Aaron Copland - Piano Concerto; The Tender Land Suite; Old American Songs (Benjamin Pasternack; Robert Hanson)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland

• The Tender Land Suite
• Piano Concerto
• Old American Songs

Benjamin Pasternack, piano

St. Charles Singers

Elgin Symphony Orchestra

Robert Hanson, conductor

Date: 2008

Label: Naxos

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Review

Copland’s concise Piano Concerto languished virtually unknown for decades after its 1926 premiere. Then Copland recorded it himself with Bernstein in 1962 and others followed. The first of its two movements is a spacious outpouring of fanfares and blues and the second is a crazy kind of supercharged ragtime that really upset the Boston audience and critics. It shows how Copland exploited the jazz age to brilliant effect. A thoroughly efficient performance with Pasternack but the orchestral sound with Ohlsson under Tilson Thomas is more alluring (Sony, 3/97 – nla).

In spite of two recordings, The Tender Land is considered unsuccessful as an opera. It has never been produced on TV as intended, and even this effective suite from it is rarely performed. The story is about a girl leaving home and it’s even been suggested that it could have been a cover for a gay boy coming out. It’s Copland in gentle rural mode not long after Appalachian Spring.

The two sets of Old American Songs (the first one contains the Appalachian Spring Shaker hymn) are best known in the versions for solo voice and piano although these choral arrangements – not by Copland – can be compared with orchestral versions with Thomas Hampson. These infectiously enjoyable settings work well, especially those arranged by Irving Fine: good soloists in a relaxed choral context.

— Peter Dickinson

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Aaron Copland (14 November 1900 – 2 December 1990) was an American composer. Born in New York City, he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger before returning to the United States, where he absorbed influences ranging from jazz and neoclassicism to folk traditions. Seeking a broader audience, Copland simplified his musical language in the 1930s and achieved international fame with works such as Billy the Kid, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring. He also composed film scores, orchestral and choral works, and later experimented with serialism. Beyond composing, Copland was an influential teacher, writer and conductor.

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Benjamin Pasternack is an American pianist. Born in Philadelphia, he studied at the Curtis Institute with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Rudolf Serkin, and gained international recognition after winning top prizes at the 1988 Busoni Competition. Pasternack has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across four continents, appearing with major orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and collaborating with distinguished conductors. As an educator, he has served on the faculty of Boston University and the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

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Robert Hanson (born 1946) is an American conductor and composer best known for his long and transformative leadership of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Joining the ESO in 1974 as assistant conductor, he later became Co-Music Director and then Music Director, serving for 34 years. During his tenure, he guided the orchestra into one of the U.S.A.'s leading regional ensembles. Hanson has received numerous honors, including Chicago Tribune's “Chicagoan of the Year” and the Illinois Council of Orchestra's highest awards. An accomplished composer, his numerous commissioned works are performed internationally.

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