"The Grand Canyon Suite" is one of the most popular 20th century American orchestral works. Ferde Grofé's music evokes the majestic grandeur and joyous freedom of the American landscape. Combined with images by Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Don Briggs, they create a the quintessential American Musical travelogue. It consists of five movements: Sunrise, Painted Desert, On the Trail, Sunset and Cloudburst. Briggs has illustrated the music with footage of the Grand Canyon in all its moods, around the year.
DON BRIGGS spent 25 years photographing and filming the Grand Canyon. Having made 65 trips down the Colorado as a river guide, he had the opportunity to capture the Canyon in its many moods. His other films include "River Runners of the Colorado" and "Grand Canyon Mule Ride," also available on DVD.
FERDE GROFÉ began work on the Suite in 1922, but it mostly lay dormant until 1931. During that period he famously orchestrated George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. In 1931 Whiteman asked him to complete the Suite for a winter concert in Chicago, where it premiered on November 22. It has since become a standard piece in the American concert repertoire.
This disc features the performance of the London Festival Orchestra, Stanley Black, conductor, originally released on 4 Phase Stereo, London Records. This film was released in 1997. It won an Emmy Award for single-camera documentary cinematography for filmmaker Don Briggs.
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- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.93 ounces
- Director : Don Briggs
- Media Format : NTSC
- Run time : 32 minutes
- Release date : September 5, 2012
- Writers : Composed by Ferde Grofe
- Number of discs : 1
