Aaron Copland; George Walker - Symphonies (Antonio Pappano)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland; George Walker

• Copland - Symphony No. 3
• Walker - Sinfonia No. 5, "Visions"

London Symphony Orchestra

Antonio Pappano, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: LSO Live

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Conducted by Antonio Pappano, the London Symphony Orchestra presents a powerful pairing of twentieth and twenty-first-century American masterworks on the LSO Live label. The recording couples Aaron Copland’s expansive Symphony No. 3, composed at the end of World War II and featuring his iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, with George Walker’s final work, Sinfonia No. 5 "Visions." While Copland’s symphony channels a triumphant spirit of national hope and resilience, Walker’s modernist piece stands as a powerful, urgent protest against racial violence, specifically honoring the victims of the 2015 Charleston church shooting. Pappano deftly navigates these contrasting emotional landscapes, highlighting both Copland's rich orchestral colors and Walker's jagged, reflective harmonies.

Antonio Pappano (b. 1959, London) is one of today’s leading conductors, acclaimed for his work in opera and symphonic repertoire. After early debuts at the Vienna Staatsoper (1993), New York’s Metropolitan Opera (1997), and Bayreuth (1999), he went on to conduct the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berlin, Vienna, and New York Philharmonics. He served as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and from 2002, the Royal Opera House in London. From 2005–2023, he directed the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, becoming its Conductor Emeritus in 2023. In 2024, he became Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. A prolific recording artist for Warner Classics and other labels, he has received numerous prestigious awards for his interpretations of opera and symphonic works.