Symphony No. 3 (Copland)


Symphony No. 3 was Aaron Copland's final symphony. It was written between 1944 and 1946, and its first performance took place on October 18, 1946 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing under Serge Koussevitzky. If the early Dance Symphony is included in the count, it is actually Copland's fourth symphony.

Description

Written at the end of World War II, it is known as the essential American symphony that fuses his distinct "Americana" style of the ballets with the form of the symphony, which has generally been a European-dominated musical form. The Fanfare for the Common Man, written in 1942, is used as a theme in the fourth movement. Various fragments from Fanfare are also used for primary thematic material in the first three movements.
\relative c
The first movement opens with a simple theme in the woodwinds and strings, which is echoed warmly throughout the orchestra, before quickly heightening into a brassy fanfare \relative c The movement ends as peacefully as it started, but we are quickly snapped out of the reverie with the thunderous timpani thump that launches the lively scherzo into action.
<< \new Staff \relative c' \new RhythmicStaff >> The whirling second movement features a dashing, boisterous theme, settling into gentler, pastoral segment but ending exuberantly. \relative c The third movement opens slowly and contemplatively, featuring Copland's typically sparse and almost ambiguous harmonies. It digresses into a frisky dance-like passage, vaguely Latin American in tone, before transitioning uninterrupted into the finale, where we hear a pianissimo version of the Fanfare for the Common Man, and then the fanfare in its full glory.
\relative c The duration of this movement is spent primarily with the development and recapitulation of the Fanfare melody: Copland gives it a dazzling contrapuntal treatment while at the same time managing to introduce an entirely new theme. The symphony closes majestically with a final reprise of both the Fanfare and the symphony's opening motif.
In 1947 Leonard Bernstein, while performing the work in Israel, removed some 12 bars from the fourth movement without Copland's consent. Later on, the composer agreed to these cuts, which were incorporated in the 1966 edition published by Boosey & Hawkes. However, in June 2015, B & H published a new performing edition in which the cuts have been restored to conform with the original 1946 manuscript. The overall tone of the work is one of heroism and dignity, and it leaves an appropriately stirring impression.
Note that the Fanfare in the Fourth Movement is not a direct copy of the stand-alone work Fanfare for the Common Man''. There are numerous subtle changes, including a new introduction two key changes, and different percussion parts.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for a large orchestra, comprising piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 4 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, tenor drum, snare drum, triangle, tamtam, glockenspiel, xylophone, anvil, claves, ratchet, whip, tubular bells, wood block, piano, celesta, 2 harps, and strings.

Discography


YearConductorOrchestraLabelNotes
1947George SzellNew York PhilharmonicClassical RootsRadio broadcast
1953Antal DorátiMinneapolis Symphony OrchestraMercury RecordsPremiere recording
1959Aaron CoplandLondon Symphony OrchestraEverest Records
1966Leonard BernsteinNew York PhilharmonicColumbia Masterworks
1970Aaron CoplandBerlin PhilharmonicTestamentRecorded live in 1970, released on CD in 2017
1978Aaron CoplandPhilharmonia OrchestraColumbia Masterworks
1986Leonard BernsteinNew York PhilharmonicDeutsche Grammophon
1986Eduardo MataDallas Symphony OrchestraAngel Records
1989Yoel LeviAtlanta Symphony OrchestraTelarc
1990Leonard SlatkinSt. Louis Symphony OrchestraRCA Victor Red Seal
1996Neeme JärviDetroit Symphony OrchestraChandos Records
2000Eiji OueMinnesota OrchestraReference Recordings
2002James JuddNew Zealand Symphony OrchestraNaxos Records
2010Leon BotsteinAmerican Symphony OrchestraDigital release by the ASOPremiere orchestral recording of the original 1946 version
2014Lt. Col. Jason FettigUnited States Marine BandAltissimo RecordingsFinal movement only; 1946 version as transcription for wind band
2015Carlos KalmarOregon SymphonyPentatone1966 published version
2017Leonard SlatkinDetroit Symphony OrchestraNaxos RecordsSecond orchestral recording of the original 1946 version
2018John WilsonBBC PhilharmonicChandos RecordsThird orchestral recording of the original 1946 version
2019Carlos Miguel PrietoThe Orchestra of the AmericasLinn RecordsFourth orchestral recording of the original 1946 version
2020Michael Tilson ThomasSan Francisco SymphonySFS Media1966 published version