Copland's "Danzón Cubano" played by Aaron Copland and Leo Smit (1947 rec.)

Aaron Copland's "Danzón Cubano" (1942) for two pianos. Aaron Copland (1900-1990) and Leo Smit (1921-1999), 2 pianos Recorded in 1947 (Note: already uploaded by TheWelleszTheatre but this transfer has better sound quality.) In 1942, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the League of Composers, Copland wrote this impression of a Cuban dance style that he had observed during his tour the preceding year. "Danzón is not the familiar hectic, flashy, and rhythmically complicated type of Cuban dance. It is more elegant and curt and is very precise as dance music goes. The dance hall itself seemed especially amusing to me because it had a touch of unconscious grotesquerie, as if it were an impression of "high-life" as seen through the eyes of the populace—elegance perceived by the inelegant.... I didn't actually intend the piece to be grotesque, but, of course, there is that element in the original dance itself. Similar to that style, Danzón Cubano is very secco, very precise and elegant. It contrasts strong, rhythmically marked sections with a rather sentimental tune following immediately after but not quite mixing with the dryness of the preceding part." (From liner notes to Columbia record M-33269.) The first performance, by the composer and Leonard Bernstein, of the original two-piano version took place at New York's Town Hall on December 17, 1942. Two years later, Copland made an orchestral version, which was introduced on February 17, 1946, by the Baltimore Symphony, Reginald Stewart conducting. Both Copland and Bernstein have conducted recordings of the orchestral version. If you like Copland's music, please visit this excellent blog: http://fanfareforcopland.blogspot.nl/

Added 10 Jul 2026