Wednesday, July 4
Happy Fourth of July! Hope you're enjoying the holiday. Thanks to Alan Cooke for holding down the fort yesterday (here's Tuesday's playlist).
Today's red, white and blue lineup includes two Georgia student ensembles; fervent American patriotism from the 1920s, complete with proposed new folk anthem, by freshly minted citizen Ernest Bloch; immigrant accounts read to stirring music in Peter Boyer's Ellis Island; smatterings of Sousa; and America's favorite fireworks soundtrack: the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. Truth be told, the 1812 Overture celebrates a Russian victory over Napoleon and has nothing to do with any U.S. war - but what the heck, its cannons go boom!
11 AM
- Gould: Fourth of July. University of Georgia Symphonic Band (independent)
- Tower: Made in America. Nashville Sym, Slatkin (Naxos 8.559328)
- Prokofiev: American Overture. Columbus State Univ Wind Ensemble, Rumbelow (Summit 442)
- Hoyer: Vignettes from an American Life: Front Porch Rondo. Hartford Virtuosi, LaReau (ERM 6808)
- Bloch: America, An Epic Rhapsody: 1926...The Present/The Future. Slovak Radio Sym, Lucnica Chorus, Atlas (8.557151)
- Mostel: Star Spangled Etude No. 3, "Furling Banner." Margaret Leng Tan (Point Music 456 345)
- Williams: Liberty Fanfare. Boston Pops, Lockhart (RCA 09026 63516)
- Bernstein: America Medley. Boston Pops Orch, Williams (Philips 2606)
- Boyer: Ellis Island, The Dream of America.
Philharmonia Orch, readers Blair Brown, Louis Zorich, Olympia Dukakis, Eli Wallach, Bebe Neuwirth, Barry Bostwick and Anne Jackson, and conductor Peter Boyer (Naxos 8.559246) - Sousa: Stars and Stripes Forever. Washington Saxophone Quartet (Americus 19981007)
- Gillis: Star-Spangled Symphony: Celebration - Fourth of July. Sinfonia Varsovia, Hobson (Albnay 618)
- Joplin: The Chrysanthemum, An Afro-American Intermezzo. Giovanni De Chiaro (Centaur 2163)
- Sousa: Hail to the Spirity of Liberty. Royal Artillery Band, Brion (NAxos 8.559147)
- Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture. Dallas Sym Orch and Chorus, Litton (Delos 3196)
- Deussen: American Hymn. Czech Phil, Winstin (ERM 6812)
- Gottschalk: The Union. Cecile Licad (Naxos 9.559145)
