Copland: Billy the Kid / Rodeo

Aaron Copland (Composer), Leonard Slatkin (Conductor), St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
• Composer: Aaron Copland
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Angel Records / EMI
• ASIN: B000002RO5
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,515 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Billy the Kid, ballet

2. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Buckaroo Holiday

3. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Corral Nocturne

4. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Piano Interlude & Saturday Night Waltz

5. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Hoe-Down

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way Out West, August 15, 2002

By 

Erik North (San Gabriel, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Copland: Billy the Kid / Rodeo (Audio CD)

I respectfully disagree with the previous reviewer regarding conductor Leonard Slatkin's recordings of Copland's two Old West ballets in their complete form. Slatkin and his great St. Louis Symphony bring out Copland's vivid impressions of frontier life in these incredible 1985 recordings which don't sound dated any more than Bernstein's 1960s recordings of the suites.

It is refreshing to hear the honky-tonk piano that serves as a pre-amble to "Rodeo"'s famous "Saturday Night Waltz" (itself derived from the old western ballad "Old Paint"); and the little additions to the celebrated "Hoe-Down" that concludes the CD. The complete "Billy The Kid" score, though not bracketed by section, is equally stunning and brilliantly performed.

In listening to this music, it is easy to see how they served as the model for many a western film score in the future. Composers such as Jerome Moross (THE BIG COUNTRY), John Williams (THE COWBOYS), Jerry Goldsmith (HOUR OF THE GUN), Jerry Fielding (THE WILD BUNCH; LAWMAN), Bruce Broughton (SILVERADO; TOMBSTONE), and especially Elmer Bernstein (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN), owe a great debt to Copland for having developed this form of musical Americana. Slatkin and his orchestra demonstrate why that is so.

5.0 out of 5 stars Slatkin's Rodeo, January 19, 2012

By 

J. Bynum (the southwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Copland: Billy the Kid / Rodeo (Audio CD)

Aaron Copland

Leonard Slatkin
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

- Billy The Kid
- Rodeo

(EMI - DDD - 1986 CD)

Slatkin's Billy the Kid is very good but I perfer Copland's own version from the "Copland conducts Copland" album. However, Slatkin's version of Rodeo is excellent and it is the main reason for buying this CD. Five Stars

5.0 out of 5 stars Sterling, February 7, 2009

By 

David Saemann - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Copland: Billy the Kid / Rodeo (Audio CD)

It is great to hear the complete scores of these two ballets. There is little doubt that Copland knew what he was doing when he prepared the two suties from these ballets, but all the music is good and there is much to be said for hearing the greatest hits from these two scores in their proper proportions. The 1985 sound engineering on this disc is almost demonstration quality. The producer was the excellent, lamented Joanna Nickrenz (whose daughter is the pianist of the Eroica Trio). A then state of the art JVC digital recorder was used, and microphoning seems to have been kept to a minimum. The result is beautifully balanced sound, with a terrific dynamic range. The sound does great justice to Slatkin's interpretations. He has a wonderful sense of the French quality of these scores in the spareness of their orchestrations and the elegance of the melodic writing. Those accustomed to Bernstein's high voltage performances may find Slatkin somewhat subdued. Nevertheless, Slatkin's take on this music really grows on you, and I think it is the best approach for repeated listening. The playing of the St. Louis Symphony, as an ensemble and by the first chairs, is simply outstanding. If there are essential Copland recordings, this CD is one of them.