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   Leroy Anderson Foundation
   Recordings Archive

   1.  Orchestral Recordings with Leroy Anderson conducting
   2a.  Bands: Military Bands
   2b.  Bands: Community & School Bands
   3.  Musical Theater
   4.  BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra
   5.  Harvard University Band Recordings
   6.  International: Recordings in Other Languages
   7.  Featured Artists + Arrangers: Other Recordings and Videos
   8.  Leroy Anderson, Conductor: conducting history, repertoire, concert reviews

   Page under development; updated February 10, 2023
   Compositions followed by the RED speaker icon link to an AUDIO file.
   Compositions followed by the YELLOW video icon link to a VIDEO.

recordings archive

1a.  Orchestral Compositions
1b.  Orchestral Arrangements
     Recordings with Leroy Anderson conducting

These are recordings of music written or arranged by Leroy Anderson conducted by the composer in recording sessions for Decca that took place in 1959. 53 musicians, many of whom were the Principals of their respective orchestra sections, came to perform for the recordings.  They were chosen from the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the NBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Goldman Band and the Beaux Arts Trio. The studio orchestra included 18 violins, 6 violas, 5 celli, 2 basses, 2 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, and 3 percussionists.

 Orchestral Compositions: Recordings with Leroy Anderson conducting 

military band recordings

2a.  Bands: Military Bands

These are recordings of music by Leroy Anderson arranged by the composer for concert band. Recordings include Leroy Anderson conducting the U.S. Air Force Band. Recordings of the U.S. Coast Guard Band and the U.S. Army / Air Force Band complete this category of performances by military bands.

 Military Band 

community band recordings

2b.  Bands: Community & School Bands

We are seeking permission to post recordings of Leroy Anderson's music performed by Community and School Bands, Wind and/or String Orchestras. Feel free to contact us if you have a recording to submit.

musical theater recordings

3.  Musical Theater

These are recordings of arrangements of music by Leroy Anderson for the Broadway musical Goldilocks.  Recordings include instrumental and vocal music conducted by Lehman Engel and instrumental music conducted by Leroy Anderson.  Included here are some compositions by Leroy Anderson that were written for Goldilocks but not used in the show; and music by Leroy Anderson written for the Broadway adaptation of Gone with the Wind.

 Musical Theater 

bbc-concert-orchestra

4.  BBC Concert Orchestra
     Boston Pops Orchestra
     Boston Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin recorded the complete catalog of Leroy Anderson's works with the BBC Concert Orchestra.  These recordings were released on 5 compact discs by Naxos International to coincide with the Leroy Anderson Centenary in 2008. Here we present the recordings from these sessions which include compositions not recorded by Leroy Anderson. As noted, some of these recordings with the BBC Concert Orchestra are the first recording of an Anderson composition. A few recordings represent a world premiere performance.

Arthur Fiedler and John Williams recorded arrangements by Leroy Anderson with the Boston Pops Orchestra of Girl Crazy (Gershwin), Richard Rodgers Waltzes (Rodgers).

Arthur Fiedler conducted a studio orchestra in NYC for RCA Victor with Nathan Milstein, violin solo, in arrangements by Leroy Anderson of music by Mendelssohn, Foster, Schubert and Fauré.

 BBC Concert Orchestra ref IVa, Boston Pops Orchestra ref IVb, RCA Victor studio orchestra ref IVc 

harvard university band archival recordings

5.  Harvard University Band

These are recordings of the Harvard University Band from 1946, 1950, 1955, 1959, 1962, 1979 and 1984 from the archives of the Leroy Anderson Foundation.  Recordings include arrangements for the band by Leroy Anderson, F. E. Bigelow, George Wright Briggs, Jr., John H. Densmore, John A. Finnegan, Richmond K. Fletcher, Samuel Gilman, R. E. Hildreth, Thomas Lehrer, R. G. Morse, Peter Stahl, Murray Taylor, James Walker and R.G. Williams.

These archival recordings of the Harvard University Band will eventually cover the period 1946 through 1984 to include music written from 1919 to 1984. Each recording posted here will include the name of the arranger(s), conductor, date of recording and name of record album. The first recordings are from the album "Toast to the Ivy".

This is an extensive project. Check this archive occasionally for additonal recordings.

 Harvard University Band Recordings 

musical recordings

6.  International
    Recordings in Other Languages

These are recordings of arrangements of Leroy Anderson's music including vocals in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish.

