Billy The Kid/Appalachian Spri [Import]

Most people forget that Copland and Stravinsky were contemporaries and that they had more than one thing in common. Stravinksy made music for the theatre and Copland did the same for the filmindustry. His most wellknown work reminds of film music, Appalachian Spring is a major opus, moving and timeless it evokes the impressions of an overwhelming nature. But his works that have connections with Latin-American music are his most original ones. Rodeo is a captivating piece of music, full of rhythm. Here we hear what inspired Bernstein, even more so in El salon Mexico and The Red Pony-suite. What makes these 2 CD's extra attractive is their immaculate sound reproduction. Listen to the full orchestra in Rodeo, if you have decent Hi-fi-equipment you will experience sound depth and clarity that are unusual for non-HDCD recordings.

I feel that this CD is exceptionally beautiful. "The Appalachian Spring" was simply gorgeous. The fast movements had a pure crispness to them that makes them most excellent, and the slow movements had such a beautiful style that it pulls at the human emotions. The only problem I have with this CD is the recording of "The Red Pony Suite", which I feel that the intonation is a bit off. But other than that, this CD is excellent, and I would definately recommend this collection of Copland.

Like the other reviewers, this is a fine collection that was well-recorded with a fairly wide dynamic range, well conceived and each disc is very full (well over 75 minutes each); making this a great value.
For me, the three standouts that makes this collection well worth the price (and a must for Copland fans) is the inclusion of the complete ballet music for "Billy the Kid", "Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring" (the latter in its expanded full orchestra version). Hearing these are a real treat. No where else are you going to get such fine performances of these and at such a bargain price. More importantly, it is great to finally hear what we have been missing for far too long.

As to the other works, there is the "quirky" Danzon Cubano with the late Eduardo Mata/Dallas which, at least at the beginning and at its conclusion has an almost oriental quality, is OK, but his "El Salon Mexico" has the punch and fun of the other versions. The Dance Symphony sounds OK here but the Mexico City Philharmonic is not the Detroit Symphony with Antal Dorati on Decca/London. My personal favorite, however, is a bit unfair since the best I have is from a radio broadcast of a concert I attended of Copland conducting the Cincinnati Symphony back in the 80's. At any rate, the "Fanfare..." (Mexico City, again) does not have the impact or brilliance of Kunzel's Cincinnati Pops recording and their "Red Pony" is fine but Previn/St. Louis is still the standard.

The paragraph above might be considered "quibbles" since any experienced person with this music is going to have their likes and dislikes. But, if you are not that familiar with Aaron Copland, this is a great collection to start with. Other considerations would, of course, be Bernstein/NYPO, Michael Tilson Thomas/SFSO, and Antal Dorati/Detroit. If you are looking to fill-out your library, particularly with the complete ballets, this is a nice inexpensive way of doing so.