Copland: Suite from The Tender Land; 3 Latin-American Sketches; Suite from The Red Pony

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Aaron Copland's The Tender Land was to be the first opera written for television, but NBC rejected it. Copland revised it, but later performances weren't well received. Hard to believe, from just the suite. This is vintage--if unfamiliar--Copland. The Red Pony comes from the film of the same name and is quite understated, something that was intentional on Copland's part: he didn't want the music to obtrude on the film's story. The real surprise here is how well the Phoenix Symphony comports itself under Sedares's baton. Nicely balanced, excellent sound. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook

Tracks:

Tender Land (Orch Ste from the Opera): Intro and Love Music
Tender Land (Orch Ste from the Opera): Party Scene
Tender Land (Orch Ste from the Opera): Finale: The Promise of Living
3 Lat-Am Sketches: Estibrillo
3 Lat-Am Sketches: Paisaje Mexicano
3 Lat-Am Sketches: Danza de Jalisco
Red Pony (Film Ste): Morning on the Ranch
Red Pony (Film Ste): The Gift
Red Pony (Film Ste): Dream March
Red Pony (Film Ste): Circus Music
Red Pony (Film Ste): Walk to the Bunkhouse
Red Pony (Film Ste): Grandfather's Story
Red Pony (Film Ste): Happy Ending

Amazon.com

Aaron Copland's The Tender Land was to be the first opera written for television, but NBC rejected it. Copland revised it, but later performances weren't well received. Hard to believe, from just the suite. This is vintage--if unfamiliar--Copland. The Red Pony comes from the film of the same name and is quite understated, something that was intentional on Copland's part: he didn't want the music to obtrude on the film's story. The real surprise here is how well the Phoenix Symphony comports itself under Sedares's baton. Nicely balanced, excellent sound. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Copland Rarities From Phoenix.......2005-09-27

Aaron Copland was the composer who best personified the American style of classical music, having composed works that reflected all aspects of America: its big cities ("Music For A Great City"); its small towns ("Our Town") and its wide open spaces ("Rodeo"; "Billy The Kid"). But there is even more to this greatest of composers that our nation has ever produced, as personified on this 1991 recording by the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and its music director James Sedares.

The recording contains a three-part orchestral suite from the composer's surprisingly unsuccessful 1954 opera "The Tender Land"; a suite from his score for the 1948 film version of John Steinbeck's novel "The Red Pony"; and a true rarity among rarities, the "Three Latin American Sketches" (Estribillo; Paisaje Mexicano; Danza De Jalisco), which were premiered in 1972. This suite, sandwiched between "The Tender Land" and "The Red Pony", makes for a thoroughly interesting comparison with Copland's two earlier Latin-oriented sojourns, "El Salon Mexico" and "Danzon Cubano."

Under Sedares' crisp direction, the Phoenix Symphony shows itself to be very much at home in this great American composer's works. They are almost certainly one of the great regional orchestras in the U.S., capable of standing tall with their bigger bretheren in cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York. This is a wonderful recording for anyone with a taste for Americana and the occasional Latin spicing.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Thunder, Lightning, Strike [Import]

Bach: Orgelbuchlein, BWV 599 - 644

Avalon Blues

Smokin' at the Half Note Volume 2 [Import] [Live]

Karma

Allure

Autumn in New York/Starring Jo Stafford [Import] [Original recording remastered]

Antonio Vivaldi: The Complete Cello Sonatas - Anthony Pleeth / Suki Towb / Robert Woolley

Antler, Bear, Kazoo¿A North Woods Album of Songs

Alone in San Francisco

Above

100% Puro Sinaloa

15 Clasicas de Leyenda

A Whole New Woman

Show Me What You Can Do