Composer: Howard Hanson
Orchestra: Eastman-Rochester Orchestra
Conductor: Howard Hanson
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Mercury
Size: 326 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Hanson: Symphony No.1 in E minor, Op.21 “Nordic” – 1. Andante solenne – Allegro con forza
02. Hanson: Symphony No.1 in E minor, Op.21 “Nordic” – 2. Andante teneramente, con semplicita
03. Hanson: Symphony No.1 in E minor, Op.21 “Nordic” – 3. Allegro con fuoco
04. Hanson: Symphony No.2, Op.30 “Romantic” – 1. Adagio – Allegro moderato
05. Hanson: Symphony No.2, Op.30 “Romantic” – 2. Andante con tenerezza
06. Hanson: Symphony No.2, Op.30 “Romantic” – 3. Allegro con brio
07. Hanson: Song of Democracy
a note on the sound engineering
I’m a recent convert to the symphonies of Howard Hanson, and I’ve collected as many recording as I’ve been able to find. This one is fabulous, including his best two symphonies (in my opinion) and also the Walt Whitman setting, “Song of Democracy.” A note on the engineering of the two symphonies: Symphony No. 1 has an artificially separated sound picture with the violins coming out uncomfortably bright in the right channel. The sound of this symphony can be improved dramatically by turning the stereo balance sharply to the left, thus minimizing the signal by about half in the right channel. There is still plenty of sound in the right channel, but the violins sound like they’re actually in the orchestra instead of being dubbed in artificially. This won’t work on an MP3 device, but if you’re an old-fashioned holdout of the hi-fi era with a separate stereo components and big speakers like I am, you will find this symphony can sound quite lovely with this tiny adjustment of the balance. The sound picture of Symphony No. 2 is much more natural and doesn’t need this adjustment. I wish Hanson had recorded all of his own symphonies with Mercury, but alas his discography is incomplete..