Copland Greatest Hits

( 4 )

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Bruce Eder
There are about a dozen collections like this available on CD, and most of them are even similarly titled. But this one truly lives up to its name, not only because of its range -- reaching out not only to the most familiar of Copland's popular compositions, but also to his lesser known (but equally worthy) concert pieces, such as "Quiet City" -- but also for going into oft-neglected corners of the Sony Classical library, as well as into the newly linked BMG Classical (formerly RCA Victor) library. Even the moments that might well be weak, involving the composer's own recordings of his work -- Copland was never noted as a terribly skilled conductor, and lacked an ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Bruce Eder
There are about a dozen collections like this available on CD, and most of them are even similarly titled. But this one truly lives up to its name, not only because of its range -- reaching out not only to the most familiar of Copland's popular compositions, but also to his lesser known (but equally worthy) concert pieces, such as "Quiet City" -- but also for going into oft-neglected corners of the Sony Classical library, as well as into the newly linked BMG Classical (formerly RCA Victor) library. Even the moments that might well be weak, involving the composer's own recordings of his work -- Copland was never noted as a terribly skilled conductor, and lacked an assistant/associate of the caliber of Robert Craft (who performed that function for Igor Stravinsky on the latter's post-1950 recordings of his own work) -- have been carefully selected for their quality. And the result is not only Copland's greatest hits, but also, arguably, within the context of a two-label anthology, the best of Aaron Copland. Michael Tilson Thomas' "Fanfare for the Common Man" starts things off, and then we move on to one of the finest of Copland's own recordings, "El Salon Mexico" with the New Philharmonia. Then it's on to some popular excerpts, Simple Gifts from "Appalachian Spring" (John Williams/Boston Pops), "Hoe-Down" from "Rodeo" (Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic), Copland's own "Billy the Kid" excerpts with the London Philharmonic, and The Promise of Living from the composer's oft-forgotten late-'50s Boston Symphony Orchestra recording of the suite from "The Tender Land." Williams and the Boston Pops make a return appearance for "Quiet City, for strings, trumpet, and English horn," with solos by Tim Morrison and Laurence Thorstenberg; Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony are represented on Grovers Corners from "Our Town"; and pianist Leo Smit takes us "Down a Country Lane," an early Copland piece intended for solo keyboard or school orchestra. The main body of the collection finishes with Carl Sandburg's reading of the "Lincoln Portrait," accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under André Kostelanetz (who commissioned the piece). One of the jewels of the Columbia Masterworks library, this recording was neglected for decades in favor of those with better known speakers such as Henry Fonda and Gregory Peck; in fact, Sandburg's recording is one of the three best ever heard (the others being by William Warfield, a Grammy-winning recording that has never reappeared on CD, and Katharine Hepburn), and given Sandburg's scholarly and professional connections to Lincoln, carries cultural resonances far beyond those of his voice. Recorded in 1958 and originally paired on LP with similar American-themed works by Howard Hanson and Samuel Barber, this recording was previously relegated to a comparatively obscure, more scholarly oriented double-CD anthology, and to a 2006 compilation called The Aaron Copland Collection; perhaps between that CD and this, it can now get properly rediscovered. As "bonus tracks" (how does one append "bonus tracks" to a collection that never previously existed and, thus, never had a basic form?), the producers have included "Hoe-Down" as done, in a decidedly playful manner, by percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the National Philharmonic Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth, and the same piece as performed with electric amplification by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. And they both fit perfectly into the collection. The sound quality is also excellent, the makers obviously having used the latest remasterings on all of the vintaqe material, and achieved a good balance in material ranging across more than three decades of recording. The flow of material is sublimely exquisite, as on the gossammer-textured transitions from "Quiet City" to the opening section of "Our Town," through the equally subtle shift to "Down a Country Lane"'s solo piano, and into "A Lincoln Portrait," then onto the more modern appended interpretations of "Hoe-Down." And there's even some spare though decent annotation, not always a given on budget-priced collections.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 3/24/2009
  • Label: Sony Classics
  • UPC: 886974256021
  • Catalog Number: 742560
  • Sales rank: 8,338

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Fanfare for the Common Man, for brass & percussion (from Symphony No. 3) - Aaron Copland & Michael Tilson Thomas (3:08)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byMichael Tilson Thomas
    Performed byMichael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony
  2. 2 El Salón México, for orchestra - Aaron Copland & Aaron Copland (11:31)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byAaron Copland
    Performed byAaron Copland, New Philharmonia Orchestra
  3. 3 Appalachian Spring, concert suite for full orchestra: Simple Gifts - Aaron Copland & John Williams [composer] (5:41)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byJohn Williams [composer]
    Performed byJohn Williams [composer], Boston Pops Orchestra
  4. 4 Rodeo, ballet: Hoe-Down - Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copland (3:12)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byLeonard Bernstein
    Performed byLeonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic
  5. 5 Billy the Kid, ballet: Celebration After Billy's Capture - Aaron Copland & Aaron Copland (2:15)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byAaron Copland
    Performed byAaron Copland, London Symphony Orchestra
  6. 6 Billy the Kid, ballet: The Open Prairie Again - Aaron Copland & Aaron Copland (1:48)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byAaron Copland
    Performed byAaron Copland, London Symphony Orchestra
  7. 7 The Tender Land, suite from the opera: The Promise of Living - Aaron Copland & Aaron Copland (5:45)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byAaron Copland
    Performed byAaron Copland, Boston Symphony Orchestra
  8. 8 Quiet City, for English horn, trumpet & strings (from the incidental music) - Aaron Copland & John Williams [composer] (10:38)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byJohn Williams [composer]
    Performed byJohn Williams [composer], Boston Pops Orchestra
  9. 9 Our Town, suite from the film score for orchestra: Grover's Corner - Aaron Copland & Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (2:24)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byLeonard Slatkin
    Performed bySaint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
  10. 10 Down a Country Lane, for piano (or school orchestra) - Aaron Copland & Roxanne Slimak (2:07)
    Composed byAaron Copland
  11. 11 Lincoln Portrait, for speaker & orchestra - Aaron Copland & New York Philharmonic (13:56)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byAndré Kostelanetz
    Performed byNew York Philharmonic, André Kostelanetz, Carl Sandburg
  12. 12 Rodeo, ballet: Hoe-Down - Aaron Copland & Evelyn Glennie (2:48)
    Composed byAaron Copland
    Conducted byBarry Wordsworth
    Performed byEvelyn Glennie, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
  13. 13 Rodeo, ballet: Hoe-Down - Aaron Copland & Roxanne Slimak (4:54)
    Composed byAaron Copland
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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    If you like anything by Aaron Copeland . . .

    You'll want to have this album in your library. It samples his many works, but provides whole sections or dances that are very inspiring. The recording is crisp and well defined. I highly recommend it.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 12, 2009

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    Posted May 30, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews