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John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."
In the thirties, Anderson attended Harvard and led the university band, where his work came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler. During the Second World War, he was a translator and intelligence officer, working at the Pentagon on Scandinavian intelligence matters. His entire musical output consists of a few score short orchestral pieces, a piano concerto, and the musical Goldilocks.
His pieces, and his recordings during the fifties directing a studio orchestra, were immense commercial successes. Blue Tango, was the first instrument recording ever to sell a million copies. His most famous pieces are probably Sleigh Ride and The Syncopated Clock, both of which are instantly recognizable to millions of people. His music continues to be a staple of "pops" orchestra repertoire.
Anderson wrote his Piano Concerto in C in 1953, but withdrew it feeling that it had weak spots. In 1988 Erich Kunzel and the Rochester Pops Orchestra released the first recording of this work; some structural weaknesses are evident, but the fact that other recordings have since been released shows that it is more than a curiosity.
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