There’s nothing like hearing an orchestra live in concert – especially when it’s the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra! In this latest addition to the MSO Live series, ABC Classics presents music by Aaron Copland, one of the greatest of all American composers.

Copland’s Appalachian Spring defines the essence of America in music: the wide open skies, the pioneering spirit, and the values of simplicity and directness. Originally conceived as a ballet, it paints a tender, gentle picture of rural life: scenes from a traditional country wedding, and the everyday tasks of the young bride and her farmer husband, with the evergreen Shaker melody Simple Gifts at its heart.

The album also features the internationally acclaimed Australian soprano Emma Matthews, performing Copland’s Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson. A perfect marriage of poetry – “fresh, precise, utterly unique,” as Copland described Dickinson’s work – and bold, visionary music, these songs are the perfect vehicle for Matthews’ technical brilliance, expressive genius and, above all, her glorious voice.