Copland: Appalachian Spring; Billy the Kid; Rodeo (2000)

Aaron Copland's extraordinarily popular ballets, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, and Rodeo, are bread-and-butter works to Michael Tilson Thomas, possibly America's leading authority on the composer but most definitely his greatest living exponent in concert. His repertoire has long included these scores, among many others less celebrated, and no one has better insights into Copland's intentions, thanks to the personal and professional friendship they shared. In considering this 2005 RCA reissue of Tilson Thomas' 1999 ... Read More

Aaron Copland's extraordinarily popular ballets, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, and Rodeo, are bread-and-butter works to Michael Tilson Thomas, possibly America's leading authority on the composer but most definitely his greatest living exponent in concert. His repertoire has long included these scores, among many others less celebrated, and no one has better insights into Copland's intentions, thanks to the personal and professional friendship they shared. In considering this 2005 RCA reissue of Tilson Thomas' 1999 recordings with the San Francisco Symphony, listeners may have confidence that they are hearing the real thing, rendered with muscular rhythms, ecstatic color, impeccable execution, and the full awareness of the ballets' history that informs the best performances. Of course, many who already have Copland's eloquent recordings, or even Bernstein's energetic readings, may pass by this disc on the assumption that Tilson Thomas can do no better. However, he seems to have captured both... Read Less