The world's greatest recordings at an unbeatable price. Any music fan wanting to discover the full joy and pleasure of classical music can now look no further than Essential Classics: the best music at the best price.

89851 - Available on CD

An all-American maverick

Charles Ives was the first American classical composer to thumb his nose at European traditions. Ives wrote serious but high-spirited music inspired not by Mozart and Beethoven but by the marching bands, parlor songs, hymns and everyday sights and sounds of American life at the turn of the 20th century. Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski lead the Philadelphia Orchestra and American Symphony Orchestra, respectively, for performances of Ives' Symphony No.1 in D Minor, Three Places in New England and the Robert Browning Overture.

Essential Classics is the perfect starting point for any classical collection. Truly the finest recordings of the world's most beautiful music, Essential Classics offers all music fans the opportunity to enjoy classical music at an affordable price.

Essential Classics showcases premier performances. Each release features sterling sound quality, comprehensive liner notes, and a detailed description of the performance on the back of the CD, providing an easy-to-grasp explanation of the significance of those particular works.