Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000)
Part Three
Wednesday 2 March 2005 12:00-13:00 (Radio 3)
Repeated: Wednesday 9 March 2005 0:00-1:00 (Radio 3)
"My success is quite a surprise to me; for the first half of my life I was known as the composer who was never performed. I had no luck until the great conductor Leopold Stokowski conducted one of my pieces and decided to champion my work."
The 1950s marked the high tide of Alan Hovhaness's success as a composer, in particular with works such as 'Mysterious Mountain', which was championed by Fritz Reiner.
Donald Macleod recounts the story of this period.
Playlist
Upon Enchanted Ground, op 90 no 1, for Flute Cello Giant Tam-Tam and Harp (1951)
Yolanda Kondonassis (harp); Frank Hendrickx (flute); Herwig Coryn (cello); Patrick de Smet (Tam-Tam)
Telarc CD 80530 tr 11
Mysterious Mountain, op 132 (Symphony no 2) (1955)
Chicago SO / Fritz Reiner
RCA Victor 09026 61957-2 tr1-4
Symphony no 15, op 'Silver Pilgrimage' (1963)
BBC SO / Rumon Gamba
BBC Recording
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