US composers

[PeterG]

Listening through a huge pile of classical vinyl yesterday I found myself absorbed by some of the US composers, namely Ferde Grofe (Grand Canyon Suite is wonderful), William Schuman and Walter Piston. Also on my radar are Erich Korngold and Amy Beach.

So,now wanting to dive in deeper to US classical for a while, what I'd like to know is this, from those five composers what are the MUST HEAR works?

Thanks

[Reid]

Naxos has an excellent series of William Schuman's symphonies by the Seattle Symphony. I suggest giving Nos. 4 & 6 a listen. I haven't listened to Beach, Piston, or Korngold. But I can suggest some works by Samuel Barber. Try the piano concerto, and Overture To The School For Scandal.

Michael Tilson Thomas's Ives recording of the Holidays Symphony is excellent. I also like Bernstein's 2nd symphony, The Age Of Anxiety, and the Serenade.

[PeterG]

Thanks for the tips Reid.

[Proglodite]

You may also try David Diamond and Alan Hohvaness...maybe William Grant Still, George Templeton Strong, Alden Carpenter, and George Chadwick. You're lucky that American composers can be found fairly cheap on Amazon. I should have quite a few of these composers - you can check search my Amazon listings - I do shipping discounts, if you're looking to stock up. Naxos releases are a good place to start with many of these composers - all the Amazon listings should have sound samples for you.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie...=AMLTBNJVIGRUF


Peter

[PeterG]

Thanks for the tips. As for classical CDs, i havent bought one of those in years. Vinyl, radio, and streaming.

[perpetual strange]

Don't know why I'm just not really a fan of American composers, with the exception of Hovhaness (Mysterious Mountain is a great piece of music), and I know most of his works are available on Naxos. I wish I could identify the choicest conductors for you.