Famous Marches
Sousa: the Stars and Stripes Forever
Meyerbeer: Coronation Marck from "Le Prophete"
Beethoven: Turkish March Form "the Ruins of Athens"
Gounod: Funeral March of the Marionette
Gould: American Salute
Verdi: Grand March from "Aida"
Bizet: March of the Toreadors from "Carmen"
Herbert: March of the Toys
Shubert: Marche Militaire
Prokofiev: March from "the Love for Three Oranges"
Johann Strauss: Radetzky March
Meadowlands March Traditional
Elgar: Pom and Circumstance March No. 1
Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra
"Those Fabulous Philadelphians" who perform for Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) provide a sonic spectacular in the series of 13 marches collated from CBS archives. Derived from Columbia 4-track tape, each of the marches in turn highlights the brilliant discipline of the finest color ensemble in American orchestras of the period. Each of the first-chair men of the Philadelphia Orchestra--some originally selected by Leopold Stokowski even before the advent of Eugene Ormandy, 1938-1982--delivers a resounding individual line to the collective impact of the various works. William Kincaid's flute shines in Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever. Bernard Garfield's throaty bassoon colors the popular Gounod Funeral March for the Marionette, made famous via Alfred Hitchcock Presents on television. The stunning trumpet work of Samuel Krauss and his battery colleagues rocks us in Meyerbeer's Coronation March, Beethoven's Turkish March, and most unabashedly in Morton Gould's American Salute, with its militant cavalcade based on "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again."
Essentially a glorified "Pops Program," The Grand March from Verdi's Aida will serve as well as any to illustrate the peerless, singular resonance of the Philadelphia brass with Samuel Krauss against the streamlined Philadelphia strings, that choir much admired by conductors Fritz Reiner and Arturo Toscanini, and which for years defined "the Stokowski sound." The sheer élan in such staples as March of the Toreadors from Carmen, Elgar's regal D Major Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, and Prokofiev's almost savage March from The Love of Three Oranges should delight any music lover while simultaneously rousing him from any "dogmatic slumbers." The bristling strings in Victor Herbert's March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland will bring back memories of Laurel in Hardy in full battle regalia. We can savor Anthony Gigliotti's luster in the clarinet, John de Lancie's sterling oboe, and the French horn of Mason Jones in virtually every piece. It was Richard Strauss who ironically proclaimed Eugene Ormandy the supreme conductor of Johann Strauss, so it is no slight to hear the Philadelphia's rendition of the traditional Radetzky March. The Russian (or Soviet) Meadowlands March enjoys a superb patina, especially in the strings, snares, and trumpet. Whatever your militant sentiments, they should find visceral expression in these energetically crafted performances.
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