An American Dream? Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra & Barbara Hannigan

• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett):
• 1 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): I. Catfish Row 03:52
• 2 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): II. Clara, Clara 03:05
• 3 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): III. Opening Music - IV. Summertime 04:05
• 4 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): V. I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' - VI. Hurricane Music 04:17
• 5 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): VII. Bess, You Is My Woman Now 04:52
• 6 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture [Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett]: VIII. Picnic Scene (Oh, I Can’t Sit Down) - IX. There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York 05:29
• 7 Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, a Symphonic Picture (Arr. for Orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett): X. It Ain't Necessarily So - XI. Oh Lord, I'm on My Way 03:24
• Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990): Dance Symphony:
• 8 Copland: Dance Symphony: I. Lento - Molto allegro - Adagio molto 07:56
• 9 Copland: Dance Symphony: II. Andante moderato 07:07
• 10 Copland: Dance Symphony: III. Allegro vivo 05:34
• Richard Rodgers (1902 - 1979): The Carousel Waltz (Arr. for Orchestra by Don Walker):
• 11 Rodgers: The Carousel Waltz (Arr. for Orchestra by Don Walker) 09:14
• Billy Barnes (1927 - 2012): At the Fair (Arr. for Orchestra and Voice by Barbara Hannigan and Bill Elliott):
• 12 Barnes: At the Fair (Arr. for Orchestra and Voice by Barbara Hannigan and Bill Elliott): I. Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair? 06:11
• Andrew B. Sterling (1874 - 1955), Richard Rodgers: At the Fair (Arr. for Orchestra and Voice by Barbara Hannigan and Bill Elliott):
• 13 Sterling, Rodgers: At the Fair (Arr. for Orchestra and Voice by Barbara Hannigan and Bill Elliott): II. An American Dream 02:26
• Jule Styne (1905 - 1994): At the Fair:
• 14 Styne: At the Fair: III. Don't Rain on My Parade 03:20
• Total Runtime 01:10:52

Info for An American Dream?

With ‘An American Dream?’, Barbara Hannigan explores the concept of The American Dream. “I grew up in awe of America, but now my feelings are mainly nostalgic. With this repertoire, I want to express my admiration for the incredible creativity and tenacity of composers who shaped a musical language that was truly their own.”

The Canadian conductor and soprano collaborates with her long-time partners, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, on this programme of works by American composers. With ‘the fair’ as a recurring theme across the repertoire, the image on the cover shows a carousel horse that is at a standstill. A pretty, painted object - but the floor is cracked and half the lights are burned out. Nostalgia and memory are mixed with underlying darkness and destruction.

From George Gershwin’s operatic masterpiece about love, addiction, racism, and hope, Robert Russell Bennett’s iconic arrangement Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture is featured. Inspired by watching the silent film Nosferatu at the cinema in Paris in 1925, Aaron Copland composed a ballet which eventually became the vibrant Dance Symphony. The Carousel Waltz (arr. Don Walker) is the overture to the dark-themed Broadway musical Carousel by Richard Rodgers. For the grand finale, Barbara Hannigan reunites with American composer and arranger Bill Elliott in their joint creation, At the Fair. The suite starts with Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair? and concludes with Jule Styne's famous hit Don't Rain on my Parade, both sung by Hannigan. The middle section of the suite is instrumental and includes a multitude of well-known American songs and themes, battling one another for pride of place.

Barbara Hannigan, soprano (track 12, 14), conductor
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Barbara Hannigan
Embodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility, soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is an artist at the forefront of creation. Over more than three decades, she has forged extraordinary artistic partnerships with the world’s foremost musicians, composers, directors and choreographers, including Bertrand Chamayou, John Zorn, Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kirill Petrenko, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Andreas Kriegenburg, Sasha Waltz, Chrisoph Marthaler and Katie Mitchell. The late conductor and pianist Reinbert de Leeuw has been an extraordinary influence and inspiration on her development as a musician.

