Leroy Anderson > Hear the Music : One of America's Greatest 20th Century Composers

Alma Mater 1954 Four short humorous scenes describing life at Harvard University.	Arietta 1962 A charming melody in classical two-part form, this was originally conceived as a duet for cello and viola.	Balladette 1962 A simple lyrical melody combined with a chromatic repeating counter melody.
Belle of the Ball 1951 A brilliant fast waltz which recreates the atmosphere of the Viennese grand ballroom.	Blue Tango 1951 A Latin beat combined with blues figures and a lovely melody made Anderson's recording the #1 best seller of 1952.	The Bluebells of Scotland 1954 This familiar folk melody takes on new freshness through the use of tonal color, and humor in Anderson's remarkable arranging skills.
Buglers Holiday 1954 Three military buglers kick up their heels, having a good time and playing in anything but strict regulation style.	The Captains and the Kings 1962 Suggested by a Kipling poem, this march shifts from 2/4 to 3/4, underscoring the uncertain fate of captains and kings.	Chicken Reel 1946 A traditional American dance tune developed into a brilliant concert piece with touches of humor and unexpected rhythmical variations which are hallmarks of Anderson's musical style.
China Doll 1951 China Doll, as the title suggests, has a delicate, fragile melody, first played by the oboe, then by the entire orchestra.	A Christmas Festival 1950 A concert overture built upon traditional Christmas songs, beginning with Joy to the World and ending with Jingle Bells and O Come All Ye Faithful. This is the original full-length version as recorded by the Boston Pops.	Clarinet Candy 1962 A brilliant showpiece for four clarinets in the spirit of Bugler's Holiday.
Classical Jukebox 1950 Based on the 50's hit, Music! Music! Music!, this jukebox plays famous classical pieces, with a section that features a stuck needle that plays a phrase over…and over. First performed and recorded by the Boston Pops.	Concerto in C for Piano 1953 Withdrawn by the composer and released posthumously, the piano concerto is an interesting and very accessible work with a distinctly American and Leroy Anderson flavor.	Fiddle Faddle 1947 Anderson first chose the title and then wrote for strings a modern "perpetual motion" piece.
The First Day of Spring 1954 A sweeping melody with lush strings and a pastoral oboe.	Forgotten Dreams 1954 This piece has always been the favorite Anderson piece in England. Anderson plays the solo piano part.	Girl in Satin 1953 A lovely, languorous melody in tango rhythm.
The Golden Years 1962 Warm romanticism with a triumphant melody.	Goldilocks - I Never Know When 1962 This is a timeless treatment of the evergreen "torch"song.	Goldilocks - Lady in Waiting Ballet Music 1959 Based on a charming ballet sequence in the show.
Goldilocks - Lazy Moon 1962 This opening number is the title song of the show within a show. Here Anderson has the percussionists playing actual tap shoes.	Goldilocks - Pirate Dance 1962 A stirring first act ending that is able to stand on its own; this has also been published for band with optional choral parts.	Goldilocks - Pussy Foot Ballet Music 1962 An impish setting of a cat ballet. Complete with wind whistles and all the zest of a good back- fence cat fight.
Goldilocks - Pyramid Dance 1960 A brilliant finale which satirized the making of silent movies. This is also published for band with optional chorus.	Goldilocks - Shall I Take My Heart 1962 Another lovely melody by Anderson.	Goldilocks - Town House Maxixe 1962 Anderson's version of the maxixe, an ancestor of the samba, and popular around 1912.
Governor Bradford March 1948 This march was named after Governor Robert Bradford who was Governor of Massachusetts from 1947 to 1949.	Home Stretch 1962 Captures the gaiety and excitement of the Sport of Kings with an especially stirring finish.	Horse and Buggy 1951 Four percussion players help create a convincing depiction of this early form of transportation.
The Irish Suite - The Irish Washerwoman 1947 & 1949 A picturesque orchestral setting of Irish folk music, consisting of six movements. The first movement, "The Irish Washerwoman," is a double jig, the sprightliest of dances, and is enhanced with a brilliant and infectious orchestral setting.	The Irish Suite - The Minstrel Boy With somber orchestral coloring, this is a slow march over a basso ostinato. Distant trumpets and drums punctuate the melody.	The Irish Suite - The Rakes of Mallow Evokes the carousing and rioting of the young bloods of Mallow.
