 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A Tribute to Aaron Copland
Born: Brooklyn, New York,
November 14, 1900Died: North Tarrytown, New York, December 2, 1990
Known as "The Dean of American Composers," Aaron Copland is
one of the best known composers of our time.What were his views about his own music?
What did he think of other composers and their music?
Now available is a conversation between Copland and composer Roger Lee Hall.
The conversation took place in July of 1980 at Copland's "Rock Hill" home in Cortlandt Manor, New York.
Here are the track titles with music excerpts and the conversation:
1. Music: Fanfare for the Common Man (opening) [1:29]
2. Conversation: Copland speaks about the Fanfare [1:35]
3. Music: Music for the Theatre (Prologue) [1:21]
4. Conversation: Copland on Leonard Bernstein [1:20]
5. Conversation: Copland on Edward and Marion MacDowell [3:02]
6. Music: Appalachian Spring (original version) [2:35]
7. Conversation: Copland on Appalachian Spring & Martha Graham [1:37]
8. Music: Appalachian Spring (lead in to "Simple Gifts")[1:24]
9. Conversation: Copland on the Shaker song, "Simple Gifts"[1:27]
10. Music: "Simple Gifts" - sung by Peter Pears, 1950 [1:42]
11. Conversation: Copland on his Old American Songs [3:45]
12. Music: "Simple Gifts" - William Warfield,1963 [1:44]
13. Music: "I Bought Me a Cat"- William Warfield,1963 [2:05]
14. Conversation: Copland speaks about Old American Songs & Shaker tunes [2:55]
15. Conversation: Copland on American folk tunes [0:41]
16. Conversation: Copland speaks about film music [3:19]
17. Conversation: Music for the Movies and film composition [4:47]
18. Conversation: Copland on his first film score, The City, 1939 [1:24]
19. Music: "Sunday Traffic" from The City [2:32]
20. Conversation: Copland on his Oscar-winning score, The Heiress, 1948 [1:04]
21. Conversation: Copland on his Oscar-nominated score, Our Town, 1940 [1:46]
22. Conversation: Copland on film music and the audience/ concert hall [2:13]
23. Conversation: Copland on jazz in his Piano Concerto, 1927 [1:59]
24. Music: "Andante sostenuto" from Piano Concerto [2:31]
25. Conversation: Copland on Serge Koussevitzky & Nadia Boulanger [1:17]
26. Conversation: Copland on Charles Ives and his songs [4:53]
27. Music: El Salon Mexico, 1938 (opening only) [0:33]
28. Conversation: Copland on conducting and composing [1:49]
29. Music: "Happy Ending" from The Red Pony [3:05]
30. Music: Appalachian Spring (finale) [1:54]This CDR is available at:
American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC)
Support the Copland House
The restored, longtime residence of Aaron Copland, is the only composer's home in the U.S. devoted to nurturing America's rich musical heritage through a broad range of activities.
An Official Project of the White House "Save America's Treasures" program, Copland House's activities include a thriving composers' residency program, a touring resident chamber ensemble, educational programs based on American music, related public presentations, and various recording, broadcast, and Internet projects.
This is well worth supporting.
Information on Copland House and its national membership organization, Friends of Copland House, may be obtained by visiting
Copland Meets The Shakers
Copland's arrangement of the Shaker song"Simple Gifts" has become known around the world chiefly through its use in the Martha Grahm ballet, Appalachian Spring.
When writing about this ballet score, Jan Swafford has written:
The most famous section is the variations on the Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," a tune Copland rescued from obscurity. His genius for evocation, his simplicity hiding great sophistication and his understated emotion are never better seen than here.
--The Vintage Guide to Classical Music (1992), p 471.Read about the first time when
Read the interview with Copland about his "Simple Gifts" arrangements in
Joseph Brackett's SIMPLE GIFTS
Copland and Film music
There was an interview with Aaron Copland in
Soundtrack magazine, Vol. 19/ No. 75:"Tip To Moviegoers: Take Off Those EarMuffs! Aaron Copland Talks About Film Music"
The interview was conducted by Roger Hall at the composer's home in July of 1980.
This interview is now available online. See this link:
Film Music Review (Spring 2008)
It is also reprinted in this book...
.jpg)
A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (3rd edition)
In addition to the Copland interview, other composers quoted in this book are: Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin, and an interview with Virgil Thomson.
This reference guide includes information about film music from 1926 to 2006, tips on listening to film music, the Top 100 film scores of the 20th century, film music awards, an extensive bibliography and recommended recordings. Also, there are many rare autographs of film composers and songwriters.
Make sure to order this limited edition while supply lasts at the Store.
See also this article --
"Of Mice and Men: Copland, Hollywood, and American Musical Modernism" by Sally Bick (American Music, Vol 23/ No 4, Winter 2005), published by the Society for American Music and the University of Illinois Press. There have been numerous articles published in this journal about Aaron Copland and his music (such as Vol 20, Nos. 1 and 3, 2002). For more information click on this link:
A few recommended CD recordings of Copland's film music:
The Copland Collection, 1936-1948 - includes OUR TOWN and MUSIC FOR MOVIES
Celluloid Copland - Film Music (EOS Orchestra, Jonathan Sheffer, conductor)
Copland: Music for Films (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor)
Recommended Links
Aaron Copland Biography (Sony Classical)
Aaron Copland (W.W. Norton with music examples)
Help support the mission of
American Music Preservation.com
Use this handy Search for your purchases...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
© 2006-2008 PineTree Productions. All Rights Reserved.