Aaron Copland: A Reader : Selected Writings 1923-1972Born in Brooklyn, Copland was recognized as a musical talent from an early age. After completing high school, he traveled to Paris where he took classes with Nadia Boulanger, who taught a succession of young American composers (Virgil Thomson, Elliott Carter, David Diamond, Arthur Berger, Philip Glass). Returning to America in 1922, Copland began an illustrious composing career and soon received commissions from major orchestras, two of the initial fellowships from the Guggenheim foundation, exclusive recording contracts, honorary degrees, conducting positions around the world, recognition in histories of American music, and requests to write articles, speeches, and books. He also composed scores for Hollywood and formed friendships with celebrities and musical powerhouses. No one before or since has been quite as successful in as many ways -- not even George Gershwin or Leonard Bernstein. For nearly a century, Copland's name has been synonymous with American classical music. He typically performed all his roles gracefully, revealing few signs of struggle or temperament. |
Contents
MUSICAL EXPERIENCE | 1 |
THE LIFE OF MUSIC | 33 |
A Note on Young Composers 1935 | 125 |
When Private and Public Worlds Meet 1968 | 133 |
Defends the Music of Mahler 1925 | 149 |
Schoenbergs Expressionism 1941 1967 | 158 |
Béla Bartók 1941 1967 | 166 |
HIS OWN WORKS | 225 |
PERSONAL | 283 |
| 361 | |
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Aaron Copland Aaron Copland Fund American composer American music Antheil Appalachian Spring artist audience ballet Bartók bass Béla Bartók Blitzstein Boulanger Carlos Chávez clarinet composer's composition concert conductor contemporary music critics dance Darius Milhaud drama Elliott Carter fact feeling film flute Fund for Music George Antheil harmonies hear heard Hindemith Hollywood idea imagination impression instruments interest jazz kind Koussevitzky later letter listening Mahler material melody ment Mexican Mexico Milhaud mind modern music movement musicians Nadia Boulanger nature never notes opera orchestra Paris performance perhaps piano piece played polyrhythmic posers Ravel recent reprinted rhythmic rhythms Roger Sessions Roy Harris Schoenberg score seems sense Sept serious solo Sonata songs sonority sound Stravinsky string quartet style Symphony Orchestra theme thing thought tion tonal tone color twelve-tone violin Virgil Thomson Walter Piston write written wrote York young composer younger