While Copland’s hugely successful celebration of the American West, Rodeo, has become an American classic, Dance Panels is barely known, despite working beautifully as a concert work.

Based on popular Mexican melodies, the glittering, even exotic El Salón Mexico is one of Copland’s most frequently performed works. Of his rhythmically complex Danzón Cubano, inspired by a visit to a dance hall in Cuba, in which there were two orchestras playing at both ends, the composer himself wrote: “I did not attempt to reproduce an authentic Cuban sound but felt free to add my own touches of displaced accents and unexpected silent beats”.

Grammy Award-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin’s recording of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait (855937374) received “the kind of performance that brought tears to my eyes” (Audiophile Audition). Leonard Slatkin is a standard bearer for top quality performances of American music, with his Abraham Lincoln Portraits (855937374) described as an “essential purchase” by MusicWeb International.

The internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in December 2012, is known for trailblazing performances, and this superb recording led by its Music Director rehabilitates some of Aaron Copland’s lesser known ballets along with an attractive pair of his best and most lively scores.