Aaron Copland; Charles Ives - Appalachian Spring; Three Places in New England (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Aaron Copland; Charles Ives

• Copland - Quiet City
• Ives - Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)
• Copland - Appalachian Spring (Suite)

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Ryan Bancroft, conductor

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins, conductor

BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: BBC Music Magazine

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Aaron Copland (1900–1990), widely recognized as the "Dean of American Music," was a pivotal American composer, conductor, author, and educator. Following studies in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, Copland initially embraced modernism before shifting during the Great Depression toward a highly accessible, populist style that came to define the quintessential sound of the American landscape. Renowned for masterpiece ballets such as Appalachian Spring and Rodeo, as well as iconic orchestral pieces like Fanfare for the Common Man, he later integrated twelve-tone serialism into his compositions before dedicating his final decades primarily to conducting and recording his extensive repertoire.

Charles Ives (1874–1954) was a pioneering American modernist composer and businessman, now celebrated as an "American original" and a leading figure in 20th-century art music. Though his work was ignored early on, Ives gained widespread global recognition later in life through the advocacy of contemporaries like Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison. Renowned as an early innovator of experimental music, he integrated groundbreaking techniques, such as polytonality, polyrhythms, tone clusters, and quarter tones, well before their widespread adoption. His distinctively American compositions seamlessly blended these avant-garde methods with vernacular elements, including traditional hymn tunes, patriotic songs, town band melodies, and parlor ballads.