By Haldelman
American Record Guide
01-Dec-2006

The Concerto for Organ, Harp, and Strings is a 16-minute work of fascinating variety and odd juxtapositions. It was recorded in Philadelphia's First Presbyterian Church with Joseph Jackson playing a restored 1872 Reuter organ. Low string bass figures near the start evolve into a fully rendered orchestral fantasy- not quite a concerto grosso, but, as the title suggests, a combination of unusual instrumental textures. The organ is not bombastic, but contributes a tone color not often experienced in such orchestral works, while the harp adds atmospheric flavor. Romantic string lines sometimes share the acoustic with moody organ motifs, yet there is plenty of rhythmic variety as well. Since the strings are romantically set, as is Hanson's way, the organ adds a little "Gothic romanticism", one might say� though the piece ebbs and flows with enough modern chromaticism, color, and contrast to make a description futile. You have to hear it. Each time I did, I liked it all the more.

Nymphs and Satyr, according to the notes, was Hanson's last completed major composition. The Fantasy Variations are for piano and strings- beautiful, dark, and delicate. The Serenade is for flute, harp, and strings, the Pastorale for oboe, harp, and strings. I loved all of these pieces. They are wonderfully melodic, often deeply moving, and show the compositional skill of a great 20th Century composer. Daniel Spalding and his musicians are superb interpreters. The sound is some of the best I've heard from this best-known bargain label. Even if you have all the Hanson symphonies and more, you'll want to add this.

By David Hurwitz
ClassicsToday.com
01-Oct-2006

Howard Hanson's frankly romantic, occasionally kitschy music may arouse extremes of enthusiasm and distaste among listeners (I happen to like him), but there's no doubt that he was one of the few modern composers who had an instantly recognizable harmonic and melodic style. You can hear it at work in all of these pieces--and some of them, particularly the Serenade for flute, harp, and strings, and the Pastorale for oboe, harp, and strings, are extremely beautiful indeed. Even the Organ Concerto (with strings and harp) is lyrically affecting rather than noisy or bombastic. The ballet suite Nymphs and Satyr, effortlessly scored for chamber orchestra, is a late work that reveals that although Hanson developed not a jot over the course of his long career, neither did his fund of characteristic melody dry up. Here's the bottom line: these are eminently worthy performances, very well recorded, of genuinely pretty music. If that's your cup of tea, and it's kind of hard to figure that it would not be unless aural pain turns you on, you will certainly enjoy this and I recommend it to you without hesitation.

By David Lewis
Allmusic.com
09-Jul-2006

Recording hasn�t been unkind to the legacy of Howard Hanson, and his own recordings as conductor of other composers� music continues to stay in print and to thrive. However, when it comes to Hanson�s own work, recording has not been exceptionally generous as it has to some of his contemporaries (for example, Copland or George Gershwin); the vast majority of recordings devoted to Hanson concentrate on one work, his Symphony No. 2 �Romantic,� Op. 30. With Naxos American Classics� Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto we finally encounter an all-Hanson collection that afford some depth to his orchestral oeuvre, and these pieces are all exceptionally fantastic offerings to boot.