Aaron Copland: Piano Concerto A. Copland, W. Warfield, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, L. Bernstein, M. Abravanel, A. Doráti

• Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990): Piano Concerto:
• 1Copland: Piano Concerto: I. Andante sostenuto06:49
• 2Copland: Piano Concerto: II. Molto Moderato (molto rubato)09:31
• El Salón México:
• 3Copland: El Salón México10:53
• Appalachian Spring:
• 4Copland: Appalachian Spring: I. Very slowly02:42
• 5Copland: Appalachian Spring: II. Fast - Allegro02:44
• 6Copland: Appalachian Spring: III. Moderato. The Bride and her Intented03:26
• 7Copland: Appalachian Spring: IV. Fast. The Revivalist and his Flock03:51
• 8Copland: Appalachian Spring: V. Allegro. Still faster - Solo dance of the Bride02:49
• 9Copland: Appalachian Spring: VI. As at first. Meno mosso02:21
• 10Copland: Appalachian Spring: VII. Doppio movimento. Calm and flowing. Variations on a shaker Hymn03:19
• 11Copland: Appalachian Spring: VIII. Moderato. Coda03:36
• Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra:
• 12Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: I. The Boatmen's Dance (Minstrel song, 1843)03:16
• 13Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: II. The Dodger (Campaign song)02:07
• 14Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: III. Long Time Ago (Ballad)03:12
• 15Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: IV. Simple Gifts (Shaker song)01:46
• 16Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: V. I Bought Me a Cat (Children's song)02:07
• 17Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: VI. The Little Horses (Lullaby)02:58
• 18Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: VII. Zion's Walls (Revivalist song)02:08
• 19Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: VIII The Golden Willow Tree (Anglo-American ballad)03:35
• 20Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: IX. At the River (Hymn tune)03:13
• 21Copland: Old American Songs, for Voice and Orchestra: X. Ching-A-Ring Chaw (Minstrel Song)01:32
• Total Runtime01:17:55

Info for Aaron Copland: Piano Concerto

'Appalachian Spring' and 'El Salón Mexicó' are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast landscapes, cowboys and pioneer spirit. Yet, in the 20th century perhaps only Stravinsky was as adept in as many styles as Aaron Copland [1900-1990]. His Piano Concerto, first performed by Serge Koussevitsky, is a good example of Copland the modernist but he also wrote chamber music, ballets, operas and film scores, as well as teaching, writing and latterly conducting. The winter of 1950 saw Copland take a break from writing his superlative 'Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson' and, inspired by a Pears and Britten recital in late 1949, he took five of his favourite American songs and arranged them for voice with piano. Pears and Britten liked them so much that they gave the premiere together at the Aldburgh Festival in 1950.

The distinguished black singer William Warfield and the composer gave the American premiere at Town Hall, New York in January 1951. They were so popular that Copland made a second set for Warfield and himself, changing some of the words to avoid racist implications. Both sets are given here. El Salón México RTV1 Salt Lake City 10 Feb 1959, Utah Symphony Orchestra/Maurice Abravanel Appalachian Spring Watford Town Hall, 15-16 June 1961, London Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati Old American Songs New York Manhattan Center, 10-12 January 1962, William Warfield [baritone], Columbia Symphony/Aaron Copland Piano Concerto New York old Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, 13 January 1964, Aaron Copland [piano], New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein

Aaron Copland, piano (Piano Concerto)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Utah Symphony Orchestra (El Salon Mexico)
Maurice Abravanel, conductor
London Symphony Orchestra (Appalachian Spring)
Antal Dorati, conductor
William Warfield, baritone (Old American Songs)
Columbia Symphony
Aaron Copland, conductor

Digitally remastered

Aaron Copland
(1900-1990) is a composer with two faces. On the one hand, there is the artist who wants to express himself clearly and comprehensibly and addresses a large audience with easily accessible works. On the other hand, there is Copland the avant-gardist who builds his works from a few building blocks and writes harsh dissonances when this suits the idea of the composition. What is fascinating about Copland's music is that these two sides of his creative work are not separate from each other, but interpenetrate. Even his works, which are resolutely oriented towards New Music, are clear and comprehensible if one engages with their tonal language. Conversely, his popular pieces such as Appalachian Spring are by no means devoid of inner consistency and are designed with great motivic economy, whereby Copland also incorporates elements of New Music into these compositions. In his work, he combines influences from Jewish music to Anglo and Latin American folk music to jazz with the European tradition, and in this diversity he is a central exponent of American music. Copland left a deep mark on the musical life of the United States not only as a composer, but also as an organiser, publicist and promoter of many other musicians.

Aaron Copland was born on 19 November 1900 in the New York borough of Brooklyn. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania who had become wealthy in New York as operators of a department store. As a child, Aaron Copland was attracted to the piano and invented his first melodies. At the age of 13, he received professional piano lessons, and four years later, composition lessons were added. A stay in Paris from 1921 to 1924, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger and others and became thoroughly familiar with the music of his time, was decisive for his artistic life. Copland had the greatest admiration for Igor Stravinsky, whose work strongly influenced him. On his return to the USA, Copland gave his first major premiere in 1924, that of the Organ Symphony, with Nadia Boulanger as soloist. Although the work met with disapproval in conservative circles, the premiere made the young composer famous in one fell swoop. Over the next ten years, Copland continued to create new, avant-garde works. Some of his compositions are influenced by jazz, but unlike George Gershwin, for example, there are no strong references to the jazz idiom. Among the most important works of this period are the piano trio Vitebsk, which works with quarter tones, and the Variations for piano. At the same time, Copland was committed to the cause of New Music in various organisations, organised concert series and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines.

In the mid-1930s, a turning point in his work began. Copland made it his goal to address the "common man", as one work title puts it, the ordinary person, without becoming shallow or banal. He wrote numerous very successful compositions such as the ballet music Billy the Kid or the orchestral piece El Salón México, in which Copland often makes artful use of folkloristic elements. Copland now also turned to film music and received an Oscar in 1948. With his writings and later also with television broadcasts, he reached a wide audience, among whom he promoted understanding for the New Music. In the 1950s and 60s, Copland added another facet to his oeuvre, creating several unwieldy works in which he made original and undogmatic use of the twelve-tone method. At the age of almost 60, Copland was still embarking on a conducting career which, although centred on his own work, was by no means limited to it. In 1973, Copland, who had to struggle with increasing health problems, gave up composing, but continued to conduct until 1983. He died on 2 December 1990.

Booklet for Aaron Copland: Piano Concerto