# American Composer Corner: Howard Hanson



## Mirror Image

HOWARD HANSON
















Howard Hanson was among the first twentieth century American composers to achieve widespread prominence. In contrast to the angular Stravinskian and Americana-influenced sounds that dominated American concert music prior to World War II, Hanson wrote in an unabashedly Romantic idiom influenced by his Nordic roots. Of particular importance to the composer was the music of Sibelius; however, he also acknowledged the influence of composers such as Palestrina and Bach.

After boyhood studies on the piano, Hanson studied music at the Institute of Musical Art in New York City and Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in 1916. In 1921, he became the first American to win the Prix de Rome, which provided him the opportunity to study with Ottorino Respighi, whose colorful orchestral language was clearly an influence on Hanson's own. Upon his return to the United States, Hanson was appointed head of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester at the age of 28. Under the composer's guidance over the course of more than four decades, Eastman became one of the world's preeminent educational institutions. During his tenure there Hanson continued to compose prolifically; he also embarked on a career as a conductor, in which capacity he proved himself one of the great champions of American music. At Eastman, it has been calculated, he presented some 1,500 works by 700 composers. Hanson also commercially recorded a number of modern works in a series for the Mercury label in the 1950s, drawing much attention to otherwise neglected repertoire.

Hanson's most characteristic works are undoubtedly his seven symphonies. The first of these, the "Nordic" Symphony (1922), dates from the composer's studies in Rome. The Second Symphony ("Romantic"), remains Hanson's best-known work, a characteristic realization of the lush, lyric aesthetic with which he is closely associated. Further notable among Hanson's symphonies are the Symphony No. 4 (1943), awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and the Symphony No. 7 (1977), one of a series of works inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman. Other important works in Hanson's catalogue include The Lament for Beowulf (1925) for chorus and orchestra; the opera Merry Mount (1933), well received at its premiere and in subsequent productions, but now rarely performed; and a variety of other chamber, vocal, and orchestral works.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

Yet another sadly underrated American composer. Hanson's music at best has that beautiful Romantic lyricism and is to-the-point. He wasn't an innovative composer, but that doesn't mean he didn't compose finely crafted, melodic music. He created totally accessible music that classical novices would enjoy as well as longtime classical listeners.


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## Mirror Image

No Howard Hanson fans here...that's pitiful and you guys call yourselves classical fans.


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## BuddhaBandit

I heard Hanson's second symphony on internet radio a while back- it was good, solid work, but it didn't leave a very lasting impression. I'm more familiar with Hanson the conductor, who turned out some very good interpretations of Bloch and Barber's music.


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## JSK

I picked up a CD of his piano music on sale on Naxos. Wonderful stuff! I'm surprised that much of it had never been recorded before.


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## handlebar

Hanson was the odd duck in American music being a romantic and tonal composer during an age that placed less emphasis on said music. His teachers and compatriots were all experimenters with new forms yet HH didn't follow that lead and went his own ways:backwards. Thats why i admire his music so much. i own the entire Delos series and then some. 
Yet again,(and I know i use this phrase too much)a highly underrated composer that deserves more recognition today.

Jim


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## LvB

BuddhaBandit said:


> I'm more familiar with Hanson the conductor, who turned out some very good interpretations of Bloch and Barber's music.


Many years ago I heard Hanson conduct his second symphony; it was, at least as far as I recall, a very crisp performance overall, which allowed the great lush tunes to linger more effectively than many overtly 'romantic' interpretations.

Despite this, my favorite among his symphonies is the sixth, which develops a brief motto (barely even a motif, and certainly not a full-fledged theme in any conventional sense) into six distinct, varied, and very effective movements, with the first of the two _adagio_ movements being as lovely in its own way as the much bigger middle movement of the 'Romantic' symphony.

I'd also put in a word for his orchestral/choral music. The seventh symphony is gorgeous, with an especially haunting opening, and the there are two large-scale works, much less well known than the symphonies-- _Lament For Beowulf_ and _Song of Democracy_-- which contain some very effective writing for the forces involved. Hanson recorded the former; the latter has been recorded, but I'm not sure by whom.


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## Mirror Image

I have heard he was a good conductor, but I'm more interested in his music. Too bad I can't say the same for Bernstein.


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## BuddhaBandit

Mirror Image said:


> I have heard he was a good conductor, but I'm more interested in his music. Too bad I can't say the same for Bernstein.


Which Bernstein, MI?


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## Mirror Image

BuddhaBandit said:


> Which Bernstein, MI?


Leonard of course....


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## BuddhaBandit

Mirror Image said:


> Leonard of course....


