Harris Symphony No3

[Suffolkcoastal]

Suffolkcoastal,

Many thanks I too am a big fan of Harris. I have mostly mainstream recordings but do have some Louisville Symphony recordings done by Lawrence Leighton Smith and Robert S Whitney.
I think that Harris is mostly known for his symphonies. What other works would you recommend?

John

I would certainly recommend the chamber music, though only a small proportion is currently available on CD. Of these the Piano Quintet is the finest and the Violin Sonata is very enjoyable too. The 2nd (also known as Three Variations on a Theme) & 3rd String Quartets are also available as is the Soliloquy and Dance for Viola & Piano, which is also quite appealing. One of his finest early works, the Concerto for Clarinet, Piano & String Quartet is still I think available to hear on Youtube. There is also the very fine Abraham Lincoln Walks & Midnight for mezzo & Piano Trio, there are two recordings, one on Naxos and one, a remastering of an MGM LP, is available to download. I have the rare original MGM LP still.
Not too much of his considerable choral output is available, this is a pity as some of it is quite light and designed for amateurs. I wish someone would commercially record the infectious and jazzy 1st Piano Concerto, which would surprise many people who think of Harris as a composer of serious and lofty intentions only.

[PJPJ]

I have an unusual one - Walter Hendl conducting the American Recording Society Orchestra. It's a decent performance (timed identically to the Bernstein NYPO recording) and dates from the early 50s. The orchestra cannot rival the 1960s NYPO, though.

Is the American Recording Soc O the Vienna Symphony, or Vienna Opera Orch? I've never quite got to the bottom of that.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Is the American Recording Soc O the Vienna Symphony, or Vienna Opera Orch? I've never quite got to the bottom of that.

The recording of the 4th Symphony made by the 'American Festival Orchestra & Chorus' is actually the Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, so I would suspect that it is the latter. I can check my sources when I get back to my flat this evening.

[BBMmk2]

I am pretty sure that I hae this work but at this juncture I cant find it anywhere and I am sure its that Bernstein on Sony too!!

[Pabmusic]

Is the American Recording Soc O the Vienna Symphony, or Vienna Opera Orch? I've never quite got to the bottom of that.

I'm pretty sure it's not the American Recording Society Orchestra.

[Edit]

It seems to have been the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1952.

[Suffolkcoastal]

For those who may be interested, the UK and European premiere was given in the Royal Albert Hall on the 28th May 1942, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Boult. I wonder if a copy exists in the BBC Archives, though I doubt it. It would be fascinating to hear Boult conduct this work.

[amateur51]

I've had great fun 'learning' this work on Spotify, and liking the Bernstein/NYPO and the Koussevitszky/Boston SO recording the best. It didn't 'click' the first time but by the third version I was certainly 'getting' it. I've now ordered a cheapo 10CD Koussevitzky box that includes the Harris symphony

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Koussevitsky-Maestro-Risoluto-Serge-Koussevitzky/dp/B00005B46D/ref=sr_1_27?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357671707&sr=1-27

[mathias broucek]

I've had great fun 'learning' this work on Spotify, and liking the Bernstein/NYPO and the Koussevitszky/Boston SO recording the best. It didn't 'click' the first time but by the third version I was certainly 'getting' it. I've now ordered a cheapo 10CD Koussevitzky box that includes the Harris symphony

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Koussevitsky...671707&sr=1-27

Some nice stuff in that set. The Sibelius is excellent and i love the closing pages of Appalachian Spring

[amateur51]

Some nice stuff in that set. The Sibelius is excellent and i love the closing pages of Appalachian Spring

Cheers, mathias - that's made my day

[Suffolkcoastal]

I'm hoping that some of Ormandy's recordings of American music will be released as a set. His recording of the complete Harris 3rd is one that I would certainly look forward to hearing, especially in light of the his masterly account of Harris's finest symphony the 7th, and the off-air recording I have of the 9th's premiere.

[mathias broucek]

I'm hoping that some of Ormandy's recordings of American music will be released as a set. His recording of the complete Harris 3rd is one that I would certainly look forward to hearing, especially in light of the his masterly account of Harris's finest symphony the 7th, and the off-air recording I have of the 9th's premiere.

Agreed. The recent Ormandy box was packed with fairly mainstream repertoire. It would be nice to see boxes of his American repertoire, Russian, French, Scandinavian etc.

[Barbirollians]

Heavens above - what a marvellous piece of music on first hearing ! Why this is not a repertory work beats me . Bernstein and the NYPO play their socks off .

[Nick Armstrong]

Heavens above - what a marvellous piece of music on first hearing ! Why this is not a repertory work beats me . Bernstein and the NYPO play their socks off .

I clearly need to remedy my total ignorance of all Roy Harris's works, starting with his 3rd....

[Nick Armstrong]

NB: I've been listening to the BBCSO's terrific Elgar 1 with Andrew Litton today, and Harris fans should note that the announcer said after the performance that their other project with Litton that week was to record Harris's Seventh Symphony, for transmission soon on Afternoon on 3

[Suffolkcoastal]

Litton conducted the Harris 3rd at the Proms in the 1990's. It wasn't too bad a performance, though he played the slightly cut version which slightly annoyed me. I taped it, so must dig it out if I can find it. Thanks for this Caliban I shall look forward to seeing what he does with the 7th Harris' greatest symphony IMO (an opinion shared by most other Harris scholars & enthusiasts). Will have to be by iplayer though I expect. Is there anyway to record off iplayer, so I can analyse the performance in greater detail?