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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.
During the one hour interview, Copland discusses some of his best known compositions: such as Fanfare For The Common Man and Appalachian Spring. Also his settings of Old American Songs, his film scores, his admiration for Natalie Boulanger, Serge Koussevitsy, Leonard Bernstein and Charles Ives, and his love of conducting.
This CDR is available at:
American Music Recordings Archive (AMRA No. 7)
See also:
Essential American Music Recordings (EARS)
The Music of America: Aaron Copland
A recommended 3 CD set of his best known music
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 and Film music
There was an interview with Aaron Copland first published in
Soundtrack magazine, Vol. 19/ No. 75. It is now available online at:The interview was conducted by Roger Hall at the composer's home in July of 1980, and has been reprinted in this book...
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A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (4th 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 2008, 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.
Copland has been named for a Lifetime Achievement Award and in honor of that recognition, there is a special non-commercial CD compiled titled,
Aaron Copland On Film Music
Read more about this CD and Lifetime Achievement at the
See also this recommended scholarly 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 other 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:
Here are 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)
Copland and The ShakersAaron Copland's arrangement of the Shaker dance 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 exclusive interview with Copland about his Shaker song arrangements in
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Recommended Links
Aaron Copland Biography (Sony Classical)
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