No matter how definitive some recordings of certain works may be, it is absolutely necessary for new recordings of those works to be added to the catalog in order for music to stay alive in the hearts and minds of listeners. In the case of this Naxos disc with Robert Hanson leading the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in works by American composer Aaron Copland, the definitive recordings come from the composer himself, who taped all the works included here either for RCA or Columbia. And though in every case Copland's own ...
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No matter how definitive some recordings of certain works may be, it is absolutely necessary for new recordings of those works to be added to the catalog in order for music to stay alive in the hearts and minds of listeners. In the case of this Naxos disc with Robert Hanson leading the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in works by American composer Aaron Copland, the definitive recordings come from the composer himself, who taped all the works included here either for RCA or Columbia. And though in every case Copland's own recordings are superior, this disc still ought to be heard by anyone who loves the music. Copland's recording of the orchestral suite from his opera The Tender Land with the Boston Symphony is both warmer and richer in tone than this one, but Hanson and the Illinois musicians clearly love the music and their affection shows in their big-hearted performance. Similarly, though Copland's recording of the Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist and Leonard Bernstein leading the New York...
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Aaron Copland (1900 -- 1990) was a composer of diverse musical styles and a distinctively American musical voice. His reputation is secure as one of the most beloved of American composers. Copland is deservedly well-represented in the Naxos "American Classics" series, which has allowed me over the years to get to know more about American art music. This CD, released in 2008, presents three important Copland works, the Piano Concerto of 1926, the orchestral suite from the Tender Land, and Old American Songs. The CD features a uniquely American orchestra -- the Elgin Symphony. Located 40 miles north of Chicago, Elgin, with a population of under 100,000 boasts this outstanding orchestra. Founded in 1950, the Elgin Symphony became a professional orchestra in 1985. Robert Hanson, who conducts the Orchestra on this CD, has been its music director since then. It is a joy to find a local professional orchestra of the caliber of the Elgin Symphony. I think Copland would have loved this ensemble.
Copland's two-movement piano concerto, his only work in the genre is an early work which is rarely performed. Pianist Benjamin Pasternak, who has recorded Copland's solo piano music for Naxos, Copland: Piano Sonata; Piano Fantasy joins the Elgin Symphony and Hanson. Copland's piano concerto may have been influenced by Gershwin's piano concerto composed two years earlier. It is a highly rhythmical, work which makes heavy use of blues and jazz themes especially in the piano set against a background of more traditional music in the orchestral part. The orchestral writing is heavily weighted towards the winds. After a brief orchestral introduction, the piano part in the first movement is slow and distinctively blues-like. The second, longer movement, follows without pause and it has a much jazzier, sharply rhythmic feel. The blusey theme of the opening movement returns before a virtuosic, flamboyant close to this short concerto of under 17 minutes.
Copland later said that he thought that the piano concerto had done all that could be done in a classical composition with jazz and the blues, given what he described as "their limited emotional scope." He found the need to expand his American musical vocabulary beyond the scope of "the blues and the snappy number."
Copland's The Tender Land suite is drawn from his 1954 opera of the same name which is set in the harshness of the American plains in the 1930. I had the rare opportunity to see the opera performed live by a small amateur group some years ago. The Suite that Copland created captures the American idiom more successfully than does the opera. It receives a winning performance from the Elgin Symphony. The opening movement features a lengthy slow love theme derived from the opera's final act. The second movement is a rousing party scene and the finale, with which it is interconnected, offers an optimistic paean to "The Promise of Living."
The best-known work on this CD is Copland's "Old American Songs", composed in two sets of five songs in 1950 and 1952. Copland originally wrote these songs, based upon traditional American texts and musical themes, for piano and voice and then orchestrated them for solo voice and orchestra. Among other recordings, there is a fine version by Thomas Hampson. Aaron Copland: Old American Songs The version performed here is itself an arrangement as Copland's music for solo voice and orchestra has been modified to include a choral part. The St Charles singers are featured on this reading together with baritone Nathaniel Stampley assisted in one song by tenor Jeffery Hunt. The chorus sings exhuberantly, but I would have preferred Copland's original way with the score. The first two songs of the sets "The Boatment's Dance" and "The Doger" receive the liveliest, most convincing performances. But the highlight of these songs is the Shaker song "Simple Gifts", which Copland made famous in his "Appalachian Spring" ballet. The choral setting for this work here is poignantly beautiful.
This CD offers a spirited introduction to some less familiar music of Copland performed by a homespun American orchestra. The liner notes include the complete texts of the "Old American Songs".
