Guess it is time to send this out. I wrote it for our local paper.

Executive Summary: This set is not only a tribute to American Music,
it is a tribute to the New York Philharmonic.  By some standards, their
record of performing American Music has not been the best.  However,this
set clearly demonstrates the orchestra's ability to bring the best to their
interpretations of this repertoire.  Many of the performances are dazzling.
The transfers, made from the best available sources are excellent.  Highly
Recommended.

"An American Celebration"
For complete listing of contents:
http://www.newyorkphilharmonic.org/
$185.

Perhaps it is just a normal part of growing up, but before we develop our
own personality we tend to pattern our behavior on role models of some
sort.  Much the same can be said for the development of a culture.  As
symphony orchestras became part of the cultural fabric of our country we
looked to Europe, the birthplace of the orchestra, for our role model.
This is still the over riding notion in classical music in this country.
It was only with Leonard Bernsteins ascent to the podium of the New York
Philharmonic that an American conductor was taken seriously.  However, even
with the abundance of musical talent in this country, most all our major
American orchestras still have conductors born in Europe.  Perhaps now it
is somewhat like the same "snob appeal" offered by buying a French designer
gown or an Italian sports car.  While American born conductors have had an
uphill battle, it has been far worse for the American composer.  A new
release of historic broadcast performances by the New York Philharmonic
suggests in some ways that we may be beginning to realize the substantive
contribution of the American composer.  The Philharmonics new set is a
beautifully produced, and brilliantly engineered collection of ten CDs,
with two booklets totaling 500 pages of text and illustrations
appropriately entitled, "An American Celebration."

The set begins with music written in the late 19th Century by Chadwick
and MacDowell, music drawn from the European tradition.  By the end of
the first disc we have reached the work of Charles Ives, music that
couldnt have been written by any European.  The last disc brings us to
the younger generation with sympathetic readings of the music of John
Adams, Christopher Rouse and the superbly crafted Third Symphony of Ellen
Zwillich.  While some of the best known American works are presented, it is
done only when it was featured in a compelling performance.  As producer
Sedgwick Clark has written, this set is not a collection of "greatest
hits." Some of the works will provide difficult listening, but the profound
content will hopefully outweigh the challenge.

As the year 2000 marks the centenary of his birth, it is not surprising
that Coplands music can be found on seven of the ten discs. Some of the
Copland performances include the world premiere of the suite from the
ballet, Appalachian Spring,  and a profoundly moving performance of the
Lincoln Portrait narrated by William Warfield, conducted by the other
"star" of this set, Leonard Bernstein.  Following in the footsteps of his
teacher and mentor, the conductor Serge Koussevitzky, Bernstein championed
the cause of the American composer. Eleven of the performances feature
Bernstein conducting. His brilliant readings of the tuneful and jazzy
Third Symphony by Ned Rorem along with a vigorously driving reading of
the Third Symphony  of Roy Harris are amongst the highlights.

There is a wonderful story behind almost every performance.  It was as a
young student that Leonard Bernstein discovered Coplands powerful Piano
Variations.  Bernstein was fond of recalling how, at parties, he could
empty a room by sitting down and playing Coplands challenging, and
dissonant Variations.  When Bernstein finally met Copland, he played the
Variations for him.  The two men remained friends for life.  For the first
time since its broadcast in 1958, Bernsteins explosive interpretation of
the orchestral version of the Variations, a work he never recorded
commercially, can be heard.  Another treasure is Bernsteins sizzling
performance of one of the most profound and monumental works written by an
American, the Sixth Symphony by another of his life long friends, William
Schuman.

Most of us know the music of Howard Hanson through the recordings he made
with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra, an ensemble which included both
faculty and students.  As fine as those performances were, hearing Hanson
conduct his Second Symphony "The Romantic" with the New York Philharmonic
is a revelation.  One can hear conductor Artur Rodzinski singing along as
he conducts the orchestra in a joyous performance of Gershwins An American
in Paris.  A champion of the music of Morton Gould, Dmitri Mitropoulos is
in total sympathy with Goulds capricious Dance Variations.

Other highlights include Boulezs impeccably articulate performance of
Elliott Carters Concerto for Orchestra, Barbirollis atmospheric vision of
Loefflers Memories of My Childhood and Monteuxs driving interpretation of
Crestons Second Symphony.  One wishes for more Mitropoulos performances,
especially after hearing his exciting reading of Barbers Medeas Meditation
and Dance of Vengeance.

Am I totally pleased with this set? Having been one of the advisors on
this project, I will add that like all such endeavors, compromises were
made. Even the producer will agree. I can only assume certain items were
included to please some of the powers that be. The limit of ten discs was
a consideration. Availability of good quality copies of the broadcasts was
another.

There are significant omissions.  While this set was never intended to be
an encyclopedic study of American Music, one cannot help but notice the
lack of anything by Piston or Sessions, especially when there were some
fine performances available.  Some of my top choices didnt make the cut.
Things like Bernsteins performance of the Irving Fine Symphony, Szells
reading of the original version of the Copland Third and his noble account
of the Mennin Seventh.  Other lost opportunities include Fleishers
brilliant performance of the Kirchner Second Piano Concerto; the Third
Symphony of Gould conducted by Mitropoulos; a dazzling Concerto for String
Quartet and Orchestra by Benjamin Lees with Slatkin; and Bruno Walter doing
the Mason Symphony in A.

Then there were those performances that were not recorded or survived only
due to in-house tapes made from seats in the hall.  Those would include
things like Harris conducting his Eleventh Symphony; Bernstein doing the
Piston Ricercare; and the Hanson Sixth Symphony in its first performance,
conducted by the composer.

Perhaps in time we will have some of those omissions on disc, but for now
we have an opportunity to hear some wonderful symphonic music produced in
this country in superb, and with only a few exceptions, previously
unreleased performances.  This is set is a must have for anyone who values
the wealth of creative expression to be found in American Concert Music.
For those of you who dont share that appreciation, you might find this
set a compelling argument that could change your mind.

Karl Miller
19 October 1999