Composer-Critics Of The New York Herald Tribune

“Lovingly remastered from the original Columbia Records master tapes”, compositions by Herald Tribune music critics that included Lou Harrison and John Cage, these are 1938-1952 classical, new-music compositions that pushed the envelope of new music. Stunningly beautiful stuff, the recordings are such high quality I thought they were contemporary interpretations recorded last month. See below for more detailed descriptions or check out the incredible 60 page booklet that accompanies this.

Paul Bowels 1) (1:09) oboes and woodwinds, upbeat and bouncy 2) (1:51) lilting triplets, playful 3) (1:03) piano, bouncy playful again with winds, a bit pensive 4)* (1:38) more playful bounciness, some dissonant piano chords in there 5)* (2:04) serene with woodwinds and bass, pleasant melodic 6) (1:32) more pensive, military snare drums 7) (0:47) very hyper feeling, a bell brings to mind a busy receptionist 8) (2:08) optimistic melodies, soundtracky, nice

Lou Harrison 9) (1:28) lovely somber strings and harp 10)* (2:44) more, just lovely 11) (1:02) pensive, fast, foreboding 12)** (4:04) dropdead gorgeous, harp scales and slow phrased cello, lovely harmonies 13) (1:37) slow, minimal melody

Virgil Thompson 14) (17:16) Opera, male vocals accompanied by piano, near-free association words, delivered rather monotone, all about Capitols

Peggy Glanville-Hicks 15) (2:49) tymphany and vibes, percussion, tribal feel almost, until quiet slow piano appears 16)* (4:05) nice piano, mostly solo but with some percussion, slow chords 17) (2:51) upbeat pensive, piano and percussion

John Cage 18)* (4:48) slow, with cool dissonance in places 19) (4:51) slow and sparse 20)* (11:05) dissonant slow sparse bow exchanges, killer 21) (1:28) a baroque feel about this, chamber music