Track Listing

1. Fanfare for the Common Man, for brass & percussion (from Symphony No. 3)
2. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Buckaroo Holdiay
3. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Corral Nocturne
4. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Saturday Night Waltz
5. Rodeo, selections from the ballet (including 'Four Dance Episodes'): Hoe-Down
6. Quiet City, for English horn, trumpet & strings (from the incidental music)
7. Billy the Kid, orchestral suite from the ballet
8. Appalachian Spring, concert suite for full orchestra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11388 in Music
• Released on: 1997-01-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
When it comes to light, folk-flavored listening, the music of Aaron Copland is some of the best and most popular. When it comes to crowd-pleasing conducting, Erich Kunzel is one of the great successes. This album contains most of Copland's essential compositions, in all or part: "Fanfare for the Common Man," four movements from "Rodeo," "Quiet City," "Billy the Kid," and "Appalachian Spring." All are performed in fine form; it would be nice to have all of "Rodeo," but this is otherwise all the Copland that most folks will need, and in one package. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews

Ultimate Copland!
I grew up in Cincinnati and had many opportunities to hear the Cincinnati Pops, watch Erich Kunzel perform and listen to his ubiquitous recordings. Unfortunately, I usually find Kunzel's interpretations lacking in depth at any point just underneath the surface. However, I withdraw my usual criticism as this recording of five Copland masterpieces is an exact artistic match. Kunzel's talent for superficial flash puts his Fanfare for the Comman Man among the best on disc. His manic exuberance electrifies Rodeo, which has to be the signature soundtrack of America. The sound quality is so choice that it literally bounces out of your speakers. Quiet City and Billy the Kid leave you in no doubt that Copland had a huge influence on Bernstein both in rythmic and textural terms. Appalachian Spring reaffirms why it's great to be alive. This disc is a joy to listen to. The Cincinnati Pops is in peak form and Telarc's sonics from the first drum blast of the Fanfare are extraordinary. Allow Copland's music to become part of the fiber of your being.

This should not be relegated to "light" music
This is Copland's "most accessible" (that is, least obscure) music, and it is appropriate to have it conducted by America's premiere conductor for making classical music accessible. For those who are not horrified at the thought of accessible classical music ("for the masses! the commoners!"), that is a fine recommendation already. This entire CD is very enjoyable, but "Quiet City" is without question the highlight of the disc. Kunzel is more conservative with the tempo than Bernstein (in the recording coupled with a digital Symphony #3, with one cracked note to mar an otherwise poignant and beautiful performance), and takes his time enough to enjoy the mood (as opposed to the Orpheus Chamber Orch., which in a technically accurate but musically unsatisfying performance seems more interested in finishing the piece than playing it). This piece is a trumpet player's dream, and the CD is a performance worthy of it.

what a combination!
What a combination! The Cincinnati Pops under the direction of Erich Kunzel playing Copland! I bought it as soon as I saw it. When I'm honest, I have to admit that I have a little bit of a music snob in me--but I knew this one would be great...And it is! Along with early Jazz, Copland's music IS the music of America. This disc contains his most popular pieces; and are they ever worthy of being popular. Even as a youth, a youth who did not care for most classical music, I loved Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. Eventually, I came to enjoy his other pieces, along with the music of Gustav Holst. In time, I came to love the complexity, variety and intensity of classical music in general.

The performances on this disc are majestic. The Fanfare is rock-solidly powerful. Kunzel does not rush through it. He takes his time; and the power of the piece shines through.

Rodeo, which is probably most familiar to non-classical music fans for its use in the "beef--its what's for dinner" television ads, is a masterpiece. Again, Kunzel spends a little more time here than other interpreters, but it is well worth it.

Quiet City is probably the least well known piece on the disc. However, it is one of the most beautiful pieces Copland ever wrote. Philip Collins plays the trumpet part to the piece exceptionally. This piece alone makes the disc worth recommending.

Billy the Kid is my least favorite piece on the disc. The Cincinnati Pops play it well enough here. I just don't care for the piece as much as the others.

The Crown Jewel of the disc is Appalachian Spring. There are few pieces of music which truly take up residence in a listener's heart. Appalachian Spring has done just that with me. My favorite version of it is Slatkin's. This one, though not matching Slatkin's in my mind, is still very worthwhile.

Get this recording. You will be hard pressed not to enjoy it.