Aaron Copland - Rodeo; Dance Panels (Leonard Slatkin)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland

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

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Date: 2013

Label: Naxos

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Review

Most Naxos discs represent excellent value; this one takes that to extremes. Seventy minutes plus is a good running length; then we have a programme of three Copland favourites, plus one masterpiece that has not been served so well in the catalogue. To top it off, these are really classy performances, brimming with style, wit and poetry. This is the first of a series of three discs that will include all six of Copland's ballets.

 

We begin with Rodeo, music that was originally created for a ‘cowboy’ ballet by Agnes de Mille (niece of Cecil B.). The stunning athleticism of the choreography was matched perfectly in Copland’s springy rhythms and bold scoring. Slatkin and his orchestra turn in a brilliantly idiomatic reading, matched by a perfectly balanced recording. I was delighted to find that, continuing with the theme of good value, that some of the ‘extra’ material from the original ballet music has been included, for example the Ranch House Party with its honky-tonk piano, coming between Corral Nocturne andSaturday Night Waltz.

 

This is followed by an inexplicably neglected masterpiece, Dance Panels, a comparatively late work, composed in 1959 and intended to be choreographed by the great Jerome Robbins. Oddly, Robbins developed the abstract dance into a ballet without music! So Copland’s score wasn’t heard until 1962, in a revised version, with the Bavarian State Opera at Munich - when it was not a success. The discouraging genesis of the work shouldn’t mislead us. This is wonderful and, as the composer noted, very “danceable” music, though of a far more serious and ‘abstract’ character than the three famous ballets.

 

The CD concludes with two shorter works from among Copland’s most popular; El Salón México is given a meticulous performance, though it lacks something in sheer bite and exuberance in the quicker sections - possibly the least satisfying track on the CD. Danzón Cubano, on the other hand, is terrific: brightly coloured, rhythmical, sun-drenched, full of humour and the faint taste of excellent rum - everything you’d expect from Cuba!

 

— Gwyn Parry-Jones

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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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Leonard Slatkin (born 1 September 1944 in Los Angeles) is an American conductor. Born into a musical family (his parents were founder and members of the Hollywood String Quartet), he received formal training at Indiana University, Los Angeles City College, the Juilliard School, and the Aspen Music Festival. Slatkin has held prominent leadership positions with major orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de Lyon. A six-time Grammy Award recipient, he is widely recognized for his recordings, publications and contributions to music education.

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