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(4 out of 5 stars)
"Normally the person just being introduced to Copland will think of him as the country boy from out west when they here such works as Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Rodeo. Well this CD of his early music was a big step for composer kind into the 20th century. Much of this music is not what we think of as his cowboy music. The Piano Concerto is very jazzy and catchy. His Theatre Music contains quite a bit of very city like jazz. This was jazz in the concert hall right before Gershwin became famous. Copland kinda broke the ice. The Organ Symphony is incredible. It's amazing how Copland creates such tension in some parts of the first and third movements with a little church sounding music on the organ. The second movie is happy but heavy. The third movement is the 'heaviest' of them all. You can bang your head to the final minute of this song with more passion then you can in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The String works are a nice suttle imaginary work that soothes the stress of the rest of the pieces. The Dance Symphony is a 'suite' of Copland's first ballet 'Grohg' which is pleasant music shall I say. It kinda foreshadows the westerness of Copland's music to be. The quality is very good on this CD. Most works are done with Bernstein conducting. Copland plays his own Piano Concerto. Who else could play the piece the way it was supposed to be? Not all of the songs on these CDs will be quick to stick in your mind. Some of the songs will be ones that you will need to take the time to listen to and think about opposed to listening to Hoe Down and having a theme right there that is blunt and obvious. I reccommend this CD to be purchased third if you are considering getting the whole set. Start with the middle years, then buy Tender Land, then Old American Songs and Emily Dickinson Songs, then the end years, then this one, and finally get the complete works for solo piano CD. After you get those main Copland, you can begin nitpicking your way through chamber works and the controversial (to some it's great, to others it's lame) Second Hurricane."

United-states , American , Appalachian-spring , Piano-concerto , Theatre-music , Organ-symphony , Dance-symphony , Hoe-down , Tender-land , Old-american-songs , Emily-dickinson-songs