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Aaron Copland - General Notes

Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was a leading American composer of the 20th century. He worked in various styles from atonalism to jazz but is most famous for his folk-inspired works from the late 1930s to early 1950s, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet "Appalachian Spring" (1944). Copland studied in Paris and his talent was recognized early, though some critics were harsh. He championed other composers and promoted modern music through writings and concerts. Copland's liberal views led to criticism during the McCarthy era and he turned to more austere styles late in life. Though viewed as embodying American nationalism, Copland's greatest works transcend national boundaries.

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319 views

Aaron Copland - General Notes

Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was a leading American composer of the 20th century. He worked in various styles from atonalism to jazz but is most famous for his folk-inspired works from the late 1930s to early 1950s, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet "Appalachian Spring" (1944). Copland studied in Paris and his talent was recognized early, though some critics were harsh. He championed other composers and promoted modern music through writings and concerts. Copland's liberal views led to criticism during the McCarthy era and he turned to more austere styles late in life. Though viewed as embodying American nationalism, Copland's greatest works transcend national boundaries.

Uploaded by

Johnny Watt
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Aaron Copland – General Notes

Birth: Nov. 14, 1900


Death: Dec. 2, 1990

Composer. He was one of the leading figures of American music during the 1900s.
Copland worked in a wide range of styles, from atonalism to jazz, but his fame
rests on the folk-based music he wrote from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.
His "Appalachian Spring" (1944), commissioned for dancer Martha Graham, is
probably the best-loved American ballet. It received the 1945 Pulitzer Prize. He
also created several notable film scores and won an Academy Award for "The
Heiress" (1949). Copland was born Aaron Cohen in Brooklyn, of Russian Jewish
descent. He studied harmony with Rubin Goldmark, and composition in Paris with
Nadia Boulanger from 1921 to 1924. His abundant talent was recognized early,
though not always favourably. At the premiere of his Symphony for Organ and
Orchestra (1924), conductor Walter Damrosch turned to the audience and
declared, "If a young man of 24 can write a symphony like that, in five years he
will be ready to commit murder." Copland found a more sympathetic champion in
conductor Serge Koussevitzky, who introduced several of his works, including
"Music for the Theatre" (1925), the Piano Concerto (1926), and the "Symphonic
Ode" (1930). After experimenting with symphonic jazz and different tonalities,
Copland achieved a stylistic breakthrough with the overture "El Salon Mexico"
(1936), based on popular Mexican tunes. "I felt it was worth the effort to see if I
couldn't say what I had to say in the simplest possible terms," he later reflected.
His writing became more lucid, melodious, and broad-based in appeal, and made
free use of the rich resources of American folk music. For the ballets "Billy the
Kid" (1938) and "Rodeo" (1942) he quoted old cowboy songs; Shaker hymns and
white spirituals form the backbone of "Appalachian Spring." Even Copland's
entirely original compositions, such as the "Outdoor Overture" (1938), the famous
"Fanfare for the Common Man" (1942), the "Lincoln Portrait" (1942), and the
Third Symphony (1946), have a folk-like spirit. His other works of this period
include the Piano Sonata (1941), the Clarinet Concerto (written for Benny
Goodman, 1948), "Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson" (1950), "Old American
Songs" (1952), the opera "The Tender Land" (1954), and scores for the films "Of
Mice and Men" (1939), "Our Town" (1940), and "The Red Pony" (1948). Copland's
outspoken liberal views, as well as his known homosexuality, made him suspect
during the 'Red Scare' of the 1950s. In 1953 his music was pulled from President
Eisenhower's inaugural concert, and later that year he had to testify before
congress about his political beliefs (he had been a Communist sympathizer in the
1930's but had never joined the Party). Whether as a reaction to the new political
climate, the rise of serialism in international music, or a combination of these and
other factors, Copland abandoned his "Americana" idiom and turned to composing
astringent, atonal pieces. Among his later efforts are the "Orchestral Variations"
(1957), the ballet "Dance Panels" (1959, revised 1962), "Connotations" (1962),
and "Inscape" (1967). Copland was always an ardent and unselfish promoter of
other composers, and was concerned with improving a general understanding of
modern music by organizing concerts and writing such books as "What to Listen
for in Music" (1939), "Our New Music" (1941), "Music and the Imagination"
(1952), and "Copland on Music" (1960). He was also a fine conductor, and in the
1960's he recorded several of his works for Columbia Records. Copland was well
enough to participate in the nationwide celebrations of his 80th birthday in 1980,
but after that he fell victim to Alzheimer's Disease.
He died two weeks after turning 90. Although Copland has been viewed as a
foremost representative of American Nationalism, his best music transcends
national boundaries. As Igor Stravinsky said of him, "Why call Copland a great
American composer? He is a great composer."

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