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| Page 2 | Music - Pop |
March 2008 |
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Leroy Anderson, Orchestra Music • 1, BBC Concert Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, Naxos, 61:54 min., 8.559313
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By Alidë Kohlhaas Leroy Anderson is so closely entwined with the North American psyche that no matter what, he will always be seen as a composer of popular music. Yet, this meticulous craftsman was not beyond composing music that might be classified in the more serious music of the American experience. Still, Leroy Anderson - Orchestra Music • 1 contains too many of his wonderful popular songs to be reviewed as anything else.
Recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin this upbeat recording from BBC Radio 3 is the perfect antidote to a foggy March afternoon, which is the condition outside while I am reviewing this CD. Ranging from 1946 to 1962, the Anderson tunes not only dispell the fog, but they will be full of happy memories for a certain generation that had not yet succumbed to Elvis and the Beatles when these songs were composed. Tunes like Chicken Reel, Fiddle-Faddle, Bell of the Ball, Blue Tango and more are featured on this CD. The final track consists of his Piano Concerto in C major originally composed in 1953. It consists of three movements and is performed by the BBC Orchestra with featured artist, pianist Jeffrey Biegel. This CD is from the American Classics series from the Naxos label, and is excellently priced, as most of the CDs released by this company. Slatkin is the perfect conductor for this kind of music. Thumbs up for this CD. [] ZeD: Live Off The Floor, CBC Records,
TRCD 3008, 75:19 minutes |
