Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man

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University of Illinois Press, 2000 - Biography & Autobiography - 690 pages
One of America's most beloved and accomplished composers, Aaron Copland played a crucial role in American music's coming of age. Indeed, Copland masterworks like Appalachian Spring and A Lincoln Portrait only begin to tell the epic story of a career spent composing a wealth of music for opera, ballet, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, band, radio, and film.

Howard Pollack's expansive biography examines Copland's long list of accomplishments while also telling the story of the composer's musical development, political sympathies, personal life, relationships as an openly gay man, and tireless encouragement of younger composers. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award, Copland played a vital role in the Yaddo Festival and as a beloved teacher at Tanglewood, Harvard, and the New School for Social Research. He turned to conducting later in life and via tours promoted American classical music overseas while taking it to appreciative audiences across the United States.

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Contents

A Copland Portrait
3
Background Matters
15
Early Education and First Works
30
Paris
45
Copland and the Music of Europe
57
From Sonata Movement to Grohg 192124
76
Return and Rediscovery
88
South of the Border
216
From The North Star to Appalachian Spring 194344
378
From Jubilee Variation to Four Piano Blues 194548
407
From The Red Pony to the Piano Quartet 194850
428
The Changing Scene
451
From Old American Songs to the Piano Fantasy 195057
467
From Dance Panels to Connotations 195962
486
From Emblems to Proclamation 196482
503
Identity Issues
518

Personal Affairs
234
Copland and the American Theater
257
An Engaged Citizen
270
From the Short Symphony to A Prairie Journal 193337
288
From Billy the Kid to John Henry 193840
314
Music for the Movies and for Keyboard 193941
336
From Lincoln Portrait to Danzón Cubano 1942
357
The Later Years
532
Conclusion
550
List of Works
556
Notes
564
Selected Bibliography
665
Index
671
Copyright

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About the author (2000)

Howard Pollack is John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston. His books include George Gershwin: His Life and Work and The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist's Life and Work.

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