John Philip Sousa, known affectionately as “The March King”, personified turn-of-the-century America, the comparative innocence and brash energy of a still new nation. His ever-touring band represented America across the globe and brought music to hundreds of American towns. This Naxos series of recordings aims to record Sousa’s complete works for wind band, including the 136 marches and numerous other scores. Featured on this fourth disc in the series are two of Sousa’s best loved and finest marches, The Glory of the Yankee Navy, based on material from a musical comedy, and The Stars and Stripes Forever, the official national march of the United States and universally acknowledged as a masterpiece in its own right.