 International: Recordings in Other Languages 

archive

7.  Featured Artists + Arrangers
    Other Recordings and Videos

These are recordings of Leroy Anderson's arrangements and of arrangements of his music by others. Featured artists and arrangers include: Joseph Darcourt, Yulia Fedorov, Susan Anthony-Klein, Yarek Tereshchenko, Anders Vercelli with Blake Marquez and Mike Connor, Laura Vercelli, Lars Vercelli, and Nathan Zemp. Performances include solo piano, solo cello, violin/piano duet, and vocal with jazz trio.

 Featured Artists Recordings 

Notes

The Music
  1. All Compositions are by Leroy Anderson except where indicated.
  2. All Arrangements are by Leroy Anderson except where indicated.
  3. All recordings are Instrumental unless indicated as Vocal.
  4. The Music In My Heart, Music and Lyrics by Leroy Anderson.
  5. This Lovely World, Music by Leroy Anderson, Lyrics by Ogden Nash.
  6. Musical theater songs from Goldilocks: Lyrics by Joan Ford, Jean Kerr, Walter Kerr.
  7. The Vocal versions of Blue Tango, Forgotten Dreams, Serenata, Sleigh Ride, The Syncopated Clock, The Waltzing Cat have lyrics that were written by Mitchell Parish.  Translations into French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish were made for some compositions by other lyricists.  The lyricists are listed with each recording.
The Recording Sessions
  • 1. All dates shown in parentheses [for example (1959)] are the year of the recording unless indicated otherwise.

List of references
  • ref i     Compositions and Arrangements conducted by Leroy Anderson

  • Leroy Anderson conducted his original compositions (including some of his works for the musical Goldilocks) and numerous arrangements in recording sessions from 1950 to 1962.  The 53 musicians employed for these recordings included some of New York's very best.  Many of them were the Principals of their respective orchestra sections.  The musicians for the Leroy Anderson recording sessions were chosen from the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the NBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Goldman Band and the Beaux Arts Trio.  The studio orchestra included 18 violins, 6 violas, 5 celli, 2 basses, 2 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, and 3 drummers.

    Roland Dupont, one of the trombonists, remembered the recording sessions as taking place in an enthusiastic yet orderly atmosphere.  "The players enjoyed the material they were performing and Anderson conducted fluently and precisely knowing exactly what he wanted."  Many of Anderson's compositions received their first performances during these recording sessions. [Back to Sections 1+2] ↑

  • ref ii     Harvard Band Recordings

  • Although Leroy Anderson conducted his own arrangements for the Harvard Band with the band in 1929 and from 1931-35, the majority of the recordings of the Harvard Band were conducted by other conductors as noted. [Back to Sections 1+2] ↑

  • ref iii     US Air Force Band

  • Leroy Anderson conducted the US Air Force Band on February 27, 1972 at a concert that took place at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.  The recording of the concert was originally released on a Stereo LP record.  In 2000 the master recording was used for a re-issue on compact disc. [Back to Sections 3+4] ↑

  • ref IVa     Compositions and Arrangements conducted by Leonard Slatkin

  • Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra in these recordings of Leroy Anderson's music in 2007. [Back to Section 4] ↑

  • ref IVb     Compositions and Arrangements conducted by Leonard Slatkin

  • Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra in these recordings of Leroy Anderson's music in 2007. [Back to Section 4] ↑

  • ref IVc     Compositions and Arrangements conducted by Leonard Slatkin

  • Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra in these recordings of Leroy Anderson's music in 2007. [Back to Section 4] ↑

  • ref v     Music for Goldilocks conducted by Lehman Engel

  • Leroy Anderson wrote all of the music for the 1958 Broadway musical Goldilocks.  The lyrics for the vocal pieces were written by Joan Ford, Jean Kerr and Walter Kerr.  The music for the show was scored by Philip Lang and was conducted by Lehman Engel during the performances of the show and for a recording of the show's music.  The compositions from Goldilocks which Leroy Anderson re-orchestrated following the show's closing are the ones that are featured in the section "Musical Theater conducted by Leroy Anderson". [Back to Section 7] ↑


Complete Music Reference

  • A "Complete Music Reference" is located on the other official website for Leroy Anderson: www.leroyanderson.com
    Here you will find a complete list of all compositions and arrangements with detailed reference articles about numerous musical works not duplicated elsewhere. You will also find a complete biography of Leroy Anderson in English with shorter versions of the biography in eight other languages.