Harl McDonald and Max Brand

When I came upon this record recently, I had high hopes for the Harl McDonald composition, based on other pieces by him in my collection.

Unfortunately, McDonald's Children's Symphony isn't very good. His idea was to teach kids how symphonies are put together by using familiar tunes, but he forgot to make the piece interesting.

On the flip side of the record is a composition by Max Brand - could it be the writer of Western novels?

Max Brand

Well, no. This is a different Brand - a German composer resident in the US for several decades after fleeing the Nazis. His music is actually more attractive than McDonald's. It's a piece of program music based on a poem, "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay," by Oliver Wendell Holmes the elder. I've read an explanation of the poem, which has some theological meaning that I couldn't explain here even if I were interested in doing so, which I'm not. This again was a children's piece. I don't know what it says about my intellect if I can't explain the poetic basis of children's music, but it can't be good.

Maybe I am just in a bad mood. But you know how it is when a record doesn't fulfill your expectations. On the bright side, the Philadelphia Orchestra performances are excellent, particularly in the Brand item, conduced by Eugene Ormandy. And I don't believe (although I am not certain) that this record has been re-released.

By the way, McDonald was the manager of the Philly band for many years. The download includes a brief New York Times review.