DCB/Smith collection unfortunately suffers from some serious problems--not the least of which is the highly variable and substandard quality of the recorded sound.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mastery of Fennell, January 27, 2002

By 

J Keistler "[e-mail]" (Lake Jackson, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fennell Conducts Sousa (Audio CD)

I've owned this CD for several years, and bought a copy recently as a Christmas gift. Frederick Fennell is a modern master of band and marches, and I own several of his recordings. What makes this CD a standout for me is the Mercury Living Presence recording and remastering method. I own over two dozen of this series because Living Presence does indeed represent a different method of producing music for the recorded media. It DOES sound more lifelike to me than conventional multimike recordings. To anyone considering purchase of this CD I'd recommend also ordering 'Screamers', the Living Presence CD of circus marches. To me this is feel-good music at its best, and terrific for listing in the car! Additionally, the Living Presence series stands out for its excellent liner notes with explanations of the Living Presence method. This CD is a keeper. Incidentally, the recipient of this CD has since gone out and bought several other Living Presence CD's after hearing this!s

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fennell Brings Out the Best in Sousa 's Marches, February 20, 2004

By 

John F. Metzger "'Jack'" (McCordsville, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fennell Conducts Sousa (Audio CD)

This is an outstanding CD. The sound quality is very good. The instrumental balance is very good. It's interesting to compare the rather subtle difference in the percussion section performance between the two recording dates, particulalarly the cymbalist.
Sousa had an uncanny ability to score the cymbal strike at places which add significantly to the listening experience.
Hats off to Sousa, Fennell,and the Eastman Wind Ensemble