Roy Harris (1898-1979)
I was but a teenager when I discovered this single-movement masterpiece, from this recording, the LP cover as illustrated below, and found it gripping and evocative, thrilling and moving. I still do.
One of the Great American Symphonies: Roy Harris’s Third (1939/Koussevitzky) in Leonard Bernstein’s first New York Philharmonic recording (for CBS).
Bernstein’s remains a very good performance, but I think Koussevitzky’s remains the most thrilling and insightful account.
And I remember finding a copy of Howard Hanson’s recording on Mercury/EMI hidden away forgotten in the record shop I worked in in Birmingham in the 60s. Got to love this work and still have the LP. Then so thrilled in the 90s to hear Rattle give it with the CBSO in Symphony Hall preceded by a brilliant Bartok 2nd Piano Concerto. This Bernstein recording is also very fine, more overtly dramatic than Hanson and in stereo, but both performances are worth having – as with all great music it can stand many interpretations and still pack a punch. I even have a BBC Music Magazine recording with Grant Llewellyn which is worth seeking out (American Landmarks).
And I should add Eduardo Mata’s recording, which restores the small cuts Bernstein made and which, I believe, made their way into the published score.