Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade

Howard Hanson (Composer), Daniel Spalding (Conductor), Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Joseph Jackson (Performer), Gabriela Imreh (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Joseph Jackson, Gabriela Imreh
• Orchestra: Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Daniel Spalding
• Composer: Howard Hanson
• Audio CD (July 25, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B000FVQUVM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,469 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #63 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Strings > Harp

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Composer Again Getting Some Respect, August 3, 2006

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade (Audio CD)

Classical music listeners have always loved the music of Howard Hanson, but after his halcyon period in the 30s and 40s he fell from favor and was almost entirely absent from concert programs except for occasional airings of his Second Symphony, the 'Romantic', probably the piece for which he is best known. But he wrote a lot of music that has languished unplayed and unheard for decades. This CD from Naxos does a little to remedy that with six works primarily for string ensemble and solo instruments (the exception is the 'Nymphs and Satyr Ballet Suite' which uses a chamber orchestra rather than strings alone).

The Organ Concerto has had a life of sorts, but it has rarely been played in its original form for organ and full symphony orchestra. It was recast for strings and organ and is occasionally trotted out primarily in church settings. It was written for musicians at Hanson's own Eastman School, where he was the director for decades, and premiered by organist Eastman's Harold Gleason and later played and recorded by an Eastman successor, David Craighead. In one movement it is in typical Hansonian fantasia format with a misterioso beginning and a livelier middle section leading to a development section of sorts making use of the first section's materials. It ends briskly after an exuberant virtuoso pedal cadenza. Organist Joseph Jackson, playing a fine new Reuter organ at Philadelphia's First Presbyterian Church, is given sensitive support by the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Spalding.

The succeeding pieces are slight in comparison to the Organ Concerto, but nonetheless charming and interesting in turn. All are tuneful, romantic in tone, and expertly written. The slightest of these works is the 1979 'Nymphs and Satyr' suite which is the last thing Hanson wrote. It is rather thrown together, by my lights, by combining some scraps and independent pieces he'd written including a Fantasy for clarinet and chamber orchestra and a Scherzo for bassoon and chamber orchestra. Neither is particularly memorable -- well, that's not entirely true, the almost simple-minded changes wrung on a second inversion triad by the solo bassoon in the scherzo has a tenacity in the mind's ear that is just this side of irritating. The soloists, Doris Hall-Gulati, clarinet, and Holly Blake, bassoon, are excellent. 'Fantasy Variation on a Theme of Youth, for Piano and Strings' (1951) was commissioned by Northwestern University for their centenary. Hanson fittingly took a theme he'd written as a student there in 1917 and made this set of variations in which the piano is more an obbligato instrument than a concerto-like soloist. There are four variations that, while all based on the somber theme, differ remarkably from each other. Variation form in the guise of elaboration of themes was particularly congenial for Hanson, and this is an attractive if rather slight work.

'Serenade for Flute, Harp and Strings' (1945) and 'Pastorale for Oboe, Harp and Strings' (1948-49) were both written as presents for Hanson's wife -- he had not married Margaret Nelson until almost he was almost fifty, in 1946. The latter work was originally for oboe and piano but he orchestrated it in 1950 for Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra; the legendary Marcel Tabuteau was the oboist. Each work is rhapsodic, almost impressionistic and yet Sibelian as well. Andrew Bolotowski, flute, and Jonathan Blumenfeld, oboe, are the fine soloists. Solo harpist in these two works as well as the organ concerto is Jacqueline Pollard.

A surprisingly effective work, if obscure (which simply means I'd never heard of it until I read about it in Walter Simmons's monumental book about six American neoromanticists 'Voices in the Wilderness'), is the 'Summer Seascape No. 2 for Viola and Strings' (1965). It is called 'No. 2' because the middle movement of Hanson's 'Bold Island Suite' is also called 'Summer Seascape' and started life as an independent piece. This is a starkly beautiful tone poem in which the plangent tones of the solo viola stand in contrast to the silken, yet sometimes pungent, string mass. It is not hard to picture the dramatic Maine seacoast when listening to this short work. The playing of violist Adriana Linares is meltingly beautiful.

