The Copland Corral

[springrite]

Seeing how this thread's sudden popularity, I am reminded that it has been 10 years since I last listened to Dance Panels. I will pick it out now...

[Bogey]

Letting this one run:

[Karl Henning]

Letting this one run:

That was the recording which rekindled my affection for the piece,  Bill.

[Bogey]

That was the recording which rekindled my affection for the piece,  Bill.

Its clarity is stunning to say the least, Karl.

[Karl Henning]

Radio saturation had soured me on the piece.  And maybe some time had passed, to clear the ear's palate (to suggest improbable anatomy).  And one slow evening in the Exhibition Shop (which exhibit? Perhaps Hopper, though it were hard to say why the disc would be apt for it) the disc played (one of five in the changer, so it was not my doing) and I heard it again for the first time. I was transfixed.

[kishnevi]

And let the three princes of Serendip be praised!

that is the one I just posted on the Purchases thread, is it not (with different cover)?  I have it on the CD player now.

Clarity is certainly one adjective that can be applied.

[Mirror Image]

And let the three princes of Serendip be praised!

that is the one I just posted on the Purchases thread, is it not (with different cover)?  I have it on the CD player now.

Clarity is certainly one adjective that can be applied.

Yes, the cover featured above is the reissue of the recording you bought, which yours is the original release.

[vandermolen]

I've listened to a few this morning, and will listen to some more later in the day.  Taking a nap to rest up from this cold flu.

Listened to 'Fanfare for the Common Man', 'Quiet City' and 'Music for Movies'.

On deck for later today:  'Lincoln Portrait', 'Appalachian Spring Suite', 'Ceremonial Fanfare', 'El salon Mexico', 'Dance Symphony' and 'Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo'

I will skip the 'Five "Old American Songs"'.  Not my thing.    I particularly cringe at "I Bought Me a Cat". 

Sorry that the Sony box doesn't include 'Symphonic Ode' one of my favourite of the more craggy Copland scores. I have joined the cold/flu fraternity  Hope you get better soon.

[Bogey]

Sorry that the Sony box doesn't include 'Symphonic Ode' one of my favourite of the more craggy Copland scores. I have joined the cold/flu fraternity  Hope you get better soon.

Take two Alexandre Desplats and call me in the morning. 

Feel better.

[vandermolen]

Take two Alexandre Desplats and call me in the morning. 

Feel better.

[Mirror Image]

Sorry that the Sony box doesn't include 'Symphonic Ode' one of my favourite of the more craggy Copland scores. I have joined the cold/flu fraternity  Hope you get better soon.

Yeah, that's a cool work, Jeffrey. I need to revisit it myself at some point. All of those Copland Collections on Sony are essential acquisitions for the Copland fan IMHO.

[vandermolen]

Yeah, that's a cool work, Jeffrey. I need to revisit it myself at some point. All of those Copland Collections on Sony are essential acquisitions for the Copland fan IMHO.

Totally agree 

[kyjo]

Agree with Jeffrey about the "craggy grandeur" of the Symphonic Ode. It's one of Copland's most underrated works I think.

[vandermolen]

Decades ago I noted a very, gripping, powerful and dramatic piece of music which featured in a TV documentary 'Brother can you spare a Dime' about the USA during the Great Depression'. I had subsequently looked out for it. Then I heard it on the radio a few months ago and discovered it was the third section ('Dogmatic') of Aaron Copland's 'Statements' for Orchestra (1934-35).

[kyjo]

Decades ago I noted a very, gripping, powerful and dramatic piece of music which featured in a TV documentary 'Brother can you spare a Dime' about the USA during the Great Depression'. Then I heard it on the radio a few months ago and discovered it was the third section ('Dogmatic') of Aaron Copland's 'Statements' for Orchestra (1934-35).

Interesting, Jeffrey! It's been a while since I've heard Statements.

[Octave]

For those interested, I thought I'd mention that Naxos very recently issued a Blu-Ray audio edition of the Copland/Slatkin/Motown disc that Brian sang praises for on page 7 of the thread.  If this was mentioned elsewhere GMG, I missed it.  It is here:

[asin]B00E3ISIFY[/asin]

His comments on the Slatkin disc quoted below for convenience.  I know not everyone is sold on the BRA format (I wish I could get my BRAs from BRO), but I really thought I could detect a fidelity jump in the Janacek/Wit BRA I got from Naxos.  (Though I wasn't enthusiastic about those performances.) 
The problem is that I am unlikely to buy recordings in two formats just to compare.

[from the listening thread]

This...

[asin]B00CE28SR4[/asin]

...is my new first-choice Rodeo. Note, however, that the cover - and back cover - and booklet - are all somehow mistaken about the contents. This isn't the famous "Four Dance Episodes" suite usually heard, but the full ballet, with an extra movement (Ranch House Party), a new introduction to the Nocturne, and a few superfluous extra passages in the Hoe Down.

I used my MusicWeb Twitter powers to point out Naxos' mistake, and they responded by splitting the digital download/streaming version into 5 tracks instead of 4, and also changed the cover art, including a new picture for some reason:



So three public service announcements:
1. If you see these two cover images, they're the same CD.
2. This IS a complete, uncut Rodeo performance.
3. It is OUTSTANDING. Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony are fully on-point, the solo work's terrific, there are a lot of touches that make me smile (like the way the cellos really dig into the Hoe Down, or a great trombone solo in Buckaroo Holiday, or the joyous saloon piano in Ranch House Party), and the recorded sound is excellent. I would definitely consider this (after three listens) my favorite Rodeo.

[lescamil]

Am I the only one here that is a fan of Copland's works that use serial and/or 12 tone techniques? I've listened to the piano/orchestral variations, Connotations, Inscape, and the Piano Fantasy lately. Definitely not the easiest going Copland works, but there's still that expressive voice at work behind all of the hard-edged-ness. I also have a soft spot for the Piano Concerto and Organ Symphony, two early works that don't get a whole lot of attention.

[North Star]

Am I the only one here that is a fan of Copland's works that use serial and/or 12 tone techniques?

Certainly not!

http://www.youtube.com/v/i1-vIw_M-Qg

[Karl Henning]

Am I the only one here that is a fan of Copland's works that use serial and/or 12 tone techniques? I've listened to the piano/orchestral variations, Connotations, Inscape, and the Piano Fantasy lately. Definitely not the easiest going Copland works, but there's still that expressive voice at work behind all of the hard-edged-ness. I also have a soft spot for the Piano Concerto and Organ Symphony, two early works that don't get a whole lot of attention.

Certainly not!

http://www.youtube.com/v/i1-vIw_M-Qg

Likewise!

In fact, I'm listening to Connotations today.

Composers David Diamond and Carlos Chavez were confused initially about what musical form Connotations would take as the work's title seemed to give no clear indication. Chavez in fact told Copland that he found the title too abstract.

"Well, Carlos, just have a Coke and a smile."

[Mirror Image]

I bought this set earlier today:



Do any of you guys own it? What do you think of the music? I haven't one performance of any Copland chamber work in my collection unless we count the original version of Appalachian Spring.