22 April 2008

Copland by Copland

Aaron Copland is better known today for his records as a conductor than as a pianist. On this early effort - dating from 1946-47 - he participates only in "Danzon Cubano." The leading player throughout is Leo Smit, something of a Copland specialist.

The selections from "Our Town" are familiar from the orchestral score. These piano versions are superb. The real find (to me) is the set of "Three Blues." In their simplicity and tone, they are reminiscent of Gershwin's "Three Preludes." Copland's debt to Satie is apparent in these pieces.

This was an early 10-inch LP on the Concert Hall label. I've never seen a reissue of it - strange considering Copland's popularity.

I met Copland once a long time ago at a master class. I remember he was mildly critical of one of the student's compositions. I heard later that the young composer (who later became well known) was devastated.

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11 comments:

  1. Scoredaddy14 May, 2008 17:03

    sorry for the very LONG delay in getting back to you on this. VERY nice post and impressive restoration job you did. Sounds clear and relatively low distortion. I am also beginning to explore some of the other posts on this site, which is very interesting.

    by the way, Copland recorded quite a bit of his own music as pianist... some of these you can find on my Copland site.

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  2. Buster14 May, 2008 18:07

    Thanks very much for your note - you are quite right that he recorded his own music later on. I learned a long time ago not to make sweeping pronouncements - but apparently not well enough to keep me from this mistaken assertion!

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  3. The Alchemist17 August, 2009 21:38

    Actually, I think Varese Sarabande reissued these selections on an early LP they put out which they never reissued on CD.

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  4. Pippo31 August, 2009 11:04

    Hi,
    not to be too curious, but I'd like to know who the devastated student was, you threw the stone ...

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  5. Buster31 August, 2009 11:28

    @ Pippo - it wasn't me! (I'm not a musician.) Actually, it was someone who later became fairly well known in academia, but I would be passing along hearsay if I named him.

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  6. Hit Parade10 September, 2013 13:26

    Buster,
    Could you please date the performances and the album. Thank you.

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  7. Buster15 May, 2021 17:48

    Remastered version (Apple lossless):

    https://mega.nz/file/SI1QyIYb#MYaSvPa3vmLzxol1jjqA8H1IljFNKtqcj-6W7Sd4oXo

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  8. DrDave15 August, 2022 15:27

    Buster, just wondering, your older lossy version has higher frequencies than the newer lossless version. Filtering ?

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  9. Buster15 August, 2022 17:24

    DrDave - I wouldn't have removed high frequencies. I probably thought the original was too bright and adjusted the balance. I just listened and it sounds about right!

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  10. DrDave19 August, 2022 15:19

    Buster, it sounds fine, thanks very much !

    ReplyDelete

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