"Aaron Copland (1900-1990), a leading American composer, was born in Brooklyn; his parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. 'No one ever talked music to me or took me to a concert,' he recalled; but he discovered music on his won and at fifteen decided to become a composer. He was drawn to 'modern' music, although his first teacher discouraged it; and in 1921 he went to France to study with Nadia Boulanger an extraordinary woman who taught several generations of American composers and was sympathetic to contemporary trends.
"Copland's music went through several phases. When he first returned to New York, he wanted to write works that would be 'American in character'--and to him, American meant jazz. An example is his Music for the Theater (1925), a piece for small orchestra with elements of blues and ragtime; but this 'jazz period' lasted only a few years. During the early 1930s he composed serious, very dissonant, sophisticated works (such as the highly regarded Piano Variations, 1930) that convey starkness, power, percussiveness, and intense concentration.
"In the late 1930s, he modified his style again, writing more accessible works for a larger audience. These were the depression years,when many composers rejected the idea of writing for an elite, and Copland now drew on American folklore--as in his ballets Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942), Appalachian Spring (1944)--and on jazz, revival hymns, cowboy songs, and other folk tunes. His scores for films and his patriotic works (such as A Lincoln Portrait, 1942) also reached a mass public,and his name became synonymous with American music.
"Copland accomplished the difficult feat of writing simple yet highly professional music. His textures are clear; his slow-moving--often almost motionless--seem to evoke the openness of the American landscape; and, though strongly tonal, his works embody twentieth-century techniques such as polychords, polyrhythms, changing meters, and percussive orchestration. He has also used serial technique (the manipulation of a tone row, or series) in such works as Connotations for orchestra (1962).
"Aside from his numerous compostions, Copland has make many other contributions to American music by directing composers' groups, organizing concerts, lecturing, writing books and articles, teaching, and conducting."
Appalachian Spring (1943-1944)
"Appalachian Spring originated as a ballet score for Martha Graham, the great modern dancer and choreographer. It took Copland about a year to finish the music. While composing Appalachian Spring, he thought, "How foolhardy it is to be spending all this time writing a thirty-five minute score for a modern-dance company, knowing how short-lived most ballets and their scores are." But Copland arranged parts of the ballet as a suite for full orchestra (originally, the ballet used only thirteen instrumentalists) that won important prizes and brought his name to a large public. Today, Appalachian Spring is widely performed both as a ballet and as a concert piece.
The ballet concerns a 'pioneer celebration in spring around a newly built farmhouse in the Pennsylvania hills' in the early 1800s. The rhythms and melodies are American-sounding and suggest barn dances, fiddle tunes, and revival hymns. But Copland uses only one actual folk tune in the score--a Shaker melody entitled Simple Gifts. (The Shakers were a religious sect established in America around the time of the Revolution. They expressed religious fervor through shaking, leaping, dancing, and singing.) Appalachian Spring is bright and transparent, has a clear tonality, and is basically tender and calm in mood. The score's rhythmic excitement comes from delightful syncopations and rapid changes of meter. As in many twentieth-century works, the orchestra contains a piano and a large percussion section, including xylophone, snare drum, wood block, and glockenspiel. The eight sections of the suite follow one another without pause."
The above is from Music an Appreciation by Roger Kamien,Brief Edition, page 279-281.
I decided to add what Mr. Kamien had written about Appalachian Spring because I love the piece. You will be familiar with it. It is used on a car commercial. Also listen to Rodeo. You will recognize a lot of that. It has been used in many westerns. One of my favorite movements from Rodeo is used in the American Beef Associations's commercial. It is the "Beef. It's what's for dinner" commerical. It is great fun.
Another fact I enjoy about Aaron Copland is his friendship with Leonard Bernstein. You can read more about that at this site. This site is one page of the Offical Leonard Bernstein web site. There are even letter the two wrote to one another. I enjoyed reading them.
Just this April I discovered Leonard Bernstein's Young People Concerts. Mr. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic did a series of television shows over a period of eleven years for CBS. These television shows were designed to teach his audience basic information that will increase their understanding about classical music and their listening enjoyment. He is successful. These are excellent videos. On several of these videos, the New York Philharmonic performs Copland's music. One of the videos ends with Aaron Copland directing one of his own compostions. You will enjoy the lessons, the music, and the fun. They should be watched over and over. I found these at the Joplin Public Library. I am sure you can find them at your library too.
