Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra - Symphonic Music of Howard Hanson (2005)

The classic recording of Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 "Romantic" is the one conducted by Hanson himself on Mercury's Living Presence imprint in the early stereo era. Nice as that one is, it turns out that Erich Kunzel, the Cincinnati Pops, and Telarc, with its reputation for excellent sound, are the perfect team for undertaking a new recording of Hanson's popular symphony. The recording captures all the swells and crests of emotion of the symphony in an extremely rich way that is even more satisfying than Hanson's. In addition to the symphony, the disc also features the first recording of Hanson's Bold Island Suite, a picturesque tribute to an island off the coast of Maine near islands where Hanson had and Kunzel happens to have, a home. The suite's depictions of birds, broad strokes of orchestral color, and the final movement's inspiration by an ancient text all bring to mind the music of Respighi, one of Hanson's teachers. It works very well as a bridge between the Merry Mount Suite and the symphony, having similarities to both. To round out the disc, Kunzel chose an opening fanfare, commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in that same project that resulted in Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. The very brief work for brass and percussion is a natural lead-in for the Merry Mount Suite, which begins with a fanfare-like overture. The momentum and excitement in Kunzel's reading of these works sweep the listener continually forward. The "Maypole Dances" of the Merry Mount Suite are detailed enough to hear almost every percussion instrument being used along with the pizzicato strings in a headlong, frenzied whirl. That energy, plus the fullness of the sound throughout, makes for an exhilarating program of Hanson's music.