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Aaron
COPLAND (1900-1990) Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) [3:38)
Clarinet Concerto (1948) [15:44]
Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo (1942) [22:47] Appalachian Spring (1944) [36:41]
David
Shifrin (clarinet); New York Chamber Symphony Orchestra/Gerard
Schwarz (Concerto); Mexico City Philharmonic
Orchestra/Enrique Bátiz (Fanfare); Saint Louis Symphony
Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin (Spring; Rodeo)
rec. details not given CLASSICS
FOR PLEASURE 2282762 [79:13]
This issue represents fantastic value for
Copland lovers, or indeed those who simply want to explore
his music. Starting from his most familiar work - and
incidentally one of the best-known pieces of 20th century
music - the Fanfare for the Common Man, we move,
via the delightful Clarinet Concerto, to two of the famous
ballet scores, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring. The ‘added
value’ is that these last two are given complete, rather
than in the slightly shorter concert versions we usually
hear. So we get the cheeky Piano Interlude in Rodeo (track
7), while in Appalachian Spring there is,
for example, a magical passage where the ‘Simple Gifts’ melody
is suggested in slow tempo by the strings before its
full presentation in the clarinet (track 14, 2:45).
To get over the only disappointment right
away, it has to be said that the Mexico City Philharmonic
brass and percussion turn in a tentative, pallid performance
of the famous fanfare under Bátiz. I just hope that
potential buyers will not be put off, because the Clarinet
Concerto performance that comes next, with David Shifrin,
ably supported by Schwarz and his New York forces, sets
a very high standard indeed, which is maintained throughout
the remaining tracks.
Shifrin is an exceptionally fine player
who captures the varying moods of the concerto perfectly. He
has the necessary control for the gentle melancholy of
the first movement – marked Slowly and Expressively – and
the sheer technical bravado for the jazzy finale. Perhaps
his finest achievement, though, is the cadenza which
joins the two movements. Here, the clarinettist has
to negotiate a gradual change of mood from melancholy
to wild physical exuberance. Shifrin does this as successfully
as any player I’ve heard, a tribute to his perceptive
musicianship. The balance between soloist and orchestra
is perfect - no mean task as Copland often takes the
clarinet to its extreme high register, where it can sound
unpleasantly shrill. The otherwise excellent account
on Naxos by Laura Ardan is compromised by this very problem.
The first of the two ballets, Rodeo, is
given a rollicking account by Slatkin and his St. Louis
players. They convey brilliantly the sheer fun of
this music, its bright primary colours, its restless
rhythmic vitality. Gloriously corny trombone and trumpet
solos in the opening movement, Buckaroo Holiday,
and, after a very slightly untidy opening, the tightest
possible ensemble allied to a sense of spontaneity. The
quieter music is beautifully played, too, for example
an expressively phrased oboe solo in Saturday Night
Waltz. The famous and irresistible Hoe-Down brings
the piece to a close in a manic whirl.
These complementary qualities of fizzing
energy and gentle lyricism are carried through into a
superb account of Appalachian Spring, felt by
many, and with some justification, to be Copland’s finest
masterpiece. The sense of space that Slatkin achieves
in the quiet opening music, and whenever it recurs, is
breathtaking. It enabled me to make a link that had
never occurred to me before; Copland was the child of
Russian immigrants, and if this music recalls anything,
it is the opening of Borodin’s tone-poem In the Steppes
of Central Asia. You can take the boy out of Russia,
but…..!
I just wish Classics for Pleasure would ‘package’ these
discs a bit more generously; a little information about
conductors and soloist wouldn’t take up much room, and
neither would full details of recording dates and venues.
A small carp (as the fisherman complained). This is a
truly outstanding issue packed with great things.
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