Lance Friedel

When American composers began writing symphonies around the mid-1800s, their works were very much in the European tradition. During the first half of the 20th century, the great innovator Charles Ives injected a recognizably American sound into the genre, however, and since then the American symphonic legacy has been both wide and varied. With the present disc, conductor Lance Friedel strikes a blow for three fellow American composers, with the help of the eminent London Symphony Orchestra.

Overtures from comic operas and operettas are staples of the light music genre, and some of the most popular are included on this 2015 Naxos album by Lance Friedel and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Because of their memorable tunes, exciting pacing, and colorful orchestration, these effervescent pieces were once ubiquitous in the concert hall and on radio and recordings.

This is one of Handel's most inspired and invigorating works. Relatively short (50 minutes), it is an ode to music itself, with arias and choruses in praise of the attributes of various instruments, from the "trumpet's loud clangor" to the "soft complaining flute", of course featuring solos for those players. It also has one of Handel's most rousing final choruses, depicting the end of the world, when "music shall untune the sky".

Neither Josef Bohuslav Foerster's Third Symphony of 1894 nor his Fourth Symphony of 1924 could be considered ahead of their time. Indeed, they are barely of their time. His Third has much of heroic middle period Dvorák and Brahms in it while his Fourth, the "Easter Eve" symphony, mixes the weight of late Bruckner with the expressivity of middle period Mahler. But whatever their time, they could and should be considered as vital works in their own right written by a talented, sincere, and distinctive composer.