5. Romantic & mystic

Howard Hanson (1896-1981)
Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)

Two second symphonies: Howard Hanson‘s Romantic and Alan HovhanessMysterious Mountain.

After the well-known jazz influenced works of Gershwin and the New England eccentricities of Ives, back to Europe (or thereabouts) for the Scandinavian rooted music of Hanson and the Armenian influenced works of Hovhaness.


First, the ne plus ultra of neo-Romanticism, the aptly named Romantic Symphony of Hanson. Hanson was, in addition to being a composer, both a conductor and a director of the Eastman School of Music. And, as such, he was a significant promoter of America ‘classical’ music:

00:01Adagio / Allegro moderato
13:17Andante con tenerezza
20:00Allegro con brio


Hovhaness has a reputation as a mystic. He was a prolific composer – his catalogue includes, among many other pieces, 67 symphonies(!) Much of his output makes musical reference to his Armenian ancestry. Also, the titles of several of these symphonic works (like the Second below) point to a deep fascination with mountains:

Andante con moto 0:06
Double Fugue (Moderato maestoso 5:14Allegro vivo 7:31)
Andante espressivo 11:12


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