Anderson: Complete Orchestral Works / Slatkin, BBC Concert Orchestra
Grab the set as soon as you can.
Leroy Anderson occupies a unique place in American music. Rigorously trained in the classical tradition, Anderson wrote tunes that topped the pop charts, making compositions such as Sleigh Ride and The Typewriter world famous. Anderson was a meticulous craftsman who could seemingly compose marvelous tunes at will, and he has been praised by iconic film composer John Williams as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music." This first set of Anderson’s orchestral music includes several previously unpublished pieces made available by the Anderson family, with world premiere recordings included among many familiar and not-as-familiar titles.
REVIEW:
It’s an injustice to say that Anderson (1908-1975) was a great composer of light musical miniatures. He was a great composer, period. After all, his irresistible melodies, impeccable craft, imaginative orchestrations, and faultless sense of proportion remain as fresh today as in his mid-20th-century heyday. Furthermore, Anderson clearly subscribed to the old adage “know thyself”. He knew his strengths and his gifts, and he knew what he did best. Within this niche, Anderson managed to create works that are deliciously varied in mood and character, yet always to the point, always full of little surprises, never formulaic, and chock-full of humor.
Once past the surface novelty of The Typewriter soloist’s clicking keys and carriage-bell interjections, notice Anderson’s refusal to adhere to simple 8- or 16-bar phrase units. Listeners from a certain generation may remember The Syncopated Clock’s first theme used to introduce television’s The Late Show (or was it the Late, Late Show?), but not necessarily the simple yet crucial transitional bars of music building into the loud central episode.
Sleigh Ride, of course, is one of Anderson’s most ubiquitous and justly popular masterpieces. Yet many other Anderson gems remained unknown or obscure until Leonard Slatkin recorded them for this series, such as A Harvard Festival (a kind of Americana take on Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture), Lullaby of the Drums, and the admittedly lightweight but super-fun three-movement Piano Concerto. Had the composer lived to hear Jeffrey Biegel’s incisive shaping of the solo part, along with the BBC Concert Orchestra’s shipshape rhythmic precision, perhaps he wouldn’t have withheld this work from publication.
Then there’s The Classical Jukebox, where themes of Wagner and Liszt provide a platform upon which Anderson interpolates the Teresa Brewer novelty pop hit “Music Music Music” (aka “Put another nickel in, in the Nickelodeon”). What’s wonderful about this piece is how Anderson’s clever use of quotations never sounds forced, nor belabors the obvious.
Perhaps the songs from Anderson’s 1958 Broadway musical Goldilocks are a little too clever for the purpose of creating character or moving the story along. That said, Kim Criswell and William Dazeley sing them better than anyone, even if I have a soft spot for the young Elaine Stritch’s “actor/singer” interpretations on the original Broadway cast album.
Leonard Slatkin understands Anderson’s style perfectly, and elicits consistently superb playing from the BBC Concert Orchestra. You’ll never hear the demanding brass antiphony in Bugler’s Holiday tossed off with such brisk insouciance, or such euphonious soft woodwind tuttis in The Phantom Regiment. However, certain performances on Slatkin’s earlier St. Louis Symphony Anderson collection have the edge, such as Plink, Plank, Plunk!, where the St. Louis pizzicato strings are crisper and cleaner than their BBC counterparts. And nothing beats the sheer joy and nervous energy of Anderson’s own performances that were briefly available on CD in MCA’s Double Decker series; these are desperately in need of reissue. But this is nitpicking. In all, the Naxos Slatkin/Anderson cycle does full and loving justice to one of America’s most beloved and enduring composers.
Grab the set as soon as you can.
-- ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)
Product Description:
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Release Date: November 12, 2021
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Catalog Number: 8505259
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UPC: 747313525935
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Label: Naxos
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Number of Discs: 5
Period: 20th Century
Composer: Edward MacDowell, George Gershwin, Leroy Anderson, Meredith Willson
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Alistair Young, Catherine Moore, David McCallum, Derek Hannigan, Jeffrey Biegel, Jenny McLaren, John Blackshaw, Kim Criswell, Michael Pearce, Neville Graham, William Dazeley
Works:
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Bugler's Holiday
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Blue Tango
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The First Day of Spring
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Belle of the Ball
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Governor Bradford March
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Clarinet Candy
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Captains and the Kings
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Golden Years
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Chickn Reel
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Fiddle-Faddle
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Classical Jukebox
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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China Doll
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Balladette
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Arietta
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Piano Concerto in C Major
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Jeffrey BIegel (Piano)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Woodbury Fanfare
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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A Harvard Festival
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Forgotten Dreams
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Alistair Young (Piano)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Whistling Kettle
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Horse and Buggy
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Waltzing Cat
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Home Stretch
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Girl in Satin
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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March of the Two Left Feet
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Waltz of the Scale
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Lullaby of the Drums
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Jazz Legato
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Jazz Pizzicato
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Song of the Bells
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Song of Jupiter
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: David McCallum (Trumpet)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Suite of Carols for String Orchestra
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Harvard Sketches
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Melody on Two Notes
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Mother's Whistler
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Penny Whistle Song
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Phantom Regiment
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Plink, Plank, Plunk!
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Promenade
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Sandpaper Ballet
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Saraband
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Serenata
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Seventy-Six Trombones
Composer: Meredith Willson (arr. Leroy Anderson)
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Sleigh Ride
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Suite of Carols for Brass Choir
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Wintergreen for President
Composer: George Gershwin (arr. Leroy Anderson)
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Typewriter
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Alasdair Malloy (Typewriter)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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A Trumpeter's Lullaby
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Catherine Moore (Trumpet)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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The Syncopated Clock
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Irish Suite
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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To A Wild Rose
Composer: Edward MacDowell (orch. Leroy Anderson)
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Summer Skies
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Scottish Suite
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Blue Tango
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Forgotten Dreams
Composer: Leroy Anderson (arr. Robert Wendell)
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Belle of the Ball
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Alma Mater
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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A Christmas Festival
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Goldilocks (excerpts)
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Suite of Carols (version for woodwinds)
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Goldilocks: Lady in Waiting, Waltz
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
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Goldilocks: Shall I Tske My Heart
Composer: Leroy Anderson
Ensemble: BBC Concert Orchestra
Performer: Kim Criswell (Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin