Howard Mitchell and the National SO in an all Copland program

Here's a recent acquisition and with due thanks to ClickRepair, it is now quite listenable! From around 1956, an all Copland program on Westminster - the usual suspects, Appalachian Spring, El Salon Mexico, Billy the Kid Suite and Fanfare for the Common Man played by the National SO of Washington DC.

Howard Mitchell had a nearly 20 year tenure as conductor in Washington and the general appraisal of his efforts is mixed at best. A solidly trained musician from the American midwest, Mitchell, nonetheless, lacked the intellectual gifts of a truly inspiring conductor. For the most part, his reviewed performances document a generally well prepared ensemble which offered no new insights in to the repertoire but rather followed conventional norms and practices. Interestingly though, Mitchell did achieve some status for his Shostakovich recordings in which he displayed a certain affinity for this complicated artist. Go figure.

The Copland program is, well, pretty difficult not to play well. These pieces are crowd pleasers and Mitchell, as expected, knows the "American" idiom well. What is served up here is enjoyable, though not life affirming, as you would get with Bernstein. The NSO plays well but not as well, surprisingly, as it does in Shostakovich's 1st and 5th symphonies or, The Age of Gold ballet Suite, RCA and Westminster releases. Those expecting the NYPO or the Philadalphia Orchestra won't get in Washington. What one does get, is a good second tier orchestra, of mainly American musicians, enjoying and playing music by one of their own.

Oh, these are mono FLAC's.

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