Bands Music

Wonderful cd containing many of the Boston's Pops most famous and patriotic tunes newly recorded under Keith Lockhart with great sound quality. It was a great album to listen to with the volume turned up on July 4th.

This is almost a good as being in Symphony Hall in Boston or on the Esplanade with the stars overhead. The quality is outstanding; you are there! A must have especially if you like patriotic song. Don't hesitate...run!

Keith Lockhart has continued behind the heels of John Williams at the helm of the Boston Pops Symphony in extraordinary fashion since 1995. Anyone who has been privileged to see him conduct the orchestra can feel the enthusiasm he has for the orchestras's traditions and legacy- and for classical music. This theme certainly holds true for this CD. I always wanted a good set of songs for my 4th of July outdoor parties to help set the mood and this one delivers in grand style.

All the "classics" one would expect to hear for the patriotic holiday are here: "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America The Beautiful" (the Tanglewood Festival Chorus singing the words to these two songs will give you chills), "The Overture of 1812" (I can almost "see" fireworks as BPO plays the finale), and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (One cannot pass through the 4th of July without hearing one John Phillip Sousa song!!).

The rest of the album is equally as entertaining with goodies such as "Boogie-Woggie Bugle Boy." Others will also rouse your patriotic fevor such as "Doodletown Fifers" (Fifes on the 4th? Of course!), and "America," (Paul Simon's wonderful song). One of my favorites is "With Voices Raised." The Boston Pops plays background as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, The Boston Pops Choir, and the Boston Gay Men's Chorus sing and speak eloquent quotes from famous Americans as Abigal Adams, Martin Luther King, Walt Whitman, President John F. Kennedy, Fredrick Douglas, and Shirley Chisholm.

I have collected five CD's that get playtime over Independence Day through the day and evening. Ever since I purchased "Splash of Pops," though, it seems to get a bit more airing each year. You'll be dazzled and feel proud, happy, and content everytime you listen to it.

My only complaint with the import version of this CD is the price. The playlist is identical to the good ol' American RCA Victor CD, which is available at a substantially lower price.

Keith Lockhart has continued behind the heels of John Williams at the helm of the Boston Pops Orchestra in extraordinary fashion since 1995. Anyone who has been privileged to see him conduct the Boston Pops can feel the enthusiasm he has for the orchestra's traditions and legacy- and for classical music. This theme certainly holds true for this CD. I have been collecting a set of good CDs for my 4th of July outdoor parties for the past few years and this one delivers in grand style.

I purchased this CD shortly after its release. The jewel cover alone will put a smile on your face and set the tone for summer's light-hearted, relaxed attitude. The front cover picture is of Mr. Lockhart, complete in tuxedo, splashing into a pool of water and the back cover picture of him in a BPO t-shirt and Hawaiian shirt being kissed by a stuffed clown fish he's holding with a pair of barbecue tongs. Fun, fun, fun! Bravo, Mr. Lockhart!

All the "classics" one would expect to hear for the patriotic holiday are here: "The Star Spangled Banner and "America The Beautiful (The Tanglewood Festival Chorus singing these two songs will give you the chills), "The 1812 Overture" (I can almost "see" the fireworks as BPO plays the finale), and "The Stars And Stripes Forever" (One cannot pass through the 4th of July without hearing at least one John Phillip Sousa song!).

The rest of the album is equally as entertaining with goodies like "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy." Others will also rouse your patriotic fevor such as: "Doodletown Fifers" (Fifes on the 4th? Of course!) and "America" (Paul Simon's wonderful song.) One of my favorites is "With Voices Raised." The Boston Pops plays background as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, The Boston Pops Choir, and The Boston Gay Men's Choir sing and speak eloquent quotes from famous Americans as Abigal Adams, Martin Luther King, Fredrick Douglas, President John F. Kennedy, and Shirley Chisholm.

I have collected five CDs that get playtime over Independence Day through the day and evening. Ever since I purchased "Splash of Pops," though, it seems to get a bit more airing each year. You'll be dazzled and feel proud, happy, and content everytime you listen to it. Mr. Lockhart has produced some wonderful albums with the Pops Orchestra and he has certainly continued with this collection of songs.

