Copland: The Populist:

The year 2000 marks the centenary for Aaron Copland, and what better conductor to bring his best-loved Americana compositions into the next millennium than Michael Tilson Thomas? On his follow-up to 1996's Copland: The Modernist disc, the forward-thinking conductor leads the San Francisco Symphony through Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, and Rodeo--three well-worn compositions steeped in Americana and virtually owned by Leonard Bernstein on a now legendary single disc. But Tilson Thomas doesn't try to compete with Bernstein, instead giving these works an inventive, impressionistic reading all his own. He adds a noirish color to the introduction of Billy the Kid, a perfect contrast to the work's folksier elements. On the opening of Appalachian Spring, Tilson Thomas's unhurried timings create a sense of suspense (not bad for a work we've all heard dozens of times!). And, thanks to great recording techniques by RCA Victor, Rodeo is a rollicking good time that you'll want to crank up on the stereo. Sure, we've all heard these pieces before, but Tilson Thomas makes them sound fresh again. Great stuff. --Jason Verlinde Amazon.com

A larger-than-life treatment of Copland's cultural icons

Before lavishing too much praise upon these recordings, I should say that I'm one of the few who actually prefers the original pared-down (or 'pit') orchestration for Appalachian Spring. Copland was an exceedingly efficient and deliberate composer (always looking for 'the note that costs,' as his teacher Nadia Boulanger directed) and there's great beauty in Copland's ability to make such fabulous, expansive music with limited voices and resources. It's also worth having a quick read through the plot lines to these three ballets (as it's easy to forget, now, that that was their original purpose) to really get a feel for what Copland and his collaborators were going for. That said, these pieces that sounded lowbrow and reprehensibly populist to many of Copland's contemporaries have enjoyed ever-expanding fame and high regard, to the extent that they have 'grown,' in a sense, from small ballets into cultural icons--the 'music of America'--and it is this image, I think, that Tilson Thomas is working with. Expansive in every sense of the word, these are big, loud, exciting performances. Appalachian Spring emotes like the best of movie scores and 'Hoe Down' here is blazingly fast compared to others--it's clear that Tilson Thomas and the SFO were enjoying themselves. Copland might well have been pleased--it appears that he never put much stock in the idea of a 'definitive' performance, and loved a good time as much as the next guy. If you're looking for 'strict' authenticity, there's always Copland conducting Copland. But for an emotionally charged and invested (and very well played and recorded) Copland album--the type you might play in the car in the windows down--Tilson Thomas has just the ticket. August 8, 2007

Great Performance

This is a superb recording. The music making is exciting and inspired. Thomas has insight into how this music is to be played, and he gets a wonderful, enthusiastic, splashy reading of it from the S.F. Symphony that brings out the joy, the nuance, the breadth and the full texture of Copland's splendid writing. It's a great CD and simply the best rendition of these American masterpieces that I've ever heard. January 24, 2007

Copland the great American composer

An excellent performance of a series of Aaron Copland's most famous works. I was most interested in Copland's work with Martha Graham, and this recording aided my class presentation on their joint endeavors. January 5, 2007

Three Aaron Copland Works: The New Gold Standard Recording

Aaron Copland is a composer who seems to flow in and out of favor with the critics but remains in the bloodstream of American audiences. This recording by Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony offers three of Copland's most familiar masterpieces in performances that truly underline the genius that was Aaron Copland. Given that many conductors, not the least of which includes Leonard Bernstein, Thomas Schippers, and Marin Alsop, have given superb performances of each of these ballets, it may sound presumptuous to claim that this Tilson Thomas recording is the Gold Standard. But just listen to the energy of performances and the quality of interpretation and recording and see if you're not hearing these pieces anew.

MTT draws exceptionally fine playing from his SFO and his tutelage with Leonard Bernstein is apparent. But MTT has extensively studied these scores and has his own opinions - opinions that make the works each more solid and sound. 'Billy the Kid' has all the combination of menace and danger of the tale but also manages to bounce into wildly exuberant dancing. The four episodes from 'Rodeo' are full of fire and vixen and celebration and elegant writing. But for this listener the finest achievement is in MTT's choice of recording the full ballet 'Appalachian Spring' and not for the original 'chamber (read 'pit') orchestra', but instead for the full orchestral version that allows more color, more sensitivity in sparring orchestral choirs, and in more radiant innocence and beauty of tone. This is a stunning achievement and one by which all other performances and recordings must be judged.

For those whose library already holds individual recordings of these Copland works, this triad is a must. For those who have liked but have never taken Copland seriously, the experience of these performances will alter the appreciation of Aaron Copland as one of the populist masters of the last century. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, June 06 June 17, 2006

Copland Concert

Featured on this CD is the entire Appalachian Spring ballet, Billy the Kid ballet suite, and four dance episodes from the Rodeo ballet. All are masterpieces presented with an entirely new interpretation by Michael Tilson Thomas.

With Billy the Kid, Aaron Copland's future is written for him, a composer whose music evokes rural Americana. The opening introduction where he depicts "The Open Prairie", his sound is born, large spacings of octaves, fifths, and fourths give an expansive panoramic feeling. The other parts of the suite are represented: "Street in a Frontier Town", "Mexican Dance and Finale", "Prairie Night" (Card Game at Night), "Gun Battle", "Celebration" (after Billy's capture), "Billy's Death", and ending with "The Open Prairie". All are depicted with soaring strings, chatty woodwinds, blazing brass, and a battery of percussion. Appalachian Spring is a pioneer celebration around a newly built farmhouse and a young couple about to tie the knot. Of course, the famous Shaker Tune is in this, but split up by a dance sequence, and the entire work ends rather peacefully. Sounds of his opera "The Heartland" can be heard here, as well as Copland's great driving rhythms. The Rodeo dance episodes include Buckaroo Holiday, Corral Nocturne, Saturday Night Waltz, and the famous Hoedown. Copland's great writing of melodies (all catchy), interesting harmonies and orchestrations, and those fabulous driving rhythms are the apex of his American sound, all played in Rodeo within a relatively short amount of time.

All the music is played excellently by the San Francisco Symphony. Michael Tilson Thomas gives a cerebral and intelligent interpretation, but never gives way to sentimentality or overt drama. I think that is all that is missing from these works is a little extra drama. This makes Leonard Bernstein's version of all the suites a slightly better buy. That and Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring are on only one track (30 minute works). Not a bad CD by any accounts, it is easy to recommend after the Bernstein. November 2, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...