The Grammy and Juno Award winning Canadian musician has shown a profound commitment to the music of our time and has given the world premiere performances of nearly 100 new creations. Hannigan has collaborated extensively with composers including Boulez, Zorn, Dutilleux, Ligeti, di Castri, Stockhausen, Khayam, Sciarrino, Barry, Dusapin, Dean, Benjamin and Abrahamsen.

Hailed by The New York Times as “...a daring singer and maestro who has built a reputation for innovative programming,” Hannigan combines new and older repertoire in a highly dramatic and authentic manner. Balancing her work as both conductor and soprano, Hannigan maintains long-standing relationships with orchestras including Gothenburg Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and regularly appears with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

One of Hannigan’s signature roles is Elle in Poulenc's opera La Voix Humaine. Having performed the role in a production by Krszysztof Warlikowski and Claus Guth, she also created her own production in which she both sings and conducts from the podium, interacting with live video cameras. The acclaimed production had its premiere with l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and has toured to various orchestras and halls including Copenhagen, Gothenburg, London, Rotterdam, Reykjavik, Montreal, and Munich. In the 2025/26 season she brings it to new audiences with her conducting debuts at the New York Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, and Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, as well as performances in Istanbul with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra.

Recent world premieres include Golfam Khayam's I am not a tale to be told with Iceland and London Symphony Orchestras, John Zorn's Split the Lark and Star Catcher, and Zosha di Castri's In the Half Light with the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras. In 2025/26 season, she premieres The White Book (with text by Nobel laureate Han Kang), composed by Laura Bowler, co-commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony and Copenhagen Philharmonic.

Her ongoing artistic partnership with pianist Bertrand Chamayou continues with recitals (works by Messiaen, Scriabin and Zorn)​ continues, with performances throughout Europe, including Hannigan’s Wigmore Hall debut, as well as orchestral engagements with the acclaimed French musician, and she embarks on another European tour alongside the Belcea String Quartet.

As an acclaimed recording artist, Barbara Hannigan’s fruitful relationship with Alpha Classics began in 2017 with the release of Crazy Girl Crazy, which won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal album, as well as an Edison (The Netherlands) and a Juno (Canada). Five critically acclaimed recordings followed, including Vienna: fin de siècle with pianist Reinbert de Leeuw, La Passione featuring works by Nono, Haydn and Grisey, Infinite Voyage, joining her colleagues of the Emerson String Quartet for their final album, in works of Schoenberg, Hindemith, Berg and Chausson, MESSIAEN featuring works of Olivier Messiaen with pianist Bertrand Chamayou and Electric Fields with pianists Katia et Marielle Labeque ,around the life and music of Hildegard von Bingen with new compositions from David Chalmin and Bryce Dessner. Hannigan Sings Zorn, Volumes One and Two, live recordings of John Zorn’s compositions were released on the label Tzadik in August 2024.

Barbara’s commitment to the younger generation of musicians led her to create the mentoring initiatives Equilibrium Young Artists (2017), and Momentum: our Future Now (2020), both initiatives offering guidance and performing opportunities to young professional artists. She continues her work with emerging artists through masterclasses and her roles as Reinbert de Leeuw Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Creative Associate at the Juilliard School.

Her awards and honours include being a Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Laureate (2026), 2025 Polar Music Prize Laureate, 2025 Musical America Artist of the Year, "Accademico Onorario (Honorary Academician) (2025) at Accademia di Santa Cecilia, the Order of Canada (2016), Officier des Arts et des Lettres in France (2022), and Gramophone Magazine’s 2022 Artist of the Year, Germany's Faust Award (2015), Sweden's Rolf Schock Prize for Musical Arts (2018) and the 2021 Stena Foundation's Cultural Scholarship, Dresdener Musikfestspiele Glashütte Award (2020), Denmark’s Léonie Sonning Music Prize (2021), and Canada's De Hueck and Walford Career Achievement Award (2023).

Barbara resides in Finistère, on the northwest coast of France, looking over an inlet which leads directly across the Atlantic to where she grew up in Waverley, Nova Scotia.

Booklet for An American Dream?