Of course? Elmer was almost as well-known in his day. But, MI, have you heard "Chichester Psalms"? That's the piece that got me interested in Leonard as a composer.


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## handlebar

Listen to Hanson's Piano concerto. Very lush and Rachmaninov like yet not as melodic. Truly a HH product.
As for Bernstein: About the only work I have admired is his Symphony #1. That's about all. Not into broadway or theatre works and dislike his later symphonies and songs. 

His conducting was uneven as well. 

Jim


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## Mirror Image

handlebar said:


> Listen to Hanson's Piano concerto. Very lush and Rachmaninov like yet not as melodic. Truly a HH product.
> As for Bernstein: About the only work I have admired is his Symphony #1. That's about all. Not into broadway or theatre works and dislike his later symphonies and songs.
> 
> His conducting was uneven as well.
> 
> Jim


Yeah, we know how you feel about Bernstein. 

He's a hell of conductor. Uneven? Every conductor is uneven. No conductor has turned in 100% astounding performances all the time, so I'll just bypass this criticism and say Bernstein was good as what he did, his compositions, on the other hand, aren't my cup of tea.


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## handlebar

Mirror Image said:


> Yeah, we know how you feel about Bernstein.
> 
> his compositions, on the other hand, aren't my cup of tea.


Agreed.Unreservedly.

Jim


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## Vesteralen

I've been recently reacquainting myself with the Seattle Symphony / Schwarz set of Hanson's music that I often listened to ten or fifteen years ago.

Hanson had a uniquely recognizable musical signature which could sometimes make his orchestral music seem a bit like "something-I-heard-before", but there are few, if any, neo-romantics who could so successfully blend the uber-accessible and melodically memorable with a structure that was so solid.

The disc I've been listening to lately has the *Symphonies 2 & 4* with what may be my favorite Hanson of them all, *The Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Youth*.


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## millionrainbows

I've got Hanson's textbook* Harmonic Materials of Modern Music, *and I must admit I enjoy his ideas more than his music.

As Brian Eno said, "I have always enjoyed the making of plans to their execution."

That being said, I have all his symphonies conducted by Schwarz.


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## QuietGuy

Hanson himself recorded Song of Democracy 




I always liked the Symphony #2 and the Merry Mount Suite. I'm discovering more and more of his music and like it very much.


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## KenOC

Just listened to Hanson's _Nordic _and then his _Romantic_. Both excellent, No. 2 probably the finer of the two. Listen to the way he bases the slow movement on the striking progressions introducing the first movement. Everything ties together either through themes, harmonic progressions, or figurations.

I find I appreciate Hanson more on repeated listening, as the details of his design and execution become clearer. Never a false step, always just so, never too far! And great tunes of course. I can live with it sounding like 1940s film scores.

New project: listen to the rest of his music in my collection, of which there is quite a bit.


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## E Cristobal Poveda

His 5th is highly underrated, a brilliant clash of modernist dissonance and romantic passion.


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## kyjo

E Cristobal Poveda said:


> His 5th is highly underrated, a brilliant clash of modernist dissonance and romantic passion.


Yes, I totally agree; a powerful work. While certainly not very "modernist" by 1955 standards, it has more astringent passages than his first four symphonies do. It's also an extraordinarily compact work - it says in 15 minutes what other works can say in 35 or 40.


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## Joe B

Symphony #3 is the one that does it for me....but I like all of his music. It's a shame he didn't write more choral works.

KenOC said above, "I can live with it sounding like 1940s film scores." That reminded me of a time when I was working part time on the weekends in a music store (CD's and sheet music) back in 90/91 so that I could order discs I wanted. I was playing Hanson's "Symphony #1" when some college students came into the store. They looked around for awhile and then one of them came up to me and asked if this was some "Star Wars" music. I don't have a problem with music that elicits this kind of visual connection, in fact I thoroughly enjoy it.

Regarding "Symphony #3" and "Elegy in Memory of Serge Koussevitsky":

I don't have the musical training or education to state this with the correct diction and content vocabulary, but I love how Hanson slowly builds his main theme. It's like the tide coming in, each wave reaching just slightly further than the one before. I think his genius shows itself in how he builds the theme and takes it away again, creating a sense of longing. When he gives it back I want it to take me further, but I know it will be bitter sweet. The climax of many of his works don't take you to the top of mountain with the sense of joy you would expect. I almost always feel humbled and a deep sense of loss when the work peaks. But like life itself, the joy must be found in the journey.


