A Romantic Symphony

<b>Howard Hanson's previously unpublished autobiography is now compiled and edited from manuscript sources providing valuable insight into the life and work of this important American musician and educator.</b><br><br>Howard Hanson was an American composer conductor and educator. Following his retirement as director of the Eastman School of Music he worked intermittently for about a half-dozen years on an autobiography before abandoning the project. <i>A Romantic Symphony: The Autobiography of Howard Hanson</i> has been compiled and edited from various manuscript sources and now published as a valuable source of information concerning a man of wide influence in the music world of his time.<br><br>Although an important composer it is perhaps as an educator and advocate for American music that he should be most remembered. His early efforts to establish criteria for the Bachelor of Music curriculum and later for the development of a professional doctorate in music were among his most notable achievements. Of equal importance however was his support for the work of fellow American composers through his annual American Composers' Concerts and Festivals of American Music which gave these composers opportunities to hear live performances of their works often for the first time. Equally significant were Hanson's many recordings of American music that were issued on the RCA Victor Columbia and Mercury labels over a period of more than three decades. Hanson's autobiography is an important addition to our knowledge understanding and appreciation of this important figure in American music.