In preparing to make the CDs for my sister, last week I created a Pandora channel seeded with Ralph Vaughan Williams and listened for good music ideas. Got many.
Including the recordings of Howard Hanson's music by the Seattle Symphony. I was aware of these recordings but had not heard them, didn't think they'd be of interest to me.
Boy was I wrong.
They are VERY good. The music is hard to describe -- it's kinda a combination of the pastorale peace of Vaughan Williams, with the love of grand themes of film composer John Williams. In fact, that's a good description: all the best elements of John Williams music without the cheese.
There's one section in the first symphony that uses a huge kettle drum, it sounds like it's 20 feet across. My speakers like it. Scared the hell out of the cat.
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