Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Composers". The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many consider the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. He is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as "populist" and which he called his "vernacular" style. Works in this vein include the ballets ''Appalachian Spring'', ''Billy the Kid'' and ''Rodeo'', his ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' and Third Symphony. In addition to his ballets and orchestral works, he produced music in many other genres, including chamber music, vocal works, opera, and film scores.

After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland traveled to Paris, where he first studied with Isidor Philipp and Paul Vidal, then with noted pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. He studied three years with Boulanger, whose eclectic approach to music inspired his own broad taste. Determined upon his return to the U.S. to make his way as a full-time composer, Copland gave lecture-recitals, wrote works on commission and did some teaching and writing. But he found that composing orchestral music in a modernist style, which he had adopted while studying abroad, was unprofitable, particularly in light of the Great Depression. He shifted in the mid-1930s to a more accessible musical style that mirrored the German idea of ("music for use"), music that could serve utilitarian and artistic purposes. During the Depression years, he traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, and Mexico, formed an important friendship with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, and began composing his signature works.

During the late 1940s, Copland became aware that Stravinsky and other fellow composers had begun to study Arnold Schoenberg's use of twelve-tone (serial) techniques. After he had been exposed to the works of French composer Pierre Boulez, he incorporated serial techniques into his ''Piano Quartet'' (1950), ''Piano Fantasy'' (1957), ''Connotations'' for orchestra (1961), and ''Inscape'' for orchestra (1967). Unlike Schoenberg, Copland used his tone rows in much the same fashion as his tonal material—as sources for melodies and harmonies, rather than as complete statements in their own right, except for crucial events from a structural point of view. From the 1960s onward, Copland's activities turned more from composing to conducting. He became a frequent guest conductor of orchestras in the U.S. and the UK and made a series of recordings of his music, primarily for Columbia Records. Provided by Wikipedia
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  1. 41

    Rodeo El salón México ; Danzón cubano ; Billy the Kid by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    London : Argo, 1994
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  2. 42

    Music for a great city by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    London ; New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1965
    Format: Musical Score Book


  3. 43

    Billy the Kid : excerpts from the ballet : for two pianos, four hands by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1946
    Format: Musical Score Book


  4. 44

    Orchestral works. 2, Symphonies by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    Colchester, Essex, England : Chandos, 2016
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  5. 45

    Aaron Copland : 81st birthday concert at the Library of Congress. by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York, NY : Bridge, 1993
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  6. 46

    Ballet music = Musique pour le ballet = Ballettmusik by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    London ; New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1999
    Other Authors: “…Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990…”
    Format: Musical Score Book


  7. 47

    Sextet for string quartet, clarinet and piano by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    [New York, New York?] : Boosey & Hawkes, 2000
    Format: Musical Score Book


  8. 48

    81st birthday concert at the Library of Congress by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York, N.Y. : Bridge Records, 1993
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  9. 49

    Choral finale from Canticle of freedom by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    [New York] : Boosey & Hawkes, 1955
    Format: Musical Score Book


  10. 50

    What to listen for in music by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York, N.Y : Signet Classic, 2011
    Format: Book


  11. 51

    Early orchestral works, 1922-1935 by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York, N.Y. : Sony Classical, 1991
    Other Authors: “…Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990…”
    Format: Audio


  12. 52

    Billy the Kid : Ballet suite ; Statements, for orchestra by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    Other Authors: “…Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990…”
    Format: Audio


  13. 53

    Appalachian spring (Suite) ; Short symphony : (no. 2) ; Quiet city ; Three Latin-American sketches by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    Hamburg : Deutsche Grammophon, 1989
    Other Authors: “…Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990…”
    Format: Audio


  14. 54

    Works for piano. Vol. 1 by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    Germany : Wergo, 1993
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  15. 55

    Fanfare for the common man Appalachian spring. Suite ; Third symphony by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    San Francisco, CA : Reference Recordings, 2000
    Other Authors:
    Format: Audio


  16. 56

    Old American songs : [voice and piano] by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1997
    Format: Musical Score Book


  17. 57

    Billy the Kid : piano solo by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1944
    Format: Musical Score Book


  18. 58

    Fanfare for the common man by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    [Place of publication not identified] : Boosey & Hawkes, 1944
    Format: Musical Score Book


  19. 59

    The cat and the mouse : scherzo humoristique for piano solo by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    [United States] : Boosey & Hawkes, 2000
    Corr. ed. 1996.
    Format: Musical Score Book


  20. 60

    Copland conducts Copland by Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990

    New York : Columbia Masterworks, 1988
    Other Authors: “…Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990…”
    Format: CD Audio