Carefree

Somewhat strangely, this is the only cd that I have by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Blame that record club and the labels it has / had affiliations with. Anyway this is music of Aaron Copland, the famous ballet suites Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Billy the Kid. Fun pieces all, Copland seems to have epitomised that "big country" American sound that later dominated fifties western movie soundtracks. Although listening again to Dvorak's New World symphony, I think Copland picked up a few ideas there too. Appalachian spring, with its' use of the Shaker hymn forever known to fans of Chelsea FC as "carefree", is another BBC Radio 3 staple that suffers from over familiarity but is good to hear every now and again. In an odd piece of programming, the cd concludes with Fanfare For The Common Man which surely should have come at the beginning ?