Hanson: Bold Island Suite - Kunzel
Telarc SACD-60649
Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid
Classical - Orchestral
Howard Hanson: Bold Island Suite, Symphony No. 2 Op. 30 "Romantic", Suite from Merry Mount
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Erich Kunzel (conductor)
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Review by Graham Williams - January 24, 2006
Any new recording of the music of Howard Hanson is to be welcomed, and it is especially so in this case, as this Telarc SACD contains, in addition to the ‘Romantic’ Symphony, the world premier recording of ‘Bold Island Suite’ and two other less familiar pieces.
The first item is the ‘Fanfare for the Signal Corps’ one of eighteen fanfares by various composers, including Morton Gould, Darius Milhaud, Walter Piston and Virgil Thomson, commissioned by Eugene Goosens for the Cincinnati SO at the start of World War II. The most well known and widely performed of these fanfares is, of course, Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’. This one, lasting barely a minute, is terse, but impressive, and the recorded sound immediately establishes the excellent depth and width of the acoustic.
The Suite from the opera Merry Mount comes next, in which the ‘Love Duet’ movement illustrates Hanson’s melodic gift to the full with its soaring theme wonderfully caressed by the strings of the CPO and captured beautifully by the engineers.
‘Bold Island Suite’, here receiving its World Premier Recording (well done Telarc) is Hanson’s equivalent of Debussy’s La Mer. The music depicts the composer’s reaction to the sounds of the island, the sea and his own religious faith. It is, as with all Hanson, a beautifully crafted and orchestrated piece and it is quite astonishing that it has not been recorded before.
This is certainly not the case with the Romantic Symphony, which has received a number of notable recordings on CD, including those by Leonard Slatkin (EMI), Gerard Schwarz (Delos) and Charles Gerhardt (Chesky). We also now have Hanson’s own superb performance re-mastered for SACD on Mercury Living Presence. In spite of some wonderful playing, especially by the horns and strings, Kunzel’s performance is not in the same class. It sounds too soft-centred, lacking urgency in the fast movements, and the sweep and soaring quality heard in the composer’s version is totally missing here.
Listening to the 48 year-old Mercury recording, you have to contend with a small amount of tape hiss and a nasal sounding oboe, but none of this matters when compared with the commitment of Hanson’s student orchestra and the conviction of his interpretation. The sound too has more impact and presence. On SACD this is definitely the version of the symphony to have.
For me, however, the CD version by Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic, recorded by Kenneth Wilkinson in the superb Kingsway Hall acoustic in 1967, still remains the performance to treasure. One can only hope that one day it might find its way on to SACD. In the mean time the new Telarc does provide an imaginative programme and is a valuable addition to the Hanson discography.
Copyright © 2006 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net
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