This is a definite must for those who love the big romantic canvases of Hanson's music but who are not familiar with his works in smaller forms. Sound is exemplary.

Scott Morrison

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 20th Century Pastorale, August 13, 2010

By 

Neil Ford (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade (Audio CD)

If you are a fan of tonal Modernism, and you are looking for new music, you should try this CD. I think any lover of Vaughan Williams or Bax, or perhaps Hindemith at his gentlest, will enjoy this music.

The major work here is the early Organ Concerto, a quarter-hour piece in Hanson's usual melodic, romantic idiom, with a little added Modern astringency. It is typically rhapsodic and poignant, as well as expertly crafted. I think this would be very enjoyable on the rare occasions of its performance (and it would be good to hear the version with full orchestra one day). I could also imagine it benefiting from a more spectacular solo instrument, though the one on this recording has its charms and is appropriate to the semi-chamber nature of this collection. My only real quibble here is the extreme pianissimo near the end, which makes the conclusion seem to come out of nowhere.

Next comes the Nymphs & Satyr ballet suite, the musical equivalent of a fawn nuzzling a teddy bear. But I mean that in a good way! It's just very sweet, in Hanson's particular melodic and harmonic way. The two middle movements feature nice solos for clarinet and bassoon. Some shadows do pass over the glade during the Epilog fourth movement.

Your ears will perk up when you hear the beginning of the Variations on a Theme of Youth. This is one of the few Hanson works for which there are several recordings readily available, and this performance is certainly competitive. The "theme of youth" is in fact a musical theme the composer wrote in his youth, but as developed in this piece there is a definite suggestion of bitter-sweet nostalgia. As with the Organ Concerto, I can't help wishing this chamber concertante work had been arranged for full orchestra, but bear in mind I do tend to favour orchestral over chamber music.

After the Variations, the remainder of the works on this CD tend to the gentle and ruminative, with no big endings, so they can seem to blend together. Each is of a high standard and has its individual charms if you care to listen, but as a set these last works seem ideal for lazy Sunday afternoon background listening.

Kudos to Naxos for releasing this CD of little-known music that's well worth hearing. Now, let's see them finish recording the symphonies!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One for the fans, May 13, 2010

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G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade (Audio CD)

Howard Hanson's music is straightforwardly romantic - sometimes over the top so - but does also display something of a personal style with respect to harmonic and melodic development, so his music is often immediately recognizable. That is also true for several of the items on this disc, but overall you do (or at least I did) get the impression of some barrel scraping taking place. The main exception is the beautifully lyrical Serenade for flute, harp and strings, one of Hanson's most delectable works even if hardly a profound one. Something of the same melodic ore is mined in the Pastorale for obo, harp and strings, and even though it is a decent piece it is not as memorable as the Serenade and seems to go on for slightly too long.

Even the organ concerto (scored with strings and harp) is shorn of pomp and bombast, and is a reflective (mostly) work in the same lyrical vein. The drawback is that it contains absolutely nothing that could possibly sustain the listener's interest. It is, in other words, a drearily boring work, meandering and filled with empty gestures. The Nymphs and Satyr suite is delectably scored and tuneful but minor music, charming enough but with little lasting interest. The Fantasy Variations for piano and orchestra are more interesting if not among Hanson's very best music. Neither is the Summer Seascape no. 2 anything I can imagine myself returning to very often - it is a slightly diffuse work lacking any kind of inspired thematic material. It does remind me slightly of the music of Arnold Bax, and perhaps my problem is that Hanson's work has nothing of the craggy power and bold colors of Bax's music.

In short, this disc is one for those who already count themselves among the convinced fans of the composer. Nothing here comes close to what Hanson achieved in his symphonies, for instance, and only a few items (the serenade and fantasy variations, which are both featured on the Delos sets of Hanson's symphonies anyway) manage to create any lasting impression. I can find little fault with the performances - the soloists are overall very good and the orchestral contributions more than satisfactory, even if a tad more vibrancy and spirit might have helped - there is more breadth and opulence to be found in these scores, and given their slight contents they need everything they can get. The sound is fine if not spectacular. In the end, however, this disc is mostly for the convinced Hanson follower, and I cannot say that I am one of them (even if I really enjoy his best symphonies).