Janos Gereben <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>So says Kevin Volans of his "Atlantic Crossing," a work receiving
>its world premiere tonight by the San Francisco Symphony, conducted
>by Michael Tilson Thomas.

Is it true that there will be a second work with the title "Atlantic
Crossing!"

For those who might not be aware, Ferde Grofe wrote a work with the same
title.  It was a piece for narrator and orchestra.  The story was about
some poor soul who has what is almost an imagined romance aboard a ocean
liner. It remains near the top of my list of world's worst pieces.

Adding to the absurdity of it...a recording of the work was originally
released on London records.  Some years later it was issued in this
country on Everest...pitched too high...leaving the narrator...the
"romantic interest" sounding a bit like a castrato.

Perhaps if Volans was a student of history, he would have chosen a
different title for his work...or, dare I suggest, is this work to be
a homage to Grofe?

Karl