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I am a classical musician, yet have always found the work of this composer very fascinating and engaging. It was in the early 1950's that I first discovered Leroy Anderson's music, and I took an immediate fancy to it, buying up as many recordings as I could. Quite honestly, I do not cherish everything that he wrote, but I personally feel that the less frankly descriptive the music is, the more the music stands on its own, the more I like it. I once commented to a conductor friend that the only problem with Leroy Anderson in his work was that he seemed to lack a certain confidence in the ability of his music to speak for itself, so that he felt compelled to resort to gimmicks, but I firmly believe that his fears were totally groundless. The quality of his work can best be seen in the many arrangements he made of works not his own, such as the musical comedy medleys which rival in quality those of Robert Russell Bennett. They are put together with complete musical logic, and are emphatically not a hodge podge of tunes thrown together in haphazard fashion. Another example of his superlative arrangements would be the Irish Suite, and there are many others which should be better known than they are. We do him a grave injustice by referring to him as a "tunesmith," as he was far more than that. The compendiums given on some recordings and at pop concerts, "Your favorite Leroy Anderson melodies" are not what he was really about. The few selections that made the pop charts in the 1950's do not show him off at his best, and his holiday selections should frankly be detached from that time of year so that they may be enjoyed and appreciated all year around. I have already written some commentary on two of his works (Richard Rodgers Waltz Medley and Song of the Bells) among my commentaries on serious works of music, as I feel that this music deserves the same sort of understanding and respect. I purchased this DVD to attempt to obtain more background about the man himself, and learn some inside aspects on what I so appreciated and continued to appreciate over the years. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys high quality music that directly communicates to the listener.Read full review
I wanted to know more about Leroy Anderson & his music.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Wonderful documentary about one of America's best-loved (but often unrecognized) composers. Includes biographical information and many performances of Anderson't compositions, some conducted by Anderson himself.
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