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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
On holiday 20 years ago in the Colorado Rockies, I bought Appalachian Spring on CD. One morning I woke very early and drove up into the Rocky Mountain National Park with it on my hire car audio system.
It was a fine, bright morning with a low mist over the beaver lakes, and the mixture of music and landscape made it a special memory.
Coplands music is so evocative for me now, that any time I hear it I'm back in small town America, or up in the high meadows early in the morning.
If you love Coplands works, this is a must have collection. I originally looked for a 'complete works' CD set two years ago, and could only find one cdset but costing upwards of $50 at that time. I put my decision on hold, and having heard a snippet from 'Rodeo'as I drove home from work last week, I came on to Amazon to see if anything had changed.
And it had. When I saw the price, what was included on these cd's, and the musicians involved I didn't hesitate, and Amazon delivered them the next day.
I'm no hi fi supertweeting audio buff, but I am very happy with the sound quality on every track.
Make a quick list of what music is included, then check out how much you would have to pay to get them all in one order from Amazon. The saving is spectacular.
Buy this, save money, enjoy Copland. Every image of America you will ever need is here, all in one box.
It was a fine, bright morning with a low mist over the beaver lakes, and the mixture of music and landscape made it a special memory.
Coplands music is so evocative for me now, that any time I hear it I'm back in small town America, or up in the high meadows early in the morning.
If you love Coplands works, this is a must have collection. I originally looked for a 'complete works' CD set two years ago, and could only find one cdset but costing upwards of $50 at that time. I put my decision on hold, and having heard a snippet from 'Rodeo'as I drove home from work last week, I came on to Amazon to see if anything had changed.
And it had. When I saw the price, what was included on these cd's, and the musicians involved I didn't hesitate, and Amazon delivered them the next day.
I'm no hi fi supertweeting audio buff, but I am very happy with the sound quality on every track.
Make a quick list of what music is included, then check out how much you would have to pay to get them all in one order from Amazon. The saving is spectacular.
Buy this, save money, enjoy Copland. Every image of America you will ever need is here, all in one box.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
These two CDs comprise almost 134 minutes of some of Copland's most popular works, played by some very fine Orchestras/Ensembles including The Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra under Zubin Mehta; The Detroit Symphony Orcherstra, under Antal Dorati; The London Sinfonietta under Elgar Howarth; The English Chamber Orchestra, with the mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, under Carl Davies; The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, under Neville Marriner and The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. It also features the voice of Gregory Peck.
If, like me, you came late to this highly-original and gifted composer, this is an excellent and fairly comprehensive collection on which to cut your teeth.
You will probably already be familiar with Fanfare for the Common Man, but the percussion in this version is the best I've heard. Appalacian Spring, with its eight sections ranging from just under two up to three-and-a-half minutes each, is a gem. The very slow introduction sucks you in to the simple American "backwoods" life and you are hooked; part seven - based on the Shaker Dance/Hymn (on which Sydney Carter based the tune for his 1963 Hymn "Lord of the Dance") is perhaps the pick. Part of the Lincoln Portrait is narrated by Gregory Peck and shows the Composer's patriotic commitment to the history of his native USA, inspite of his Lithuanian-Jewish heritage. One of the most original pieces in this collection is "The Quiet City", for cor Anglais, trumpet and strings.
The section of five songs from the Old American Song Books is, I believe the pick of the second disk. Copland sticks closely to the original melodies, yet his inventive and understated orchestration lifts these songs especially in "Simple Gifts" and "Long Time Ago" - the latter showcasing the excellent poetry of George Pope Morris.
I don't much care for the Dance Symphony, although I will concede it is highly original and brilliantly recorded, but the Four Dance Episodes in the Suite based on his ballet Rodeo are lively and vibrant with the highly original Saturday Night Waltz being particularly fine.
If you are looking to get to grips with Copland, then look no further, this high quality collection, at a very competitive price, is ideal.
If, like me, you came late to this highly-original and gifted composer, this is an excellent and fairly comprehensive collection on which to cut your teeth.
You will probably already be familiar with Fanfare for the Common Man, but the percussion in this version is the best I've heard. Appalacian Spring, with its eight sections ranging from just under two up to three-and-a-half minutes each, is a gem. The very slow introduction sucks you in to the simple American "backwoods" life and you are hooked; part seven - based on the Shaker Dance/Hymn (on which Sydney Carter based the tune for his 1963 Hymn "Lord of the Dance") is perhaps the pick. Part of the Lincoln Portrait is narrated by Gregory Peck and shows the Composer's patriotic commitment to the history of his native USA, inspite of his Lithuanian-Jewish heritage. One of the most original pieces in this collection is "The Quiet City", for cor Anglais, trumpet and strings.
