Morton Gould's Latin American Symphonette - Samuel Barber Overture

Conga

Morton Gould's Latin American Symphonette
Samuel Barber Overture to
"The School for Scandal", Op. 5
Adagio for Strings (from String Quartet, Op. 11)
Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12
Howard Hanson conducting the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra
American Music Festival Series Vol. III
Golden Lyre Series
Mercury MG40002
1953

From the back cover: Morton Gould (b. New York City, 1913) and Samuel Barber (b. West Chester, Pa., 1910) are two of the most brilliant figures on the creative musical scene of 20th century America; but in terms of their respective tonal languages they represent almost diametrically opposite points of view. For all his rigorously classical training and unerring craftsmanship, Gould is never too far afield from the milieu of modern-day Americana, be it folk tunes and rhythms, popular songs, jazz or the atmosphere of the musical theater. Yet it can be truly said that in his best works, such as the Spirituals for String Choir and Orchestra, Interplay for Piano and Orchestra, and the Latin-American Symphonette recorded here, Gould has achieved a true idealization of his musical materials in much the same way that the French of English keyboard suites of Bach constitute sequences of idealized dances. Indeed, Gould has achieved the near-impossible feat of avoiding vulgarization of his formal techniques while keeping his melodic substance free from the deadweight of academicism. His phenomenal command of symphonic and popular-style orchestration could readily lead to slick and empty stylizations; but in the above-mentioned scores Gould has successfully steered clear of this and has given us three marvelously vital and integrated musical creations.

Having been a virtuoso pianist almost from his childhood and with an enormous amount of experience in all phases of popular music and jazz as performer, conductor and arranger, it is not surprising that Gould's musical idiom should stress the bright coloration and complex rhythmic element that is so much a part of modern keyboard technique.

Samuel Barber, on the other hand, grew up in a milieu of song. His aunt was the celebrated Metropolitan Opera contralto, Louise Homer, whose husband Sidney was also a famous composer of songs. The years of study at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music (where he became a charter pupil in 1924) saw Barber working with Mme. Vengerova at piano, Fritz Reiner in conducting and Rosario Scalero in composition. He himself also developed a fine baritone singing voice. Small wonder, then, that Samuel Barber's musical speech should be essentially lyrical and cosmopolitan, but touched with a very personal and powerful sense of the dramatic. Only in Barber's compositions after 1940 – notably in the Excursions for piano – do we find even a trace of the "Americanisms" that are so much part and parcel of Morton Gould's scores.

Together with Aaron Copland, Barber has been by far the most-played of American composers in the international symphonic repertoire. His School for Scandal Overture, Adagio for Strings, First Essay and First Symphony have become standard classics of the American orchestral literature.

From Billboard - March 14, 1953: Tho the disk features Gould's ultra-melodic modern suite, Barber's works get half the playing time and deserve at least half the attention. For many, the disk will be valued only as an excellent interpretation of Barber's compositions. Gould's work is of quite recent vintage, having been premiered about 13 years ago under Fritz Mahler's baton. The "symphonette" is actually stylized versions of the rhumba, tango, guaracha and conga. Barber's works are delightful listening and particularly well played by the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra, atoned by Howard Hanson. Cover, as expected from the diskery, is striking and an added sales feature.