http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/mosiacshoward-hanson/ (http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/mosiacshoward-hanson/)
This is a new reissue of a Hanson work that is definitely obscure. It was originally recorded by Delos (#3130). It is coupled with a very popular work of Hanson his 2nd Symphony. I'd not heard this one before.
Tom
Having collected the Delos Hanson discs, Mosaics is one of my favourite works in that entire series - then again, I'm a sucker for orchestral variations! I hadn't until now registered the fact that Naxos had acquired these recordings, and it's good to see them reissued for a wider market.
;)
I'm glad you're not one of those mosiacs maniacs... ;)
I think that'd be some of my ancestors. Not sure. Actually, come to think of ... the spelling is... hrm!
*reads of an interview ? in which Hanson speaks of the Palermo Cathedral Mosaics which inspired at least the title and maybe the work also*
Quote from: Albion on Monday 07 November 2011, 15:33
Having collected the Delos Hanson discs, Mosaics is one of my favourite works in that entire series - then again, I'm a sucker for orchestral variations! I hadn't until now registered the fact that Naxos had acquired these recordings, and it's good to see them reissued for a wider market.
;)
I find it a bit odd that Delos didn't do something with them but Naxos has been somewhat featuring the Seattle Symphony lately.
Tom
Furnace problems yesterday resulted in the shifting of storage shelves, which resulted in a browse through Webern's Symphony, Variations, and other later orchestral works and a reminder of how, decades ago, like so many other students, I faithfully numbered pitches to indicate their position in dodecaphonic rows. It was in an academic world that valued such activities that Hanson developed his ingenious algorithms for musical composition--in terms of rigor, something of a cross between Schoenberg and Hindemith. Mosaics was, if memory serves, one of his first and best works written in that system.