CD REVIEW
– COPLAND : ORCHESTRAL WORKS
4 – SYMPHONIES
BBC Philharmonic
/John Wilson
Chandos CHSA 5222
(66:09)
Aaron Copland
(1900-90) devotees will no doubt
have been waiting for this
release – the last in a
series – recorded in March
this year at MediaCityUK,
Salford. I favourably reviewed
the first here in January 2016,
devoted as it was to the
composer's popular ballet music.
There have
subsequently been two further
albums of his lesser-known
symphonies and shorter works,
with this being the third. His
most imposing orchestral work,
the Third Symphony,
[written in 1944-46 and dedicated
to the memory of the famous
conductor Serge Koussevitzky's
second wife], was described by
the Russian maestro as the
greatest of all American
symphonies. It is certainly the
best-known, particularly for
Copland's inclusion of a reworked
version of his Fanfare for
the Common Man in the
finale. It was backed by
Bernstein and is performed here
in its original form.
There are three
shorter works. The pastoral Letter
from Home (5:40) was written
in 1944 for a radio dance
orchestra fronted by the
legendary Paul Whiteman. Down
A Country Lane (2:17) from
20 years later is an arrangement
for school orchestra of an
original piano piece, and
received its first performance at
London's Royal Festival Hall
directed by the noted music
educator Ernest Read.
The album opens
with Connotations
(18:42) dedicated in 1962 to
members of the New York
Philharmonic and their MD,
Leonard Bernstein. Unlike
Copland's earlier music, it is
not recognised for its
tunefulness.
The highly
regarded John Wilson has obvious
feeling for this composer's music
and, as ever, the Northern-based
orchestra play very well for him.
If you are not into Copland, this
album is a fine all-round
production with splendid sound
that deserves being given a
hearing.
© 2018
Peter Burt
|