The section of five songs from the Old American Song Books is, I believe the pick of the second disk. Copland sticks closely to the original melodies, yet his inventive and understated orchestration lifts these songs especially in "Simple Gifts" and "Long Time Ago" - the latter showcasing the excellent poetry of George Pope Morris.
I don't much care for the Dance Symphony, although I will concede it is highly original and brilliantly recorded, but the Four Dance Episodes in the Suite based on his ballet Rodeo are lively and vibrant with the highly original Saturday Night Waltz being particularly fine.
If you are looking to get to grips with Copland, then look no further, this high quality collection, at a very competitive price, is ideal.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Cornucopia for Copland Completists
8 Feb 2005
Format:Audio CD
This is a collection for the true Copland fan. Because you don't buy this one for the serviceable but undistinguished renditions of the famous pieces - Fanfare, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and El Salon Mexico. For those, look no further than Bernstein's seminal recordings with the NY Phil plus his second version of Appalachian Spring with the LA Phil, as well as Slatkin's with St. Louis. What a die-hard Copland-phile cannot live without, though, are the superb renditions of many of Copland's lesser-known but terrific compositions here that are rare or would otherwise take several purchases to cover: Mehta's Lincoln Portrait that is taut, brassy, dramatic and perfectly patriotic - with Gregory Peck fittingly authoritative and sounding close to what we would imagine when Abe Lincoln speaks; possibly the best version out there of Copland's underperformed masterpiece Quiet City from Marriner - just listen to the exquisite trumpet playing!; a charming Marilyn Horne singing excerpts from Old American Songs - poignantly evoking colonial Americana; Dorati's perceptive and atmospheric Dance Symphony; and a colorful Music for Movies from the London Sinfonietta playing highly American music with European flair. Furthermore, the Decca engineers provide demonstration-quality sound. Subtract one star for the casual Copland listener, but for the enthusiast: ****
Other references: Recommended by Gramophone, Penguin Guide and Classical Music: Third Ear.
Other references: Recommended by Gramophone, Penguin Guide and Classical Music: Third Ear.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Absolutely Stellar--the definitive Appalachian Spring
24 Jun 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this release for Appalachian Spring, unsatisfied with the "usual" performances that many of these other reviewers seem to hold so dear. Quite frankly, for me, these typical performances turned me off to this work for years. But it was this performance by Zubin Mehta and the LA Phil that brought out the work's true essence.
Through Appalachian Spring, Copland demonstrated a new musical language that was distinctly American. Earnest, but informal. Simple but sophisticated. But most importantly, it exists on multiple levels. Behind all of the foreground frivolity and catchy tunes is a tonality that brilliantly coheres the work.
While the "usual" performances opt for a self-indulgent approach that leaves the listener with a superficial experience, Zubin Mehta takes on the whole work--bringing out all of the important dimensions and putting them in clear relief for the listener. With this recording, Appalachian Spring is a substantial work--a brilliant masterpiece.
Through Appalachian Spring, Copland demonstrated a new musical language that was distinctly American. Earnest, but informal. Simple but sophisticated. But most importantly, it exists on multiple levels. Behind all of the foreground frivolity and catchy tunes is a tonality that brilliantly coheres the work.
While the "usual" performances opt for a self-indulgent approach that leaves the listener with a superficial experience, Zubin Mehta takes on the whole work--bringing out all of the important dimensions and putting them in clear relief for the listener. With this recording, Appalachian Spring is a substantial work--a brilliant masterpiece.
13 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Buy the Dorati on its own, elsewhere
23 Jun 2000
Format:Audio CD
The only redeeming value this grabbag has are the excellent Dorati presentations. The rest is middlin' to start and it tapers off from there. It tapers very far with the raw sound of Horne and the at-sea concepts of a young Zubin Mehta who obviously recorded this material before he was ready. His LA Phil isn't anything to write home about, either, which makes you wonder how just a few years earlier it was so superb for Leinsdorf and Wallenstein.
The manufacturer is just trying to make hay on some old recordings here. Dorati's are fairly recent, though, and you can buy his things elsewhere, so WHY would anyone want this?
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