Aaron Copland!
Several of my favorite Copland compositions are on this CD:
- The Clarinet Concerto, with David Shifrin
- Music for the Theater (1925)
- Quiet City
- Dance Panels
Gerard Schwarz conducts the New York Chamber Symphony
I have always admired the concerto as a marvelous masterpiece! The slow movement is an example of Copland’s ability to create dream-like moods in music, and Mr. Shifrin shows us how to create the amazing sounds that communicate the composer’s vision. Other movements in this piece show us Copland’s genius as a composer of wonderfully diverse rhythms. My sense is that people are frequently an outgrowth of their home environment; yet in Copland we have a man who grew up in a home of Russian/Jewish heritage, and he somehow created music that has painted the sounds of truly American music for us all.
Quiet City is another such example. Copland often uses Brass instruments so effectively! And he does so again is this piece, as well.
Great playing by Mr. Schwarz and the NY Chamber Symphony.
Here is an extract of the second movement from the Clarinet Concerto with a different soloist, Richard Stolzman:
Enjoy!