Copland:Orchestral Works 2 [Jonathan Scott; BBC Philharmonic,John Wilson] [CHANDOS: CHSA 5171] [Audio CD]

Following a highly successful recording of Copland's ballet music, John Wilson, a specialist in American music, and the BBC Philharmonic present the first volume of the composer's complete symphonic output. This unique collection of vivid and energetic pieces highlights Copland's personal, unorthodox compositional language. The mixture of works of austerity and tense excitement ranges widely, from the twenty Orchestral Variations on an original theme (originally written for piano) to the single-movement controversial Symphonic Ode, a rhythmically complex piece written in its original incarnation for a huge orchestra including eight horns and five trumpets. The album features also the lesser-known Short Symphony (No. 2) and early Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, in which the solo instrument throughout is closely integrated with the music of the orchestra. The organ soloist is the young Jonathan Scott. Since a highly successful Gershwin concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014, he is increasingly acclaimed around the world for his performances of American music. This album was recorded on SACD in the mythic Birmingham Symphony Hall. Review Wilson obtains(a)Superbly drilled and articulate response from the BBC Philharmonic. An outstanding release. GRAMOPHONE EDITORS CHOICE .Gramophone Awards issue '16 /// This short Symphony with its limber rhythms should not be missed. Performance ***** Recording***** BBC MUSIC ORCHESTRAL CHOICE .BBC Music Magazine, Nov'16 /// Spiky, hard-edged music for a dynamic American society, driven with vivacity and excitement . --MusicWeb,Oct'16 This disc is a welcome reminder that Aaron Copland s populist, diatonic ballet scores only tell half the story; the early and late stages in his career contain music which is far less ingratiating. Pieces like the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, first performed in 1925 and the source of a much-repeated quote from conductor Walter Damrosch that if Copland could write a piece like this aged 23, within five years he will be ready to commit murder! It isn t an organ concerto, the instrument treated very much as part of the orchestra. Organist Jonathan Scott is more prominently balanced than his counterpart on Michael Tilson Thomas's recent live performance, the music sounding far spikier as a result. This is a difficult work to love, Copland's opening movement distinctly chilly. Things do hot up in the central scherzo, but it's all a bit loud and shouty. This performance is technically superb, John Wilson's BBC Philharmonic sounding far more energised than they did on the previous volume in this series. But I was relieved when the work rumbled to its conclusion. Those looking for light relief won't find it in Copland's Orchestral Variations, a 1957 transcription of the early Piano Variations and a much more appealing work, rhythmically interesting and superbly scored. The Symphonic Ode had a problematic birth: Koussevitsky's Boston Symphony players struggling with Copland's insanely complicated rhythms. Wilson's brass are heroic in the closing stages, and the music's lighter moments aren't undersold. But the best work on this disc is the deceptively lightweight Short Symphony (about which Koussevitsky complained it s not too difficult, it s impossible! ). Transparently orchestrated, rhythmically fiendish and harmonically approachable, it gets a sharp, witty reading, Copland's Stravinskian metre changes effortlessly handled. Chandos's production values are predictably good, and the sleeve note is highly readabl'. --ArtsDesk,Oct'16 A handful of Aaron Copland's works may be firmly established in the orchestral repertory, but much of his music seems strangely unfashionable now, only rarely turning up in concerts on this side of the Atlantic. But there are signs a revival is under way, at least on disc. Naxos has begun a series devoted to Copland's ballets the latest release pairs Appalachian Spring with the rarely heard Hear Ye! Hear Ye! This CD is the second instalment of a more extensive survey of the orchestral music from Chandos. John Wilson launched it earlier this year with a disc of the popular ballets, but this collection focuses on grittier, abstract works, with nothing conventionally symphonic, and all originating in the early part of Copland's long career. The Orchestral Variations were completed in 1957, but they are effectively an orchestral arrangement of the Piano Variations, one of Copland's most uncompromisingly modernist works from 1930. Like everything else here they stand up well, but it's the Organ Symphony of 1924 and the Short Symphony, completed 10 years later, that make the strongest impression the organ work for the tactful way in which Copland manages to integrate the solo instrument with the orchestra, a partnership that can so easily become far too much of a good thing, and the Short Symphony for its bracing combination of exuberant energy and cool, convincing musical logic. But Wilson and the orchestra should take much of the credit for the way in which these pieces emerge so vividly. Everything about the performances signals a conductor and an orchestra who really believe in the quality of the music they are performing. The BBC Philharmonic seems to relish Copland's springy rhythms, long-limbed melodies and irrepressible invention, while Wilson manages to bring transparency and buoyancy to even the most massive climaxes. The sound is outstanding, too. The Organ Symphony was recorded in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, with the soloist Jonathan Scott playing the hall's Marcussen instrument, while the other works come from the BBC s Salford studios, with a closer, less airy balance. Both are equally convincing. ***** Guardian, Oct'16 /// Let's hope this ongoing survey helps rehabilitate an unfairly neglected body of work. For organ buffs the copious booklet notes take in a full specification of the pipe organ. Classical Source,Nov'16 /// Copland shows his serious side in these early symphonic works. John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic prove to be uncompromisingly powerful advocates of Copland's early orchestral scores. --MusicWeb,Nov'16