Schuman, American Festival Overture

When William Schumann (1910-1992) wrote his "American Festival Overture" for Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he already ranked among the young generation of leading American composers. Koussevitzky led the premiere on 4 October 1939. It was the opening work of two concerts given as part of a festival season of American music. The work sparkles with energy and spontaneity, with a kind of undefeatable American optimism that conquers listeners with its charm and spirit to this day. Leonard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in this performance recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1976.