The Orchestra of the Americas - Pan-American Reflections - BBC Music Magazine

Performance 3*
Recording 4* 

The Orchestra of the Americas has members aged 18-30 from over 20 countries, who spend a year in the ensemble honing their skills as fledgling professional musicians. The class of 2018 was clearly a good one, as these live recordings from its European tour that year demonstrate.

Despite some shakiness at the opening of Copland’s Symphony No. 3 – the unison strings phrase a touch prosaic, and brass detail is slippery – the first movement develops a powerful momentum towards a crashing climax. The Allegro molto movement which follows is muscular if rhythmically a touch deliberate in places. The most searching, expressive playing comes in the slow movement, although the forwardly balanced recording drains some of the atmosphere and ambience. 

The coupling of Copland with the Mexican composer Carlos Chávez makes sense, as the two were friends and admired one another’s music. Carlos Miguel Prieto and his players catch the ethnic flavourings in Chávez’s Sinfonía india colourfully, in a performance full of snap and bounding energy. It’s a short work (just over 11 minutes) and makes a lively encore to the Copland.