RODEO: Works by Aaron Copland, A Piano Recital

Emiko Edwards shines new light on Copland's piano music from rugged and rarely heard works to lyrical, jazz-inflected gems. Inspired by her recent move to a historic rodeo town, Edwards’ debut album RODEO: Works by Aaron Copland is presented live in recital. Released by 4x GRAMMY nominated label Lexicon Classics, RODEO reframes Copland’s music through the lens of America’s cultural and physical landscapes: from rugged, rarely heard works to lyrical, jazz-inflected gems. Through performance and engaging commentary, audiences will gain insight into the historical and artistic influences that shaped Copland's voice: World War II, the assimilation of refugees, jazz, his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and his collaboration with choreographer Agnes de Mille on the beloved ballet Rodeo. Called “dazzling” and “scintillating” by the Classical Source, Emiko Edwards has been featured in performances at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall (London), and on the BBC Total Immersion Series. A staunch advocate for American music, she made her Lincoln Center debut performing an all-Copland program, "One has rarely heard a pianist bring out so many of the nuances latent in Copland's piano music...[an] exceptional meeting between composer and musician," (New York Classical Review), and was presented in recital by the Chicago-based American Music Project (“Critic’s Choice for 2024–25,” Chicago Classical Review). Additional highlights include giving the Philadelphia premiere of the Joan Tower Piano Concerto 1985—for which she was awarded The American Prize, a solo recital presented by the National Museum of African American Music, an Alaskan tour of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Juneau Symphony, and performances recorded for and broadcast on BBC Radio3 and 90.1 WRTI.