Harris Symphonies--complete?

Is there a way to obtain all of the Harris Symphonies on CD, either boxed or individually? Would it be worthwhile to try to obtain such a set?

Regards,

Such a set does not exist at present. Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 have all been recorded at least once. There are four more that remain unrecorded: No. 10, 11, 12, and 14. These last four are said to be rather poor pieces, with the possible exception of 10. Albany was supposed to release a recording of No. 11 coupled with No. 2 but No. 2 was released recently coupled with Morton Gould's Symphony No. 3, which by all accounts is a stunning work, probably Gould's greatest composition. No. 2 is not very good either. Harris's Symphony No. 13 does not exist. The composer went from 12 to 14, skipping 13 for superstitious reasons. I don't know if No. 11 was recorded as planned and may have been left out pending a coupling with a better work. I think it would be good if his Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight could be recorded coupled with Symphony No. 10 'Abraham Lincoln.'

I believe the symphonies from #10 and up are not recorded. Albany has just come out with the first recording ever of #2.

Yes, I've heard this before too - that in his later symphonies Harris was simply treading water ( I think the same could be said of Alan Hovhaness). Particularly Harris's 14th, which is said to be shockingly bad, for a composer of Harris's stature. Being a big admirer of Harris I'll have to hear for myself, but even in his 8th and 9th symphonies one can detect signs of artistic stagnation, despite some beautiful passages here and there..

> Harris's Symphony No. 13 does not exist. The composer went from

Apparently that tactic didn't work, since the 14th (which IS the 13th in everything but name) turned out to be his last anyway.

Not liking the number 13 is a characteristic Harris shared with Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenberg titled his opera 'Moses und Aron' not because Aaron is spelled that way in German but to avoid an opera title of 'Moses und Aaron', which would have contained 13 letters. Maybe a composer not sharing their tridecaphobia should write a work in 13 movements for 13 players in which the number 13 occurs in as many ways and configurations as possible. It could be dedicated 'to Arnold and Roy.'

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Doesn't George Crumb like the number 13? So do I, for that matter.

In truth, Harris had only one composition in him, Symphony #3, and didn't have the sense to realize that when it was finished, he'd written himself out.

Earlier work was just a warm up for his one and only significant composition.

In this regard he reminds me of Ursula LeGuin, who had only a finite number of books in her. She wrote some absolutely marvelous SF & fantasy early on in her career, but didn't know when to stop. Her later work isn't a patch on the earlier. I was particularly disappointed in 'Tales from Earthsea' where the narratives are marred by preachy, unsubtle feminist dialectic.

In my opinion Symphonies 1, 7, 8, and 9 are good second-tier works that almost reach the level of 3. Nos. 2 and 4 are pretty mediocre and 5 is only so-so.

Louisville once recorded a very Harris-like work, Symphony No. 2 by the Oklahoma composer Ray Luke. That magical work and William Schuman's Symphony No. 3 are truly the finest Harris symphonies that Harris never wrote. Schuman's No. 3 may be even better than Harris No. 3.

I agree. Not only are his later works no match for No.3, but they all sound alike. To me, William Schuman is the man Harris would have evolved into had he progressed beyond the language of No.3

One other reason a box of Harris symphonies is extremely unlikely to appear is that very few conductors have bothered to conduct more than a couple of Harris symphonies. There is a bit more to Harris than his Third, but not a lot. And the really late works are absolutely dreadful, by most accounts.