It is an attractive idea to have a Mexican conductor and orchestra tackling a group of Copland's most colourful, outward-going works, not least his specifically Mexican inspiration, El Salon Mexico. Not just that, but so much of the rest has direct inspiration either in Latin American dance rhythms or jazzy syncopations, and predictably Mexicans have a naturally idiomatic feeling for both.
So far so good, but unhappily the recording has been made in what sounds like a radio studio, producing a sound as dry as tinder, totally unhelpful to the musicians. Given the eager thrust of the performances, it remains very wearing to hear this record except in short doses, where one exuberant idea should by rights lead one on to the next. The name of Brian Culverhouse in the credits as producer and engineer guarantees that this was the best sound possible in the circumstances, but the dryness is destructive on many levels. Not only does it take all bloom from the violins, whose most luscious melodies are made to sound thin and shallow, it makes quiet passages sound too literal and lacking in intensity, most strikingly in the hushed calm of the beautiful! Quiet City, taken from a memorable film score. The Three Latin American Sketches are an attractive rarity, not so individuals as El salon Mexico but very much in the same style, and the Rodeo dances come up as fresh as ever, even if the ''Corral nocturne'' sounds too plain. The oboist in the haunting ''Saturday night waltz'' deserves a special credit. On the cheap Greensleeve label one could do worse than put up with the sound, but be warned.'