Aaron Copland - Billy the Kid - Concert Suite (2/3)

Aaron Copland ~ 1900-1990

This is the complete Orchestral Suite, not the Ballet Suite.

Copland's "Billy the Kid" was commissioned by Lincoln Kirstein for his ballet company, Ballet Caravan, in 1938. The hope was to create an "American" ballet, to counteract the Russian tradition so popular in ballet for centuries.

The result, and I'll quote as I know the music but don't know ballet, was, "the first full-fledged American ballet in style and form as well as content," according to the choreographer of the ballet, Eugene Loring.

As I said, I don't know ballet, but I know classical music and this is a wonderful piece of music regardless of the reason for its composition.

Presented here is the second of three sections (I seperated them to make them fit YouTube's 10:00 minute reequirement; hope that doesn't ruin the flow) that make up the entire Suite for Orchestra which came directly from the ballet with very little change from the ballet score. The Suite was split in to 7 pieces by Copland and, though I don't know, and I apologize, where each begins or ends, I'm sure my educated guess as to the end of each piece and the beginning of the next is accurate, but I haven't noted my guesses in the video.

The sections of Copland's Suite are:
I Introduction: The Open Prairie
II Street in a Frontier Town
III Prairie Night
IV Gun Battle
V Celebration (after Billy's Capture)
VI Billy's Death
VII The Open Prairie Again

Performing is the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra led by Erich Kunzel.

Enjoy!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Aaron
• Copland
• Billy
• The
• Kid
• Ballet
• Concert
• Orchestral
• Suite
• Introduction
• Open
• Prairie
• Street
• In
• Frontier
• Town
• Night
• Gun
• Battle
• Celebration
• After
• Billy's
• Capture
• Billys
• Death
• Again
• Cincinnati
• Pops
• Orchestra
• Erich
• Kunzel

[divisioneight]

Few composers captured the American spirit so beautifully as Copeland did in this piece. Europe had Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and countless others who made their sounds of their lands. This is a uniquely American piece of music.

[sivart052]

@c9ari Isn't that why we have music? To say what can't be said?

[cellohero44]

@MadeInKorea02 I play cello in my youth orchestra too; the gun battle is my favorite part! It's so intense!

[MadeInKorea02]

I play cello in my youth orchestra, and holy crap, that gun battle is annoying :(

[Teddyb1939]

I have lots of music by the great Aaron Copland & this lovely piece from Billy the kid has everything going for it. Magic stuff,

[kaibasaid]

the gun battle is just spectacular

the timpani and the horns!!

[Genesis549]

i've seen this in music class!!

[Tsamnon]

Great music!!

[c9ari]

Man this a great piece of music! I sat for a long time trying to think what really to say about it. I knew I really like it but words dont do it justice. It was better to just sit and listen then type.

[MELONMOVIES]

I love it at 3:56