Customer Reviews

Howard Hanson: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6; Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Youth

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This is my first listen to these works conducted by Schwarz, and if this is any indication, his cycle of Hanson symphonies is masterful.

The Third is a wonderful work, deeply thoughtful and felt, and technically sophisticated. And that is how Schwarz presents it. In its elegant turn of phrase, the lush string sound, the polished brass and wind, the performance summons a lavish sound-picture that enraptures the listener without it turning into a sentimental wallow. This is the interpretative challenge of the symphony and Schwarz meets it in a way much like that of Koussevitzky whose recording is also available. Hanson's own reading is out on Mercury, straightforward, beautifully played, with composer's insight. All three performances are extraordinary, and the serious listener should have all three.

Schwarz is more out-on-his-own in the Sixth, the only other offering having been a stopgap effort by Landau and the Westerchester County SO. In many ways, the Sixth is Hanson's greatest work with its subtly subdivided movements, its masterful orchestration, its emotive power. Schwarz gets most of it, but hangs around a little too long in the slow movement where things start to sag a bit and a few winds seem near running out of breath. But it is scrupulously prepared, conducted and played with great dedication and commitment which encourages you to listen in the same spirit. In that is the highest praise one can lavish on interpreters, something I feel Schwarz and his Seattle players have come up a bit short on in the criticial media of late.

This lovely and powerful disk is one you'll take heart in from your first listen and will make an even greater impression when considered in supplement to Koussey and the composer in the Third. For here we may be listening to the passing of Hanson the symphonist from the purely American into the international pantheon of composers.

In music, the twentieth-century was an era of experimentation and trying to create something new for the sake of creating something new. Wagner unleashed the bounds of chromaticism during the latter half of the nineteeth-century, followed by the ambiguity of Debussy's whole-tone scale during the oughts, to full serialism by Schoenberg during the 1920's. By the 1930's, it all had been done and tonal music was discouraged (interestingly, this same trend followed in the jazz realm and met it's peak in the 1960's with Eric Dolphy).

I entered college in 1986 to major in music composition, but switched my major to education so I'd have a steady income, and eventually completed my MA in composition in 2003. Even then, tonal music was highly discouraged amongst my professors. I completely understood that atonalism can serve a purpose in a musical work and shouldn't be avoided; however, I've always been of the philosophy that music should be written for others to listen to and if the listener doesn't enjoy it, what's the point? Back when I was working on my MA, my composition teacher told me to create a 12-tone piece, I created a tone row in which the notes created harmony and not dissonance. He was not happy. He told me to either "comform to the system or get out of the program." I guess I'm a rebel in this sense because writing music for music's sake doesn't thrill me.

How does this "soapbox" introduction tie into the CD I'm reviewing? Howard Hanson has often been discredited because he bucked the wave of his contemporaries. He wrote what he felt and what the public's ears would enjoy. Hanson composes wide, sweeping melodies that develop into incredible works of art. Technically, his pieces are immensely challenging, if not daunting. Intellectually, his music is on par with that of Bernstein, Webern, and Prokofieff; however, he's not studied along with those individuals because his music didn't make an impact with the historians. It was like that of Rachmaninoff or Respighi, also phenomenal composers.

This CD was my introduction into Hanson's music; it includes two symphonies and one solo, piano and orchestra. I was so impressed with the music that I picked up the other four CD's in the series. The Seattle Symphony does a superb job of performing and Gerard Schwarz gives an outstanding interpretation of all three works. The CD is recorded DDD and offers a crystal-clear sound and wide dynamic range.

If you enjoy late-romantic works, this is a great place to learn about Hanson's style - you will not be disappointed. Another one of my favorites is his "Lament for Beowulf," also recorded by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony. Happy listening.

Hanson's music is now getting the attention that it deserves after being largely ignored for most of his life. This is a great album showcasing some of his best works, especially the beautiful Symphony No. 3, which he wrote while vacationing on Bold Island off the coast of Maine.

Hanson's romantic style was not in vogue with the music critics during the period when he composed most of his music, thus not much was recorded until recently. The Seattle Symphony and Gerard Schwartz have recorded a number of Hanson's works and I highly recommend them.

Full marks to everyone involved in this recording. The Seattle SO pack a powerful punch in and the recording is of demonstration quality. The only disappointment is the actual music. Hanson has been called the American Sibelius and whilst he has clearly been influenced by the Finnish master in his orchestration, the actual process of composition is completely different. Sibelius writes real symphonies with a strong internal logic that binds the material together and they bear repeated listening. Hanson's symphonies feels more like film music. Some of it is very attractive, but the result is more a succession of themes and variations than a true symphony.

I first heard Hanson's 3rd Symphony ten years ago and hadn't it heard again until yesterday. In spite of this I remembered several themes because the music was so based on the repetition of a few themes rather than any genuine development. The first movement is quite enjoyable, although the second subject outstays its welcome. After that it is downhill all the way, unless you like really schmaltzy slow movements.

The rest of the CD is perfectly fine but is quite forgetable. If you haven't heard Hanson before the best work to listen to is probably the 4th Symphony, which is arguably his masterpiece. This feels like a real symphony rather than an impression of one.