This is truly a Boston Pops recording at its best. Keith Lockhart and the Pops are definetly my favorite Orchestra, and with this CD I am reminded of exactly why. This Orchestra brings to life the power and passion that was ment in the writing of this music. I especially like "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The Pops and the Chorus truly bring out the joy and pain felt by African Americans throughout the years. And I also very much enjoy "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Few Orchestras can swing like the Pops.

All in all if you love the power and emotion of Orchestras, than you will love hearing America's Orchestra earn its name. Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra out do themselves this time.

This album is great!! I've heard them play in Boston and it was incredible. Now I can listen whenever I want.

This is a great CD for any fan of the Boston Pops - especially those who have seen or been to their annual 4th of July performance - or for those who appreciate patriotic music. Many of the pieces they play at the Pops Goes the 4th concert are on the CD. My personal favorite is the 1812 Overture for its live cannons.

This is a top notch collection of music. These represent the american spirit. I highly recomend it to everyone.

This is an enjoyable compilation 19th and 20th century Russian and Soviet/Armenian (Khatchaturian) orchestral showpieces, with an interesting and informative essay in the CD insert. Two interesting selections, "Baba-Yaga" and "Kikimora", by Anatol Liadov (1855 - 1914), a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, are based on witches from Russian folklore and are not that well-known outside of Russia. All of the selections are performed well by Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra.

I did have the impression is listening to this CD that some of the more powerful passages were played somewhat too forcefully. Perhaps this impression was due more to the sound engineering than the conductor and orchestra. For example, on Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, when the percussion imitates the boom of the cannon, it sounds almost a sonic boom coming across the speakers. With that reservation, I recommend this as a well-performed and entertaining selection of orchestral showpieces.

I generally associate Ormandy in Tchaikovsky with the lusher sounds of the last two symphonies and the ballets. The Fourth Symphony is a more dramatic work, and I was curious to see how Ormandy would handle it. There is a lot to be said for his interpretation. The tempos are moderate and there is no great fluctuation in them, as one might expect from the second Bernstein traversal. Rather, the symphonic argument is held taughtly, and momentum builds at a reasonable if somewhat slow pace. This is as far from my beloved Stokowski/American Symphony version as one can imagine. Nevertheless, the playing is consistently beautiful and never on auto pilot. In fact, this may be the most natural sounding version of the Fourth I've ever heard. I don't know if that's what Tchaikovsky wanted, but it certainly is very satisfying. The 1812 is very exciting here. It sounds as if the opening choir, with organ, was recorded seperately in Salt Lake City while the orchestra was recorded in Philadelphia. No matter, the voltage level is very high. Marche Slav is quite good, too. The sound engineering on all these items is good, while the Symphony is excellent. This is a Fourth you can live with, even if it rarely sets your pulse racing.

Never a dull moment with this music.

If you want to fall asleep to some really lush strings, absurdly slow tempi and almost in audible brass, then buy this recording. When I was in high school, I remember returning my copy of the vinyl of this performance of the 4th symphony by Ormandy, and purchasing the glorious Munch/Boston performance (available currently only from BMG Japanese Victor, as an import).
I purchased this CD thinking that, as I had aged and presumably become more tolerant of diversity and interpretation, that somehow I had grown to appreciate ORMANDY'S UNIQUENESS. Nope, it's still too slow and tedious. Ormandy does to tempi what Bernstein did but, without the creativity and passion.Save your money. buy almost anyone else's 4th Symphony.

David Hurwitz may think this recording is like meeting an old friend, but I lived thorugh the Ormandy era, and to me this CD is like remembering an old nap. Ormandy readings are reliable, shapeless, without imaginaiton or even the desire for imaginaiton. They just sit there, and meanwhile his glorious orchestra--at least Ormandy had that to his credit--made Cadillac sounds for a driver on tranquilizers. I guess the other reviewers here are enamored of the sounds and don't care that Tchaikovsky is a much more vital, incisive, and even wilder composer than Ormandy registers.

This recording is a wonderful mix of one of his most notable symphonies, along with the two shorter pieces that are most widely known. Symphony No.4 is good, but not great; buy this album for "1812" and "Slavic March."

"1812" is moving and spirited; a choral introduction replaces the more traditional instrumental, and although it is in English, it works very well with the spirit of the piece. Throughout, the tempo is spirited, the music compelling, and of course, the cannons appropriately bombastic.

"Slavic March" is not nearly as well known as "1812," but this recording shows it deserves equal attention as a great short work, capturing the essence of the great Russian musical traditions.