Piano Concerto's
I once heard Copland play his own Piano Concerto, an incomparably jazzy  performance. Now, I'd rather hear Copland's own playing of the piece (Sony  Classical SMK 60177) than anyone else's. But Copland obviously approved of Earl  Wild's swinging performance, and he leads the Symphony of the Air (formerly the  NBC Symphony) with gusto. Unfortunately, the remainder of the not-very-long CD  is taken up with the only recording you're ever likely to hear of Menotti's  awful Piano Concerto. This piece sounds mostly like quite bad movie music,  slushy overstewed romanticism with peach sauce. I can't care how well the piece  is played or recorded.--Leslie Gerber