The Irish Suite - The Wearing of the Green Treated as a scherzo alternating between strings, woodwinds and brass.	The Irish Suite - The Last Rose of Summer A solo violin is featured. The background is provided by strings and harp, reinforced only by horns and trombones.	The Irish Suite - The Girl I Left Behind Me A haunting song with an ingenious contrapuntal effect near the end.
Jazz Legato 1938 Played with the bow in legato style, this was written as a companion piece for Jazz Pizzicato. Together the two were just long enough to fill one side of a three-minute 78 r.p.m. record.	Jazz Pizzicato 1938 A study in jazz rhythms played pizzicato by the strings, this was Anderson's first composition and an immediate hit.	Lullaby of the Drums 1970 Posthumously published, this features timpani, snare and bongo drums in a somnolent mood.
March of the Two Left Feet 1970 Posthumously published. The idea for writing a "clumsy" march came to Anderson after he read a story with this title by P.G. Wodehouse.	Old Macdonald Had a Farm 1947 A humorous, winning arrangement first played and recorded by the Boston Pops.	The Penny-Whistle Song 1951 Three flutes are featured. This merry song speaks - and sings - for itself!
The Phantom Regiment 1951 A nameless body of soldiers approaches from the distance to the sound of trumpets. As they draw nearer the music grows louder and louder, and finally they march away into the distance.	Plink, Plank, Plunk! 1951 The string section plays pizzicato throughout this entire piece. This was the theme for the televised game show, "I've Got a Secret," for twenty-four years.	Promenade 1945 Contrasts a brisk walking theme, first heard on solo trumpet, with a flowing middle theme carried by the strings.
Sandpaper Ballet 1954 Recreates the old days of vaudeville when soft-shoe dancers spread sand on stage. Three grades of sandpaper are used.	Saraband 1948 The 18th century sarabande dance is updated with the flavor of a foxtrot in this combination of past and present.	Serenata 1947 The melodic and harmonic material shift in texture, key and mode, as an infectious Latin rhythm is played throughout. This has entered the jazz repertoire, being adapted by both vocalists and instrumentalists.
Sleigh Ride 1948 The Christmas classic was composed during a July heat wave while Anderson lived in Woodbury, Connecticut. Words were added by Mitchell Parish in 1950, who also added words to six other Anderson works after they became popular.	Song of Jupiter The aria "Where'er You Walk", from Handel's oratorio "Semele", has been transcribed preserving the style and character of Handel's music.	Song of the Bells 1951 The middle section of this waltz contains something rarely heard: a duet between chimes and bells. The flowing musical themes show why Anderson has been called one of our greatest melodists.
Suite of Carols for Brass Choir 1955 Selections: While by my Sheep; In Dulci Jubilo: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming: I Saw Three Ships: From Heaven High I Come to You; We Three Kings of Orient are; March of the Kings	Suite of Carols for String Orchestra 1955 Anderson carefully chose six carols and gave them rich, typically Anderson string writing. Selections: Pastores a Belen; It Came Upon the Midnight Clear; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella; Away in a Manger; Wassail Song.	Suite of Carols for Woodwind Ensemble 1955 Selections: Angels in Our Fields; O Sanctissima; O Come, O Come Emmanuel; O Come Little Children: Coventry Carol; Patapan
Summer Skies 1953 An unabashed romance, the chromatic nature of the tune notwithstanding, this conveys a strong nostalgic urge, a relaxed happiness.	The Syncopated Clock 1945 Written while Anderson was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. This piece was the theme music for "The Late Show" on WCBS-TV for over 25 years.	Ticonderoga March 1945 Leroy Anderson's only work written for concert band.
A Trumpeter's Lullaby 1945 Written at the request of Roger Voisin, then principal trumpet of the Boston Pops Orchestra. He asked for a trumpet work that wasn't the usual loud trumpet piece. In this recording Harry Freistadt plays the trumpet solo.	The Typewriter 1950 A famous piece in which an actual typewriter is the solo "instrument", this continues to be used as a theme on radio, usually for news broadcasts.	The Waltzing Cat 1950 Anderson has described an imaginary animal that might be the brother of Puss in Boots. Like a stately cavalier, this feline gentleman dances to a graceful melody constructed on the strings playing the meowing of a cat.

Mitchell Parish wrote lyrics to seven of Leroy Anderson's compositions.