JOHN PHILIP SOUSA (1854-1932): Music for Wind Band, Volume 2
Royal Artillery Band/Keith Brion, cond
(played "The Royal Welch Fusiliers" March; "The Crafty Villain and the Timid Maid", fr "At the Movies" Suite; "Wisconsin Forward Forever" March)
Naxos American Classics CD-8.559059 (naxos.com)
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In an admirably played continuation of an enjoyable series, Brion treats us to a balance of military and concert-in-the-park repertoire, all of it energetic, entertaining, comparatively innocent, and beguilingly colorful.
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CHARLES WAKEFIELD CADMAN (1881-1946): "From the Land of Sky-Blue Water", Op. 45, no. 1 (1913)
CADMAN: Piano Trio in d, Op. 56, 1st movement (1914)
CADMAN: Piano Quintet in g, Op. 68, 1st movement (1937)
Paul Posnak, piano; Peter Zazofsky, violin; Ross Harbough, cello; Bergonzi Quartet
Naxos American Classics CD-8.559067 (naxos.com)
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Cadman, known primarily for songs and salon pieces inspired by Native American melodies, was one of the first American composers to achieve prominence (and real popularity) who was not European-trained. Despite his successes, the establishment then (and now) tended to dismiss Cadman as a lightweight, but these pieces prove him to have real, if somewhat conservative, chops, following the advice (and manner) of Dvorak in looking to the homeland for themes. Exceptionally well-played and recorded. A find.
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NED ROREM (b. 1923): 32 Songs (excerpts played: "The Waking" & "My Papa's Waltz"/Theodore Roethke; "Little Elegy"/Elinor Wylie; "Nantucket"/William Carlos Williams; "Visits to St. Elizabeth's"/Elizabeth Bishop; "Walking by the woods on a snowy evening"/Robert Frost; "I am Rose"/Gertrude Stein; "Youth, Day, Old Age, and Night"/Walt Whitman)
Carole Farley, s; Ned Rorem, p
Naxos American Classics CD-8.559084 (naxos.com)
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Universally recognized as the greatest American composer of art songs, Rorem is represented here by a handy sampler of exquisite gems. All texts are provided, but are hardly needed because of the composer's transparent settings and Farley's clear and projecting delivery. Music and poem fuse into a new expression. Natural and engrossing.
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STEVEN MACKEY (b. 1956): 'Bread and Wine' and "Drunk Monk', fr "Eating Greens"; 'Puffe', fr "Tuck and Roll"
Steven Mackey, electric guitar ('Puffe'); New World Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas, cond
RCA/BMG Red Seal CD-63826 (bmgclassics.com)
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Mackey writes self-avowed "wackey" music, quirky and offbeat, mercurial, humorous. Working in the tradition of Mozart and Stravinsky (pure concert music), he's nonetheless a child of his time and place (grew up in California with rock-and-roll in the 1970s). Think brash, kaleidoscopic energy, keenly shaped, and you're onto something. Fresh air and fun.
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DONALD ASHWANDER (1929-1994): Piano Rags, Tangos and Waltzes
Matthew Davidson, piano
Capstone CD-8680 (capstonerecords.org)
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Born in Alabama, trained in Manhattan in the early 1950s, a club musician and dock-worker in Mobile, later composer and music director for the Paper Bag Players (children's theatre) in NYC, Ashwander brings the wry and easy style of Scott Joplin up-to-date (without too many changes). Honest and engaging.
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ROY HARRIS (1898-1980): Symphony No. 7 (1955)
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Hugh Keelan, cond
Koch International Classics CD-7290 (kochentertainment.com)
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If not all of his 15 symphonies qualify as great, Harris nonetheless contributed importantly to the reaffirmation of this classical format in 20th century American art music. The raw, open harmony and spare, steel-girder constructs are unmistakably tagged with the "USA" brand. An Oklahoma farm kid, mostly self-taught in music, Harris wrote of free, open spaces, gritty integrity, firm convictions-making this real "music of our time." Excellent performance and sonics. The remainder of the CD is given over to William Schuman's equally satisfying 6th Symphony-the urban perspective on similar values.
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