Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man; Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis [Hybrid SACD] [HYBRID SACD - DSD]

Aaron Copland (Composer), Paul Hindemith (Composer), Louis Lane (Conductor), Robert Shaw (Conductor), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Louis Lane, Robert Shaw
• Composer: Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith
• Audio CD (November 23, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B0006A9GN6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,371 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Fanfare for the Common Man, for brass & percussion (from Symphony No. 3)

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'): Saturday Night Waltz

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

6. Appalachian Spring, concert suite for full orchestra

7. Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, for orchestra: I. Allegro

8. Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, for orchestra: II. Turandot, Scherzo

9. Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, for orchestra: III. Andantino

10. Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, for orchestra: IV. Marsch

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Leonard Slatkin, who has done such outstanding service for American music, upholds the Copland tradition with potent, sympathetically argued accounts of the big ballets. The performances by the Saint Louis Symphony could hardly be bettered, and the recordings stand out for their solid sound as well. Slatkin does both Billy the Kid and Rodeo in full, restoring some delightful music in both scores that is missed when only the suites are presented. In Rodeo, for example, it comes as a delicious surprise to hear the Saloon-piano interlude before the "Saturday Night Waltz"--and Slatkin insists on an out-of-tune upright--just the right touch. These are idiomatic, persuasive accounts, thrilling in their buildups and potent in their climaxes. Even Appalachian Spring is done in full, though in its version for full orchestra. The treatment here is gentle, and while Slatkin generates less voltage than Bernstein, his reading has nobility and an engaging warmth. The recordings were made at a rather low level, but have a wonderful ambience and extraordinary dynamic range. Unfortunately, the individual scenes of both Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring are not separately banded. --Ted Libbey

Product Description

This disc presents superb new recordings of two Copland masterpieces–the original version of the "Appalachian Spring Suite" and the jazz-influenced "Music for the Theater". Conductor Steven Richman and His Harmonie Ensemble/New York have a long history with these two works. In 1980, in celebration of his 80th birthday, Aaron Copland conducted the Harmonie Ensemble in the "Appalachian Spring Suite" and worked closely with conductor Richman and the Harmonie Ensemble on a performance of "Music for the Theater". In 1957, Copland began work on a violin concerto for Isaac Stern. The project never reached fruition, but in 1986, Phillip Ramey and Bennett Lerner, with the composer's assistance, found that the sketches yielded the "Two Ballads" with almost no changes. Eugene Drucker, violinist of the Emerson Quartet, performs, accompanied by pianist Diane Walsh. Mr. Drucker is then joined by fellow Emerson Quartet member, violist Lawrence Dutton, in a reading of Copland's rarely performed and unpublished "Elegies". This somber work, composed in Mexico in 1932, was written in response to the suicide of the poet Hart Crane. Perhaps the most unusual recording on this disc is legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini's own transcription of Copland's popular "El Salón México", given its premiere recording here. Made in 1942, undoubtedly to familiarize the conductor with the piece, Toscanini's manuscript was given to Copland by Walter Toscanini, the conductor's son, in 1961. Mr. Richman discovered the arrangement while researching in the Toscanini Archive in New York. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 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: Aaron 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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Excellent CD, January 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Copland: Appalachian Spring; The Tender Land (Orchestral Suite); Billy the Kid (Ballet Suite) (Audio CD)

This CD gives you two of Aaron Copland's most popular ballets, with Appalachian Spring being a performance conducted by the composer himself. Both Copland and Ormandy give wonderful readings of both works and the Boston Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra are excellent. This CD also includes a wonderful performance of a work that I feel is often unfairly neglected, the Tenderland Suite. In my opinion, this is some of Copland's best and most beautiful music, and the conductor's excellent reading with the Boston Symphony deserves to be listened to.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good program, performances are mixed, January 26, 2006

By	smarticus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Copland: Appalachian Spring (Suite); Short Symphony (Symphony No. 2); Quiet City; Three Latin American Sketches (Audio CD)

Although it does use the original instrumentation (flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, and strings), this is not the original Appalachian Spring -- it is the chamber version of the -suite-. The suite cuts about 10 minutes of good material from the original, resulting in a 'lite' edition that is not necessarily an improvement. If the 'simple gifts' section, particularly its 'climax', strikes you as a bit overblown, you will prefer the full work, which puts this section in a different context. (There are chamber and orchestral versions of both the suite and the full ballet. Most recorded performances are the orchestral suite. If you are interested in the full chamber version I recommend the Copland-conducted performance on Sony: Copland conducts Copland or A Copland Celebration Vol. 1, for the full orchestral version Tilson-Thomas on RCA: Copland: Appalachian Spring; Billy the Kid; Rodeo or Aaron Copland: The Essence of America.)

The selection of pieces here gives a pretty good cross section of Copland's work, with the Latin American sketches representing his lighter side and parts of the Short Symphony hinting at the sound of his more 'difficult' works, with the other two falling somewhere between. The Symphony famously has some tricky rhythms in parts, but is not an off-puttingly complex piece by any means. It would be inaccurate to describe it as 'twelve-tonish' -- for what it's worth, the melodies and harmonies (including the dissonances) are largely diatonic. It is similar to neoclassical Stravinsky, but less emotionally oblique. Copland considered it to be one of his best works. The score used here is an arrangement for chamber orchestra by Dennis Russell Davies, which doesn't sound very different from the original. There is also the Sextet, Copland's own chamber arrangement of the piece. (If you are interested in the original orchestral version I recommend Tilson-Thomas on RCA Copland the Modernist or Aaron Copland: The Essence of America.)

As for the performances, the OCO is a very 'professional' sounding group, which implies negatives as well as positives. As far as technical execution, they are very capable -- where I find them sometimes lacking is in the expressivity department, due to glib phrasing and (usually rushed) glossing over of the more complicated rhythms. I think they are generally more successful in lighter fare, such as the Latin American sketches (the best performance here), where the musicians don't have to internalize the music so much. I don't know if this has something to do with the fact that the group has no full-time director, but I suspect it might. This shortage of involvement doesn't completely cripple Copland's music, which is already warmly communicative, but the group's Stravinsky, for example, is quite dry and, critically, lacking in rhythmic precision.

Overall, if you are interested in hearing these pieces in a chamber setting or are a fan of this ensemble, this is worth getting, but it's not an essential Copland recording (otherwise it would probably still be in print).