Monday, September 21, 2009

LEONARD SLATKIN & ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: ORGAN, DANCE, & SHORT SYMPHONIES

The Copland known to most people is the composer of scores such as El Salón México, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, and the Third Symphony--in short, of the popular, approachably folksy works of the years 1936 to 1946. But what about the music Copland wrote before these defining pieces? Some would say it's even more important, having served to open the door, as Virgil Thomson rightly observed, to "the voice of America in our generation."

The four works on this disc show that Copland was Copland--a powerful, provocative, original, and energetic musical personality--before he was "Copland." The daring Organ Symphony of 1924, the same year as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, sounds at least 20 years ahead of its time. The Dance Symphony, from 1929 (but based on material from Copland's 1922 ballet, Grohg), is permeated by the aroma of French modernism and full of the spiky grotesqueries of Stravinsky and Bartók, yet it's got a jazzy swagger that's distinctively ... Copland. Ditto for the Short Symphony of 1933, rhythmically one of the most boisterous pieces Copland ever wrote.

Even the one work that appears to be "later" Copland--the Orchestral Variations of 1957--is actually from the same youthful vintage as the symphonies. It's Copland's orchestration of his epoch-making 1930 Piano Variations, among the most powerful utterances in the history of American music. Seventy years later, the force of the musical ideas in this piece still takes listeners' breath away, and reminds us it was no accident that Copland has come to be regarded as America's greatest composer. Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra play the spots off all the music on this CD, and the sound is superlative. Ted Libbey

Symphony For Organ and Orchestra (1924)
1. Andante 6:02
2. Scherzo 7:21
3. Finale: Lento 10:03
Simon Preston , organ

Dance Symphony (1929)
4. Intro: Lento, Molto Allegro 6:37
5. Adante Moderato 4:40
6. Allegro Vivo 4:51

Short Symphony (Symphony No. 2) (1932-33)
7. Incisivo 4:07
8. Espressivo 4:56
9. Presto E Ritmico 5:36

10. Orchestral Variations (1957) 12:36

St Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin
Recorded September 21, 1993 at Christ Church Cathedral, St Louis, MO (#1-3); February 17&18, 1995 (#4-9) & May 9, 1995 (#10)at Powell Symphony Hall, St Louis, MO USA

8 comments:

Scoredaddy said...

If you download this album and appreciate my efforts sharing it with you, please make a comment below.

If you want to bring this upload to the attention of people on another website, please link to this blog and not to the actual download links.

NO MIRRORS, PLEASE!

FLACS(EAC)+CUE+LOG+SCANS@300DPI
http://rapidshare.com/files/277330119/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/277329393/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/277263639/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part3.rar

Horacio said...

Great more new Copland!! I'll download now!! Saludos :)

troods said...

Love to look at his music historically; this gives a broad view of his music. Thank you so much what you do.

Scoredaddy said...

If you download this album and appreciate my efforts sharing it with you, please make a comment below.

If you want to bring this upload to the attention of people on another website, please link to this blog and not to the actual download links.

NO MIRRORS, PLEASE!

FLACS(EAC)+CUE+LOG+SCANS
http://rapidshare.com/files/277330119/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part1.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/277329393/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part2.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/277263639/arncop-lnrdsltkn.part3.rar.html

Denis Amadeus said...

thanks mate!

Eric said...

Thank you. I'm looking forward to hearing Slatkin's way with these pieces.

shadleyvw said...

Hey, thank you so much for the Detroit/Neeme Järvi recording of Symphony No. 3, fantastic!
Two things, the links are down for this one... would you be able to re-post?
Also, do you have the St. Louis/Slatkin recording of Symphony No. 3? http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j415/wimpel69/frontthird_zps98cb3d41.jpg

If so, yes please!!!

Thank you for your time!

Ronnie said...

Thanks for the music! Any chance you might re-up these two volumes?