Aaron Copland - Billy the Kid; Rodeo; etc. (Andrew Litton)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland

• (01)      An Outdoor Overture
• (02-12) Billy the Kid, ballet in one act
• (13)      El Salón México
• (14-18) Rodeo, ballet in one act

Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton, conductor

Date: 2015
Label: BIS
http://bis.se/label/bis/copland-billy-the-kid-rodeo

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Review

El Salón México wears well. It made a vivid impression at the ISCM Festival in London in 1938 and brought Copland wider fame and a publisher. Its tunes, as well as those in Billy the Kid and Rodeo, are mostly borrowed but of course brilliantly arranged in Copland’s instantly identifiable settings. His own recording of El Salón from the 1970s are both rhythmically tight and straight but Litton waxes slightly sentimental when the violins have the first lyrical melody. Further, the repetitive clarinet solo close to the end adds smears not in the score or the earlier performances. The same thing happens in the clarinet solos in the Ranch House Party in Rodeo, and there are trombone slides elsewhere. I don’t think Copland would have minded.

The two ballets here have been enormously influential and widely recorded, if not as ubiquitous as they used to be. These are the complete scores. However, they may be more effective as suites rather than the full ballet scores, although the complete Rodeo gives us Andrew Litton himself as a convincing honky-tonk pianist. Tempi in most modern recordings are slightly faster, a bit more driven than Copland’s own choices, but that’s how things are these days. The Outdoor Overture, written for a high-school orchestra – they must have been good – stems from the same pre-war period and is in Copland’s best optimistic vein. Overall, these lively performances make a useful collection.

-- Peter Dickinson, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Nov/Copland_ballets_BIS2164.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/07/copland-billy-the-kid-rodeo-review-crackles-with-cowboy-style-colour
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/b/bis02164a.php
https://www.amazon.com/Copland-Outdoor-Overture-Billy-Mexico/dp/B015P76J5C

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Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor. His works are consider by many to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. He is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately accessible style, such as the ballets Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo, and his Third Symphony. In addition to his famous ballets and orchestral works, he produced music in many other genres including chamber music, vocal works, opera and film scores.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland

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Andrew Litton (born May 16, 1959, New York City) is an American conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School, and holds both undergraduate and Masters degrees in music from Juilliard. He served as music director and principal conductor of Bournemouth Symphony (1988-1994), Dallas Symphony (1994-2006), Bergen Philharmonic (2003-2015), Colorado Symphony (2013-2016) and New York City Ballet (2015-2016). Litton's recordings include a Grammy-winning Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Under Litton, the Dallas Symphony became the first major orchestra to broadcast a live concert via the Internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Litton

http://www.andrewlitton.com/bio/index.html

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