Deutsche Grammophon's The Arthur Fiedler Legacy is a five-volume series, of which the first volume, Stars and Stripes -- An American Concert, is perhaps the most emblematic of the conductor's advocacy of American music. Like other albums in the collection, this twofer is thematically arranged and features music by some of the most famous American classical composers, such as
John Philip Sousa,
Aaron Copland,
Charles Ives, and
George Gershwin, with many more figures in the fields of popular music and light classics, such as Meredith Willson,
Leroy Anderson,
Richard Rodgers,
Hoagy Carmichael,
Scott Joplin,
Irving Berlin, and others. While most are represented by one or two selections -- and in the case of
Leonard Bernstein, the Overture to Candide and the orchestral Suite from Mass, seem an ample sampling -- no composer is more generously represented than
Gershwin, whose Second Rhapsody, Three Preludes, and music from the musicals Of Thee I Sing and Girl Crazy make him the dominant composer of this compilation. As one might expect, the
Boston Pops Orchestra is in terrific form in these zestful recordings from the 1970s, the decade when LPs and televised broadcasts made
Fiedler and his orchestra a familiar institution across the world; from the vigor of the conducting and the polish of the playing here, it's no wonder they achieved such phenomenal popularity. The reproduction is ADD on all tracks, but exceptional mastering makes the sound almost as good as digital. Highly recommended.