Two Leroy Anderson Collections

Leroy Anderson and Arthur Fiedler

If I were to identify the soundtrack to my early life (I was born in 1949), the music of Leroy Anderson would be prominent. His insistently memorable melodies were ubiquitous on both radio and television then, and so are ingrained in my memory.

Perhaps the biggest pop hit among Anderson's compositions was "Blue Tango," a big seller for the composer and Les Baxter in 1952 (the latter is available on this blog here). But the greatest factor in the popularity of Anderson and his work was undoubtedly Arthur Fiedler, conductor of the Boston Pops. Fiedler commissioned arrangements and compositions from Anderson, then programmed and recorded them.

The Boston Pops Plays Leroy Anderson 

This two-part post begins with the LP above, which presents Fiedler's classic first recordings of some of Anderson's most popular compositions. These sides display (and certainly were designed to display) the orchestral wizardry of the Boston orchestra. And of course they show off the composer's gift for melody, his remarkable craftsmanship and his ability to capture the popular imagination (assuming you like animal effects and the like) - all reasons why he is one of the most successful pops composer of all time.

The Fiedler recordings were made from 1947 to 1953. I suspect this particular collection from the latter year was issued to capitalize on the popularity of "Blue Tango."

Note (December 2023): I have added several additional Pops recordings to the LP above. First, their version of "The Syncopated Clock," from an EP that in other respects contains the same performances as the LP. Also, from 78s I've included "Jazz Legato - Jazz Pizzicato," "Promenade," "The Classical Jukebox" and "Saraband." The "Classical Jukebox" uses the then-popular hit "Music, Music, Music" (also called "Put Another Nickel In") as a framing device for Anderson's clever and amusing arrangements of popular classics.

The sound on the Boston recordings is excellent, and is now in ambient stereo. These all come from my collection, except for the 78s, remastered from Internet Archive holdings.

LINK to Fiedler recordings

Leroy Anderson Conducts His Irish Suite

The second part of this post is the album above, which presents the composer's own recording of his Irish Suite, which was dedicated to and first recorded by Fiedler. The irresistible suite consists of six traditional (and well-known) tunes in Anderson's glittering arrangements.

The Irish Suite was set down in October 1952 with a New York studio orchestra. Oscar Shumsky was the violin soloist in "The Last Rose of Summer."

The composer's recordings have now (December 2023) been newly remastered in ambient stereo from the original 78 issues, which have excellent sound - more vivid than the LP offered.

LINK to Irish Suite