Aaron Robicon

Lee Aaron, formerly known as Karen Greening, was Canada's self-proclaimed 'Metal Queen'. She was one of the first women to have a successful solo career in heavy metal music. In the late 1980's, her sound became less heavy and more commercial. In 1996, she formed the alternative rock band 2preciious, changing her name back to Karen…

Lee Aaron, formerly known as Karen Greening, was Canada's self-proclaimed 'Metal Queen'. She was one of the first women to have a successful solo career in heavy metal music. In the late 1980's, her sound became less heavy and more commercial. In 1996, she formed the alternative rock band 2preciious, changing her name back to Karen…

Aaron Pilsan is only twenty-five years old, but he already has a busy career to his credit, with a solo album devoted to Beethovenand Schubert - very well received by the critics - and another of duo repertory with the cellist Kian Soltani. A student of Lars Vogt, he has also received guidance from András Schiff - Bach has always been at the centre of their work together. The young Austrian pianist has been fascinated since childhood by The Well-Tempered Clavier, ‘that musical journey on which Bach embarks with us in Book One: from the seemingly simple and joyful triad of the famous Prelude in C major to the final fugue, of a complexity almost worthy of Schoenberg, on a subject that already includes the twelve semitones of the chromatic scale…

'Appalachian Spring' and 'El Salón Mexicó' are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast landscapes, cowboys and pioneer spirit. Yet, in the 20th century perhaps only Stravinsky was as adept in as many styles as Aaron Copland [1900-1990]. His Piano Concerto, first performed by Serge Koussevitsky, is a good example of Copland the modernist but he also wrote chamber music, ballets, operas and film scores, as well as teaching, writing and latterly conducting. The winter of 1950 saw Copland take a break from writing his superlative 'Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson' and, inspired by a Pears and Britten recital in late 1949, he took five of his favourite American songs and arranged them for voice with piano. Pears and Britten liked them so much that they gave the premiere together at the Aldburgh Festival in 1950.

The so-called Canadian metal queen makes a left turn on this self-titled release, a reinvention to show off her vocal talents without the normal hard rock thudding. And it's refreshing, showcasing the best songwriting and strongest music of her career…

Aaron Copland may well be the best-known, the most loved, and the all-around greatest of twentieth century American composers, but his music from the '20s and '30s is still relatively unknown, still relatively unloved, and of still questionable greatness. Was Copland the Modernist too far out to connect to a big audience so he re-created himself as Copland the Populist to become the best-known, most loved, and greatest American composer? But was his Piano Concerto from 1926 really too jazzy and vulgar, his Symphonic Ode from 1928 really too cerebral and severe, his Piano Variations from 1930 really too harsh and austere, and his Short Symphony from 1934 really too rhythmic and complex or was it lack of familiarity made them seem so? From this 1996 recording by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, one would have to vote for the latter because Copland the Modernist is every bit as great a composer as Copland the Populist.

The three Copland classics on this disc–Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring and Rodeo–are all ballet scores, and from the very first bars of Billy, with its evocative depiction of the wide-open prairies, you are firmly in the territory of music that tells a story. But you don't need to follow all the ins and outs of each story to enjoy music which paints as vivid a picture of rural America as you could hope for. If the sprightly "Hoe Down" from Rodeo brings a splash of colour to concert programmes, the remarkable thing about so much of the music in these three pieces is how quietly sensitive it is. And while Michael Tilson Thomas does not hold back in wringing every last ounce of splashy razzmatazz, he is equally the master of introspective music which clearly demonstrates that you don't need to be loud to be a populist. The recordings were made in the San Francisco Symphony's home, Davies Symphony Hall. You couldn't hope for more authentic performances than this–more than 76 minutes of dyed-in-the-wool Americana.