Aaron Copland - Rodeo; Dance Panels (Leonard Slatkin)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland

• (01) Rodeo (Complete Ballet)
• (06) Dance Panels - A Ballet in Seven Sections
• (13) El Salón México
• (14) Danzón Cubano

Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559758

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Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH

The original cover art for this album said that it came with Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, the suite which has become famous in concert-halls all over the globe, ending as it does with Copland's most famous piece, the Hoe Down. This is actually the complete Rodeo, meaning there's five minutes of bonus material, including extra passages in the Nocturne and Hoe Down and an entirely new dance (making five) called Ranch House Party.

The original, misleading cover shipped to many stores, but Naxos rushed in a corrected cover saying Rodeo (Complete Ballet) on the internet. The digital copy (I downloaded MP3s from ClassicsOnline for this review) still comes with an uncorrected booklet. So If you see two CDs with different covers advertising the Detroit Symphony and Leonard Slatkin playing Rodeo, they are in fact identical.

Confusion over the release of this CD shouldn't distract us from another, happier truth: this is a fantastic complete Rodeo. It's rare enough to hear the full piece, and then add flawless conducting by Leonard Slatkin - who's recorded the piece several times before - and inspired solo work by the trombone, bassoons and even basses. The saloon-style upright piano solo in Ranch House Party, which sounds ripped from Blazing Saddles, is by itself worth the entire price of the CD, the pianist's one rhythmic stutter forgivable in light of the razzle-dazzle and stylistic oomph (s)he brings. I love how the cellos and basses dig into the Hoe Down. In fact, I love everything about this performance and, having heard it numerous times now, feel confident saying it's my first-choice Rodeo … including Copland's own recording.

That's not even the main course, which is the rarer ballet Dance Panels … or wait - since we were talking about the full Rodeo and not the suite, maybe it's not that much rarer after all. Dance Panels, almost a half-hour long, is vintage Copland, a full expression of his mature style. I suspect its lack of popularity is because all the faster, more exciting music is near the end. For much of the piece, Dance Panels is more intimate and domestic, without the easy populism of Rodeo or the two works that follow on this programme, Danzón Cubano and El Salón Mexico. This is, again, a performance that fully captures the composer's spirit.

The performances here seem live - there's a cough here and there - which makes the achievement of the orchestra all the more noteworthy. It also makes the sound quality's richness surprising. This would be a valuable addition to a Copland collection even if it didn't have my first-choice Rodeo, but since it does, it's mandatory.

-- Brian Reinhart, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/July13/Copland_rodeo_8559758.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Aug13/Copland_rodeo_8559758.htm
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=16260
https://www.allmusic.com/album/copland-rodeo-dance-panels-el-sal%C3%B3n-m%C3%A9xico-danz%C3%B3n-cubano-mw0002546092
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.559758&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Copland-Rodeo-Four-Dance-Episodes/dp/B00CE28SR4

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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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Leonard Slatkin (born September 1, 1944 in Los Angeles) is an American conductor and composer. Slatkin attended the Juilliard School where he studied conducting under Jean Morel. He also studied with Walter Susskind at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Slatkin worked as principal conductor and music director of the St. Louis Symphony, National Symphony, BBC Symphony and Orchestre National de Lyon, as well as principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Pittsburg Symphony. He has been the music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 2007.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Slatkin

http://www.leonardslatkin.com/

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