A monthly series that explores the inner workings of masterpieces of 20th-century orchestral repertoire. Aaron Copland's "ballet for Martha" was composed during 1944 in New York, Mexico and Hollywood. Alan Hall retraces the first steps of the work, along with contributions from
Copland's biographer Howard Pollack, Elizabeth Auman of the Library of Congress, Nina Fonaroff - one of the original dancers, Michael Boriskin from the Copland House in upstate New York, conductor Leonard Slatkin, inhabitants of the Appalachian mountains and archive recordings of Copland himself.
At 8.20 a complete performance of the original chamber version of "Appalachian Spring" performed by the Columbia String Ensemble conducted by the Composer.