Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra present this album, recorded live in 2010 and 2012, showcasing works by contemporary American composer Cindy McTee that embody the musical and cultural energy of modern day America. Her Symphony No. 1 is smartly assembled with diverse ideas that unfold naturally within an orchestral fabric, taking full advantage of the ensemble’s colouristic range. The use of computer music in Einstein’s Dream lends sonic complexity to a piece that celebrates the scientist’s work on quantum theory. The final piece, Double Play, was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Aaron Copland wrote his rarely heard ballet Hear Ye! Hear Ye! for Ruth Page, the dancer and choreographer who was to become the Grande Dame of American ballet. Its scenario is a murder in a nightclub and the ensuing trial in a Chicago courtroom. Copland infused the score with the spirit of his jazz-influenced pieces, controversially distorting part of the National Anthem, and infiltrating music from some of his earlier works. In complete contrast, Appalachian Spring is his most famous work, a true American masterpiece founded on transfigured dance tunes and song melodies. This is volume two of the Complete Ballet series.

This recording, one volume in an acclaimed series of Rachmaninov’s symphonies from Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, features the Symphony No. 3, considered by the composer to be one of his finest works. Both the symphony and the Symphonic Dances, his last work, offer a summation of his late style in blending intense rhythmic energy with rich romanticism.

While Copland’s hugely successful celebration of the American West, Rodeo, has become an American classic, Dance Panels is barely known despite working beautifully as a concert work. Based on popular Mexican melodies, the glittering, even exotic El Salón Mexico is one of Copland’s most frequently performed works. Of his rhythmically complex Danzón Cubano, inspired by a visit to a dance hall in Cuba, in which there were two orchestras playing at both ends, the composer himself wrote: “I did not attempt to reproduce an authentic Cuban sound but felt free to add my own touches of displaced accents and unexpected silent beats.” GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin’s recording of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait (8.559373–74) received “the kind of performance that brought tears to my eyes” (Audiophile Audition).