Search - Howard Hanson, Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra :: Howard Hanson: Bold Island Suite; Symphony No. 2 "Romantic"; Suite from Merry Mount

Perfection A to Z

R. V. Wendel | NYC, NY United States | 10/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This amazing CD is one of those rare occasions where everything falls into place perfectly. Firstly, the program is very well chosen, spanning just over 3 decades of Hanson's creative career. The opening track, the Fanfare, is not only a terrific way to start, but it finally let's us hear for ourselves one of those "other" fanfares commissioned by Eugene Goosens and the Cincinnati Symphony during World War 2, from which we got Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man" and the remaining 17 seemed to have gotton lost. Many thanks to Kunzel and Telarc for letting us hear it again at long last.

The other gem here is the "Bold Island Suite," a beautiful musical portrait of a Maine Island, and the feelings one gets from nature, here recorded for the first time, and long overdue. This is a mature Hanson, in total command not only of form, but orchestration as well.

The remaining two works, The "Merry Mount Suite" and "Symphony #2" have been available on LP or CD since Hanson recorded these 2 works himself for Mercury Living Presence, with other offerings from Gerard Schwartz, Leonard Slatkin, and Keith Lockhart, fine recordings and performances all.

But there is something extra about this disc: Erich Kunzel, The Cincinnati Pops, and Telarc's recording team, in an effort that just gels perfectly. Hanson is "America" - pure, simple, straightforward, honest, able to get misty-eyed, or just stand up and cheer. His second Symphony, and "Merry Mount" were already establishing 'the American sound" we've come to associate with Copland 5 years before Copland himself abandonned his early "modern" sound for the "popular" style we known him best for. Kunzel is totally at home with this music, and it is evident right from the start. His sense of form and motion is unmatched here, letting Hanson be Hanson without any added fussing or imposed "interpretations." So the music sings, broods, explodes, muzes, or soars just as Hanson intended. Cincinatti is a virtuoso orchestra, and they toss off Hanson's trickiest passages with ease, while reveling in the sound and emotion.

More than ever before, Telarc has captured an extremely smooth sound while retaining precise image and spacial definition. This is one of the most natural sounding CDs I have ever heard! Buy this album... you won't be disappointed. If you have friends who don't really care for "classical" music, get this for them and I'm sure they'll still enjoy it. Maestro Kunzel has been the head of the Cincinnati Pops for 40 years now... a tenure equal to that of Ormandy with Philadelphia, and the results show it: Orchstra and conductor playing like a chamber ensemble, all of one mind and intent, and Telarc has captured the moment for posterity. Yes, audiophiles and music lovers, the good old days of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo are back in the digital age. We long for the team of Mohr-Layton-Reiner-Chicago and Cozart-Fine-Dorati-Minneapolis. Well, here they are: Woods-Bishop-Kunzel-Cincinnati!

I hope Maestro Kunzel isn't even thinking of retiring any time soon!"

Pure Hanson

Robert L. Edwards | New York, NY United States | 05/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Erich Kunzel is a champ. He is often overlooked by "serious" classical music lovers because he is so successful as a "crossover" conductor like Arthur Fiedler. But just as Fiedler achieved great heights with his Gershwin Concerto in F, American in Paris, and Rhapsody In Blue, so has Kunzel with this release of Hanson's iconic music.



Kunzel serves the music well and the Cincinnati Pops negotiate technically tricky passages with ease and smoothness. The Telarc soundfield is very deep. Winds and brass are given lots of air space, and percussion is kept at bay so neither overwhelms the strings.



One of the highlights of this recording is a wonderful unknown miniature, the World Premiere Recording of the 24 minute "Bold Island Suite," Hanson's paean to his summer home in Maine. The writing is mature; you recognize this both from the depth of the orchestration and classic Hanson melodic inventiveness. This is a very personal piece clearly imbued with Hanson's love for his land. (Kunzel notes that from the living room window of his own summer home in Maine, he can see "Hanson's Island". For fun, GoogleEarth Swan's Island, (not Swan Island) then move west and you can see what was Hanson's rustic house sitting by itself in its own little cove on its own tree-filled island.)



The disc also includes the Merry Mount Suite, in a classic performance. Merry Mount is filled with colorful orchestration underlying Hanson's signature melodic gift. Merry Mount is a delightful piece and Kunzel fleshes it out perfectly.



The main work on this Telarc Hanson disc is Hanson's most successful composition, the Symphony No. 2, Op. 30, "Romantic". I've loved this piece since I first heard it as a teenager in the 1960s with Hanson himself conducting. Kunzel renders the first movement of the Second Symphony in a straightforward, no-nonsense manner. He never milks the inherent emotionalism, moving the piece along, letting the music speak for itself. This is a clean, comfortable performance with inner melodies perfectly balanced. It impresses with its honesty. Kunzel's approach here presages his handling of the climax in the third movement.



The second movement is also clean and we get another clue as to how Kunzel will handle the big climax in the third movement. (Hanson has built-in references in each of the movements.) Here again, Kunzel applies his no-nonsense approach, and we hear more of the energetic forward motion Kunzel used in the first movement.



From the start of the third movement, we know the long-drive to the final climax is underway. When it gets to that climax, Kunzel drives it passionately with no letup, setting up the "quiet moment" in a way that is almost shocking (the sudden "rest" is heart-stopping). This rendering is the opposite of the Schwarz/Seattle performance that milks the music for all its worth. But Kunzel's honest approach is almost cleansing. While the Schwarz approach is endearingly successful, its too easy for bad conductors to misappropriate this type of writing; Kunzel sets a standard of veracity here.



Perhaps its the clarity, the simple directness, the honesty of this performance that is so refreshing that enables it to linger. Kunzel never messes with the music; he lets Hanson's writing speak for itself.



It may be a long time before the engaging emotionalism of the Schwarz Seattle recording of the Symphony 2 is surpassed, but it would be a huge mistake to miss this Kunzel Cincinnati Hanson on Telarc. Its a pure, honest and simple performance enhanced by the cohesiveness of an orchestra that knows its conductor and a conductor that really understands this music. (Reminder: Telarc is out of business, grab this while you can!!!)"

Handsome Hanson...

J. Milton | MA | 11/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this for the "Romantic" Symphony. Best recording of I have heard, including the one Hanson recorded w/ Rochester on the Mercury label. Surround sound really opens this up...and what a grand motif in all 3 movements. Kudos to Kunzel!"