![]() These individuals were formative in the early stages of Copland’s composing career and thus left an immense impact on his life and music. He gained much knowledge and experience with the help of his instructors Paul Vidal and Nadia Boulanger, as well as meeting new comrades like Harold Clurman. His numerous awards included the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 presented by President Lyndon Johnson.In June of 1921, Aaron Copland sailed to Paris, France to study music composition at the Palais de Fontainebleau. His works ranged from ballets, orchestra works, motion picture scores, and chamber music. The world premiere was March 12, 1943, during income tax time to honor the common man.Ĭopland’s death, December 2, 1990, came after a long career that included teaching, writing about music, conducting, and composing. officially entering World War II, but Copland’s is the only one that has remained in orchestral repertory. In 1942, Goossens commissioned a total of 18 fanfares from various American composers in response to the U.S. His work, Fanfare for the Common Man, was composed at the request of Eugene Goossens, the conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His American music was not just about folk celebrations. Both versions have remained very popular. Also in 1945, he arranged the music into an orchestral suite. This ballet earned Copland a Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1945. The celebration includes the local preacher and neighbors, with fiddling and square dances. The story focuses on a group of 19th-century pioneers who have built a new farmhouse for a newly married couple. Martha Graham choreographed it and danced the lead role at its premiere at the Library of Congress, October 30, 1944. ![]() The ballet Appalachian Spring (1944) contains the familiar Shaker hymn tune, Simple Gifts. This ballet was originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille who also danced the role of the American Cowgirl at its world premiere, October 16, 1942, at the Metropolitan Opera House and received 22 curtain calls. Copland weaves various folk songs to create the scene of a social gathering filled with dancing. The last section of Rodeo is the most famous of the ballet: Hoedown. The female lead, the American Cowgirl, competes with the other females to win the attentions of the Champion Roper. The characters of cowhands and cowgirls exhibited classical ballet training with a flair for comedy found in Broadway musicals. His 1942 ballet, Rodeo, used square dance rhythms and American folk songs to create a setting in the American Southwest. It was premiered in 1937 by the Mexico Symphony Orchestra with Chávez conducting and was the first of his signature works that used folk music in a classical composition. Copland composed El Salón México (1936) to depict a fictional dance hall with both upper class and peasants musically separated by European dances and folk music. He wanted to create a distinctly American type of classical music, one that would be as easily recognized as jazz in the U.S., folk music of Mexico, or the nationalistic music of various European countries.ĭuring the Great Depression, Copland visited Mexico several times and became friends with the composer, Carlos Chávez, whose music was influenced by native groups and instruments that made up the Mexican culture. ![]() The works that immediately followed contained jazz elements. That composition, Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, was premiered in 1925 and officially marked Copland’s entrance as part of the classical music scene in America. One of those composers was Serge Koussevitsky who asked him to write something for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. ![]() Under her guidance, he had a thorough music education that ranged from Bach to the contemporary composers of the early 20th century.Ĭopland and Boulanger enjoying dinner together While there, he spent three years studying with Nadia Boulanger, the internationally known composer, conductor, teacher, and pianist. In 1921, he went to Fontainebleau, France to study at the American Conservatory. By the time he was 15, he was studying theory and composition with Rubin Goldmark who was considered a nationalistic American composer. He started formal piano lessons when he was 13 and had already written some small pieces. Copland and his four older siblings developed their interest in music from their mother who played the piano and sang. His parents had emigrated from Lithuania and were active in the Kane Street Synagogue, founded in 1856. With works like Fanfare for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring, and Rodeo, he incorporated folk music, Shaker hymn tunes, and harmonies that resembled the immense and varied landscape, as well as the patriotic and pioneer spirit.Ĭopland was born November 14, 1900, in Brooklyn, NY. Aaron Copland composed music known for its “American” sound during a time when music in the United States was still heavily influenced by the European composers. ![]()
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