Howard Hanson: Bold Island Suite (2005)

Howard Hanson is regarded as one of the great interpreters of contemporary music, and his recordings for the Mercury Living Presence label with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra continue to be justly celebrated staples of the classical catalog. While he adopted some features, both internal and external, from the musical language of his time, Hanson's own music remained stubbornly conservative even as serial techniques began to dominate the classical music landscape in the 1950s. Adherence to traditional forms and tonality has ... Read More

Howard Hanson is regarded as one of the great interpreters of contemporary music, and his recordings for the Mercury Living Presence label with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra continue to be justly celebrated staples of the classical catalog. While he adopted some features, both internal and external, from the musical language of his time, Hanson's own music remained stubbornly conservative even as serial techniques began to dominate the classical music landscape in the 1950s. Adherence to traditional forms and tonality has helped some out-of-fashion twentieth century composers to thrive in the twenty first, particularly in the case of David Diamond, but this trend has yet to catch up with Hanson. Perhaps this fabulous new Telarc recording, Symphonic Music of Howard Hanson, by conductor Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, is just what the doctor ordered.The centerpiece of Symphonic Music of Howard Hanson is Bold Island Suite, a never-before-recorded Cleveland Orchestra commission that serves as a... Read Less