Aaron Copland

Reproduces 1154 published scores by North and South American composers of the 20th century, arranged in order by composer's last name.

The work is characterized by an austere, neo-Classical rhetoric which is evident in its lean textures and extended contrapuntal play, including three-part canons in the first two movements and the superimposition of one theme in the violin upon a different two-voice canon in the piano in the finale. While the harmonic language is largely diatonic, the tonal centers unconventionally shift on the turn of a note, lacing a degree of ambiguity into the work. Similarly, the piece frequently moves along like an improvisation, tempi increasing and decreasing at a moment's notice. The first movement features a slow introduction that evolves into a vigorous opening theme. A simple second theme punctuated by plain triads in the piano leads into a more turbulent development that climaxes in a triple-forte passage, followed by a recapitulation and a brief coda. The central Lento is more an interlude than a movement per se, while the finale proceeds in binary form. The first half of the finale, derived in varying degrees from previous material in the sonata, proceeds from a scherzo-like theme to a slower, more intimate melody, to a fast spirited tune, to a short folk-like interlude, and finally, a poignant closing theme. The second half more or less recapitulates the first half, with the addition of a somber coda that is actually a brief reprise of the opening of the first movement. - Brian Wise at allmusic.com Composer David Diamond recalls playing the Sonata for violin and piano with the composer in Copland's New York loft at the time of the work's composition. Diamond said, "I advised him to use harmonics in the last movement." The Sonata is in the usual three movements, the last two to be played without pause. Following the premiere in 1944 for which Copland was the pianist, Virgil Thomson called the Sonata "one of its author's most satisfying pieces. It has a quality at once of calm elevation and of buoyancy that is characteristic of Copland and irresistibly touching." - Vivian Perlis, on back cover.

No suelen los músicos escribir "literatura" musical. Los temas que se les ocurren reclaman inmediatamente el papel pautado. De aquí que los libros de divulgación musical o de asuntos relacionados con este arte los escriban, salvo contadísimas y eminentes excepciones, críticos o profesores. Por eso el presente libro despertó, desde su primera edición, un interés tan persistente como inusitado, pues su autor, Copland, es creador de una obra lo más variada en géneros, rica en temática y desarrollada con pleno conocimiento del oficio. En este volumen, el músico, desde el primer momento, se centra decidido en los problemas y aclara dudas, e ideas a menudo confusas. La prosa de Copland muestra características del estilo de su música: concisión y ajuste riguroso. Dentro de esta maniere, Copland nos habla de la creación y de los cuatro elementos de la música (ritmo, melodía, armonía y timbre), de su composición y trabazón interna, de las formas (por secciones y variaciones, fugada, de sonata y libres), de la ópera y el drama musical, de la música contemporánea, de la música para las películas, y de las relaciones entre el compositor y el oyente a través del intérprete. En esta ultima parte plantea las cuestiones que con más frecuencia se discuten en los cenáculos de artistas, con lo cual las incorpora a la cultura de públicos extensos.

10th grade

Grade 11

In this book, Aaron Copland provides an introduction to the formative ideas of our century, and a survey of recent and current trends. He shows first of all how contemporary music grew naturally out of the work of such masters as Mussorgsky and Debussy, through Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, to the work Of younger Americans and others. Then the author discusses individually certain leading composers of Europe and America. A special section is devoted to six outstanding Americans, together with a discussion of Carlos Chávez and a review of certain aspects of Mr. Copland’s own career as a composer. The closing section deals with developments in new musical media—serialism, “chance” music, and electronic music. The book is based on an earlier work by Mr. Copland, Our New Music. The author has added new material, bringing each subject up to date and discussing important changes that have taken place. Schoenberg, Bartók, Hindemith, and other composers are seen from a new vantage point. Dodecaphonic developments are discussed. The famous autobiographical essay, “Composer from Brooklyn,” has been brought up to date. The result is a brilliant panorama of twentieth-century music.

The composer Benjamin Britten asked Copland to arrange a set of American folk tunes for his Music and Art Festival in Aldeburgh, England. Copland wrote five songs for male soloist and piano for the occasion: "The Boatmen's Dance," "The Dodger," "Long Time Ago," "Simple Gifts" and "I Bought Me a Cat." The first set of Old American Songs was written in 1950 and premiered in June of that year by the famous tenor Peter Pears, with Britten at the piano. In 1951 the work premiered in America with Copland himself playing the piano and baritone William Warfield singing. Warfield would go on to become the singer most identified with the songs. The songs were met with such success that Copland composed a second set in 1952 consisting of "The Little Horses," "Zion's Walls," "The Golden Willow Tree," "At the River" and "Ching-a-Ring Chaw." The second set premiered in 1953, again with the Warfield/Copland pairing. The subject matter for Copland's songs was drawn from several places, not all uniquely American -- politics, religion, children, love and loss, death, and the minstrel stage. - New Mexico Philharmonic.

America knows Aaron Copland as our greatest composer, famous for Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Lincoln Portrait, Rodeo; the movie scores for Our Town and Of Mice and Men; and numerous orchestral and chamber works. This book takes us from Copland’s Brooklyn childhood, through his years in Paris studying with the legendary Nadia Boulanger, then his return to America, his early championship of American music, his first successes in Mexico, Hollywood, and as composer of some of the most popular ballets ever produced, and eventually his arrival at Tanglewood. This is not a book about music; it is a book about a genius’ life in music, and its cast of characters, among them Harold Clurman and Clifford Odets, encompasses the elite of all the arts. Vivian Perlis, who has written connecting “interludes” placing the autobiography in its historical context, has obtained recollections by leading figures in Copland’s life (such as Bernstein, Virgil Thomson, and Boulanger) that make up a good part of the text; thus we have their own impressions of the man as well as his impressions of them. Add to all this over a hundred never-before-published photographs, letters, and scores from Copland’s collection, and it is easy to see why Copland is one of the monumental autobiographies of our time.