Aaron Copland created maybe the most distinctively “American” sound in 20th-century music, with his exuberant ballet scores Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo – works that caught, as never before, the vastness and rugged beauty of the American landscape, and the hope-filled spirit of the people. Copland’s music is a virtual signature of the mythic American heartland. At the same time, he was a native New Yorker whose ambitious modernism was refined and transformed by his studies in Paris with Nadia Boulanger in the 1920s. This set includes the three great ballet scores, Fanfare for the Common Man, the Clarinet Concerto (heard throughout Ken Burns’ “The War”), Lincoln Portrait (Henry Fonda narrating) and a selection of Copland’s own film music. Many of the performances are conducted by Copland himself, but also feature Leonard Bernstein, Benny Goodman, Michael Tilson Thomas and John Williams.

Also includes: Quiet City, An Outdoor Overture, The Promise of Living from The Tender Land, The Red Pony Film Suite for Orchestra, Old American Songs (Set One), Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and music from the movies The City, Our Town and Of Mice and Men.