Howard Hanson

If you pay attention to the music that plays at the end of the 1979 horror film Alien you will notice that it isn't the same as the rest of the film's score. When I first got the soundtrack to Alien which was written by Sci-Fi  movie great Jerry Goldsmith I noticed that the song at the end of the movie was absent. For years all I knew of the song I heard was from when Ripley blows the Alien out of the Narcisuss lifeboat and its subsequent reprisal during the end credits. I have enjoyed that song and finally over a year ago did somewhat harder research and found out that Jerry Goldsmith did not write the song. Oops. Turns out it was Howard Hanson, an American composer who wrote his symphonies from nineteen-twenty all the way through the nineteen-seventies. The symphony in question here is of course Symphony No. 2 in D-Flat Major Op.30, "Romantic". I will offer links to this along with another selection I love of Howard Hanson. 

Howard Hanson was of Swedish descent and played Trombone as I have. I feel the "of Swedish descent" was important to mention because Norse qualities were influential in his writing of his first two symphonies. The first symphony being the "Nordic" symphony. His music called to me somehow. When I found out the song from Alien was the Romantic symphony I quickly downloaded anything of his I could so as to continue exploring his beautiful music. 

Music for me is not just something to listen to. Music is almost like a drug for me; it can take me miles away or simply make a run painless. Classical music has always been something that raises my mood and elevates my soul. I think cinematically whilst listening to certain songs and other times I can laugh, become angered or agitated, and even feel immense sadness. I feel like I'm floating when I hear some of these symphonies by Howard Hanson. Listening to him gives me a high that isn't like anything else I've ever experienced.  

While I haven't listened to a wide variety of classical music I feel like I have listened to enough between Mahler, Grofé, Dvořák, Ravel, Wagner, and Handel to know and feel that Howard Hanson is by far my favorite. If I ever feel sad or need a pick me up I usually just lay back and hit these symphonies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxBAaME-ag http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfh_pt4JcGo 

For that first link check out all three movements, the first link is of the first movement of the second symphony which is the most popular but I find the final movement to be my favorite of the three. For the second movement of symphony three I just wanted to offer another taste of some awe-inspiring beautiful music. If you feel down just crank these up and relax. Maybe someone else will enjoy this great American conductor/composer.