Boston Symphony – Aaron Copland, guest Conductor – January 2, 1960 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection-
More historic concerts this week. The Boston Symphony, led by the legendary Aaron Copland in a concert of his own music, as well as music by Henry Purcell, Franz Joseph Haydn, David Diamond and William Schuman.
From the 1960s, Copland turned increasingly to conducting. Though not enamored with the prospect, he found himself without new ideas for composition, saying, “It was exactly as if someone had simply turned off a faucet.” He became a frequent guest conductor in the United States and the United Kingdom and made a series of recordings of his music, primarily for Columbia Records. In 1960, RCA Victor released Copland’s recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra of the orchestral suites from Appalachian Spring and The Tender Land; these recordings were later reissued on CD, as were most of Copland’s Columbia recordings (by Sony).
Here’s the program:
Boston Symphony – Aaron Copland, Guest Conductor
Concert of January 2, 1960
1. Purcell: Fantasias For Strings – No. 2, No. 4, Fantasia On One Note in F Major (First BSO Performance)
2. Haydn: Symphony in C Minor – No. 95
3. Schuman: New England Triptych: Three Pieces For Orchestra After William Billings (First BSO Performance).
4. Diamond – Rounds For String Orchestra
5. Copland – First Symphony
Always a great adventure and pleasure to hear a composer conduct his own and other composers works, and this one is certainly no different.
Enjoy and play often, it’s Wednesday after all.
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