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## kyjo

Joe B said:


> Symphony #3 is the one that does it for me....but I like all of his music. It's a shame he didn't write more choral works.
> 
> KenOC said above, "I can live with it sounding like 1940s film scores." That reminded me of a time when I was working part time on the weekends in a music store (CD's and sheet music) back in 90/91 so that I could order discs I wanted. I was playing Hanson's "Symphony #1" when some college students came into the store. They looked around for awhile and then one of them came up to me and asked if this was some "Star Wars" music. I don't have a problem with music that elicits this kind of visual connection, in fact I thoroughly enjoy it.
> 
> Regarding "Symphony #3" and "Elegy in Memory of Serge Koussevitsky":
> 
> I don't have the musical training or education to state this with the correct diction and content vocabulary, but I love how Hanson slowly builds his main theme. It's like the tide coming in, each wave reaching just slightly further than the one before. I think his genius shows itself in how he builds the theme and takes it away again, creating a sense of longing. When he gives it back I want it to take me further, but I know it will be bitter sweet. The climax of many of his works don't take you to the top of mountain with the sense of joy you would expect. I almost always feel humbled and a deep sense of loss when the work peaks. But like life itself, the joy must be found in the journey.


Yeah, there are many "Star Wars" moments in Hanson's music, particularly in the 2nd Symphony. Apparently, John Williams acknowledged the influence of this work on his score for "E.T." (sample the opening of the third movement). There are also many "Star Wars" moments in the music of Atterberg and Bax. For example, the finale of the former's 2nd Symphony and the latter's _November Woods_ and 1st Symphony (esp. the first movement).

I very much agree with your description of what makes a lot of Hanson's music so special. He can build climaxes in the most affecting way (e.g. the endings of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies and in the slow movement of the 3rd). And so many of his themes are to die for. The 3rd Symphony is probably his masterpiece - what an incredible journey from darkness to light! The more popular 2nd Symphony is of course wonderful also, especially for that unforgettable "big tune". Besides the other symphonies, also worth mentioning is the Piano Concerto, which has a lovely opening and slow movement as well as more jazzy, Gershwin-like episodes in the second and fourth movements. Man, if only he had written concerti for violin and cello!


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## Jacck

kyjo said:


> Yeah, there are many "Star Wars" moments in Hanson's music, particularly in the 2nd Symphony. Apparently, John Williams acknowledged the influence of this work on his score for "E.T." (sample the opening of the third movement). There are also many "Star Wars" moments in the music of Atterberg and Bax. For example, the finale of the former's 2nd Symphony and the latter's _November Woods_ and 1st Symphony (esp. the first movement).


not only Star Wars, but the Alien. It was used directly in the movie for the end credits




I wish the composers of film music produces symphonies out of their soundtracks. I think that the best movie soundtracks are better the most modern classical music. For example the quality of this (subjectively speaking) is on par with the Hanson symphony


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## millionrainbows

handlebar said:


> Hanson was the odd duck in American music being a romantic and tonal composer during an age that placed less emphasis on said music. His teachers and compatriots were all experimenters with new forms yet HH didn't follow that lead and went his own ways:backwards. Thats why i admire his music so much. i own the entire Delos series and then some.
> Yet again,(and I know i use this phrase too much)a highly underrated composer that deserves more recognition today. Jim


I would hesitate to use the term 'backwards.' I've got Hanson's symphonies, and I agree that he is basically tonal, meaning harmonic; but not _traditionally_ tonal by any means; and his musical thinking was very advanced, as evidenced by his book.









This kind of harmonic thinking reminds me of another American, Samuel Barber, who seemed to be traditional enough. But when you listen to his Op. 26 Sonata for Piano, suddenly you're in this advanced musical territory that sounds very modern.


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## Bulldog

Ugh............


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## E Cristobal Poveda

millionrainbows said:


> I would hesitate to use the term 'backwards.' I've got Hanson's symphonies, and I agree that he is basically tonal, meaning harmonic; but not _traditionally_ tonal by any means; and his musical thinking was very advanced, as evidenced by his book.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This kind of harmonic thinking reminds me of another American, Samuel Barber, who seemed to be traditional enough. But when you listen to his Op. 26 Sonata for Piano, suddenly you're in this advanced musical territory that sounds very modern.


I think it all lies in a a way of atonal tonality. Using a variety of harmonies and motifs to create a sense of atonality while still being within reasonable harmony and listening.


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## kyjo

Bulldog said:


> Ugh............


Hey, Bulldog! Don't spoil our fun! :lol:


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## Bulldog

kyjo said:


> Hey, Bulldog! Don't spoil our fun! :lol:


It's just 3 little letters; if arranged differently - hug.


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