Hdtt

Composer, conductor, educator, and music theorist Howard Hanson (1896-1981) was, indeed, an “American romantic”. He was among the last of the breed, a kind of twentieth-century throwback to the nineteenth century, so you’ll find little of the avant-garde here, the experimental, the dissonant, the discordant, the odd, the atonal, or the eccentric. Yet as a prizewinning composer and director of the Eastman School of Music for over forty years, he continually championed new American music (Copland, Barber, Carter, Thomson, Sessions, Harris, etc.). On the present album, recorded over thirty years ago, released on the Albany label, and here remastered from the original tapes by HDTT (High Definition Tape Masters), we hear a lighter side of the composer, chamber and choral music mainly. It is not among his most-popular material nor is it his best, but some of it can be downright entertaining, and HDTT’s recording quality, as always, is excellent.

HDTT is pleased to present the FIRST RELEASE of these never-before-heard alternate takes of songs on Judy Garland’s well-loved 1956 Capitol album entitled Judy…. After the very successful release of Garland’s first Capitol album in 1955, immediately following a 90-minute CBS television special, the following year it was decided to again pair a Capitol album release with a CBS TV special. This time, the TV show would employ the music from Garland’s second Capitol album, “Judy,” with no separate orchestra for the show itself. In this half-hour show, which aired live on April 8, 1956, Garland performed some songs live to pre-recorded orchestral tracks from the Capitol recording sessions and lip-sync’ed other songs to the pre-existing Capitol recordings that included the vocals…. This HDTT release presents twelve recordings from the original March sessions…

HDTT is pleased to present the FIRST RELEASE of these never-before-heard alternate takes of songs on Judy Garland’s well-loved 1956 Capitol album entitled Judy…. After the very successful release of Garland’s first Capitol album in 1955, immediately following a 90-minute CBS television special, the following year it was decided to again pair a Capitol album release with a CBS TV special. This time, the TV show would employ the music from Garland’s second Capitol album, “Judy,” with no separate orchestra for the show itself. In this half-hour show, which aired live on April 8, 1956, Garland performed some songs live to pre-recorded orchestral tracks from the Capitol recording sessions and lip-sync’ed other songs to the pre-existing Capitol recordings that included the vocals…. This HDTT release presents twelve recordings from the original March sessions…

This recording, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic, was made in 1961. Gould’s performance is thoughtful, nuanced, and not at all eccentric. What’s most striking about his playing is the degree to which he’s able to bring out the individuality of the contrapuntal lines. His performance is extremely graceful. The New York Philharmonic’s sound is warm and full, and the playing is absolutely secure. Gould’s characteristic humming is occasionally audible, but at such a low level that only the purist who demands absolutely clean sound is likely to be offended.

UDY GARLAND: THE LOST VEGAS SHOW . FIRST RELEASE OF JUDY GARLAND’S UNRELEASED, LONG SOUGHT-AFTER LAS VEGAS DEBUT AT THE NEW FRONTIER HOTEL, JULY 16, 1956. HDTT is pleased to present this incredibly rare, never-before-available live recording of the great Judy Garland making her Las Vegas debut in 1956, captured on tape in brilliant monophonic sound and carefully restored in a very high-definition format from the original tape. This recording has been a Holy Grail for Garland collectors and fans for decades, based on long-standing rumors of its existence and especially after the release of one tantalizing track on a 2005 generic compilation devoted to Las Vegas hotel entertainment and mention of a recording of the show in Scott Schechter’s monumental work, Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend (Cooper Square Press, NYC, 2002).

UDY GARLAND: THE LOST VEGAS SHOW . FIRST RELEASE OF JUDY GARLAND’S UNRELEASED, LONG SOUGHT-AFTER LAS VEGAS DEBUT AT THE NEW FRONTIER HOTEL, JULY 16, 1956. HDTT is pleased to present this incredibly rare, never-before-available live recording of the great Judy Garland making her Las Vegas debut in 1956, captured on tape in brilliant monophonic sound and carefully restored in a very high-definition format from the original tape. This recording has been a Holy Grail for Garland collectors and fans for decades, based on long-standing rumors of its existence and especially after the release of one tantalizing track on a 2005 generic compilation devoted to Las Vegas hotel entertainment and mention of a recording of the show in Scott Schechter’s monumental work, Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend (Cooper Square Press, NYC, 2002).