Aaron Copland was probably the first American Classical Composer whom everybody in the world agrees is great (I think Gershwin was just as great). He is known for music which draws on American gospel, western music, and the music of the Appalachias. Probably his best known works are Appalachian Springs, a wonderful string symphony, and Billy the Kid, an opera based on western themes. He wrote jazz-inspired music too (5 Piano Blues, a take on Gershwin-era jazz), and some really out-there stuff which borders on atonal, which I personally do not care for. I like a lot of his music, but have come across a discovery - he had a fondness for writing short piano pieces, and some of them are quite lovely. I came across this piece when a friend of my mine gave me a book of his music that a library was about to throw away. Midsummer Nocturne (1947) is only a couple of minutes long and is wonderful. It sounds simple, but is actually quite difficult to play because of some crazy grace notes, some of which must be played quite fast, and some of which are more than an octave-and-a-half away from the home note(!) If you watch the youtube video, you'll notice that it features mountains (I presume from Appalachia). The music is soft and gentle, but somehow matches the majesty of the visuals. Music doesn't get much better than this -
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There are a number of works by Aaron Copland that I have enjoyed many times, especially when I first began to learn about and listen to classical music. The most outstanding works that I recall were Billy the Kid and Rodeo.
One of my favorite sections from Billy the Kid is the Celebration after the gun battle, and capture of Billy the Kid.
This performance by Leonard Bernstein is OUTSTANDING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37c4EOSzOgQ
Compare it, if you will, with this rather lackluster and rather rushed performance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh-_xrklF_A
(It makes me wonder whether some Texans are always so rushed, just as those who felt rushed to get G.W. Bush into the political arena, before he could tell the difference between a crime and a just cause).
Lovers of solo piano may enjoy this piano rendition of the Celebration of the Capture of Billy the Kid. I discovered only recently:
Piano Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtJ42xz46ek
Leonard Slatkin does a nice performance of the Introduction to Billy the Kid, here:
The Open Prairie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJnLdanrQ_Y
"The Buckaroo Holiday" from Rodeo is also quite enjoyable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSMmwOqo0rY
I am familiar with most of these and like them. I almost posted Open Prairie instead of the one I did post. I played this when I was more active as a pianist and it's one of my favorites. Really captures the name
I have long been aware of his major ballets and have liked them well enough. Ive always loved his rich orchestrations and harmonies, but always thought that his well known pieces were somewhat overplayed - and some of the cowboy stuff struck me as hokey. A couple years ago, I stumbled across his composition "Quiet City" which was written for a stage play and features interplay between trumpet and English Horn. It was fun to discover such a wonderful piece of music that I previously had no idea even existed. This caused me to view his music, and to a degree music in general, in a new light. Prior to discovering the piece, I was much more into music which was abstract, atonal,challenging and harsh. This piece taught me that it is OK for music to be melodic and even "pretty "every now and then. Although I always try to find my own voice in my compositions, Copland's music, "Quiet City" in particularly has directly influenced one or two of the pieces that I have done. He is definitely a favorite and rightly rates as one of America's best composers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_MxTZlYL14
I love Copland. One piece little talked about, and quite different in tone are his Variations for piano from 1930.
For the 20th century piano music collections, my absolute favorite are the Ligeti piano etudes… (Stravinsky's Petrushka - piano transcription is also quite amazing)..
But I have fairly recently stumbled on the Copland variations…. and they are certainly curious in many ways, to say the least… I am still getting to know them..
here's Hamelin playing them, with the score shown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1-vIw_M-Qg
" ... always thought that his well known pieces were somewhat overplayed - and some of the cowboy stuff struck me as hokey."
This is a potential problem. As one expands one's horizons beyond the US, and out into the greater world of art and music, one gains a different impression of Copland and his place in that larger world.
I have often had the sense that when Copland pieces are included in concerts in continental Europe, it is done more out of "respect" (or sometimes even pity) for America and its "attempts" at serious contemporary art music. When one compares him with other twentieth century continental European composers, he does not appear to come up so high.
Other international "greats" who wrote during the 20th century (Bartok, Prokofiev, Ravel, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Sibelius, Puccini, Dvorak, Debussy and Benjamin Britten) come up higher on the "objective rankings."
Certainly, many moderns and contemporaries (Janacek, Nielson, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Edgard Varèse, Milhaud, Messiaen, Pierre Henry, Pierre Schaeffer, Stockhausen, Boulez, Iannis Xenakis, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Luigi Nono, Berio and Giacinto Scelsi) will be far more respected from the point of view of originality.
These piano variations, mentioned above, merit consideration, as Copland's attempt at being "modern".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1-vIw_M-Qg
Hamelin plays Copland - Piano Variations Audio + Sheet music
Here's a "modern" Passacaglia by Copland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPrRvr2vx8M
(It starts out rather interestingly, but becomes considerably more stayed and traditional as it proceeds).
Did Copland attempt anything polytonal, atonal or microtonal? I couldn't find anything that was obviously modern, or I should say, "contemporary," other than these two pieces.
Copland's influence and importance on the American musical scene is, of course, beyond question. But I am not sure who owes him more of a debt: composers of American film music, like Elmer Bernstein, or more serious modern American art music composers, like William Schuman. Probably the former. John Cage, in spite of being "an American" is probably still more respected abroad by large numbers of serious European art music composers for his innovations and originality. The same could be said for Charles Ives, I think.
Listened to this 3 times. I liked it. It evokes the feeling of sitting alone on a ridge, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and taking in the view of those majestic mountains while the pure, unpolluted air blows by in a soft breeze.
Gavin.. I like the piece you posted as well… Such a beautiful melody (reminds me a bit of a Gershwin song), simply stated… But a sense of his 'grandeur' also makes an appearance in the middle. Quite lovely.
O-
That passacaglia is So striking for the first 2 minutes! …after that it is hit and miss for me.. (thought i heard a little Debussy in there..on one brief section).
Thanks for posting.
You're welcome.
gregorio X said: