Two wonderfully fresh works for orchestra – both conducted with plenty of inventive touches by Howard Hanson during his tenure with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra! "The Black Maskers" is a piece originally penned for a production of the dramatic work by Leonid Andreyev – but it works beautifully here on its own, in theses very vivid passages on woodwinds and percussion – recorded superbly, so that all of Hanson's energy from the stand flows through the playback of the performance. The flipside features "Tabuh Tabuhan" – a toccata for orchestra by Colin McPhee, done in a very modern sort of mode – one that mixes work on percussion that's almost gamelan-like at times, with brightly vivid orchestrations. The piece is beautiful – and almost seems like a precursor to later work by Lou Harrison, but mixed with some of the energy of the early century Russian composers. This CD version also includes Virgil Thomson's "Symphony On A Hymn Tune" and "The Feast Of Love". CD
(Maroon label stereo pressing with deep groove in a blue text cover with full color in back. Cover has light wear and aging, small blemish spots at the top edge, and gloss separation at the spine.)