DOUBLE COPLAND

Why has Leonard Slatkin’s new recording of Copland’s Third Symphony been reviewed twice in your magazine? (August and September issues). After all, your reviewers Geoff Brown and Terry Blain seem broadly in agreement with the quality of the performance, though Blain seems to think more highly of the symphony. I must say I’m with Blain on this; I can’t agree with Brown’s claim that the symphony has not aged too well. For me it is the great American symphony, music’s equivalent to another great fanfare to the common man that appeared in 1946: Frank Capra’s cinematic masterpiece It’s a Wonderful Life. They are lifeaffirming works coming out of an age of darkness; and goodness knows, such eloquent artistic optimism that lifts the spirit could not be more welcome these days.

THE REVIEWS EDITOR REPLIES

Whoops! I clearly hadn’t had my morning coffee that day.