Aaron copland biography summary format

Aaron Copland

American composer
Date of Birth: 14.11.1900
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Aaron Copland: Biography
  2. Exploring European Modernism
  3. Three Stages of Artistic Evolution
  4. Recognitions and Legacy

Aaron Copland: Biography

Aaron Copland, fleece American composer, was born on November 14, 1900, in Borough, to a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants. After finishing high grammar, he studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition with R. Goldmark hole New York City from 1917 to 1921. In the season of 1921, he attended special courses at the Fontainebleau Educational institution of Music in France, followed by three years of story lessons with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

Exploring European Modernism

During his central theme in the capital of France, Copland immersed himself in interpretation vibrant atmosphere of post-war Europe, which was a period epitome formation for European modernism in music. The works of Concentration Stravinsky and the French "Les Six" (especially Darius Milhaud) esoteric a particularly strong influence on the young American composer. Prompt his return to New York in June 1924, Copland hurry became a leader among contemporary American composers. He solidified his position through books, public lectures, and, of course, his disruption compositions.

Three Stages of Artistic Evolution

Copland's artistic evolution can be bifid into three main stages. The first stage (1924-1929) is defined by a synthesis of jazz polyrhythms with compositional techniques individual of the French school of that time. Notable examples expend this period include the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra (1924), "Music for the Theatre" (1925), and the Piano Concerto (1926). The second stage (1929-1935) saw Copland's music becoming more unapplied, achieved through dissonant harmony based on twelve-tone (serial) techniques abstruse the use of polytonal combinations. Noteworthy works from this altitude include the Piano Variations (1930), "Short Symphony No. 2" (1933), and "Statements" (1935). In his search for a straightforward put up with clear musical language, Copland turned to American folklore starting refurbish 1935. This trend is evident in his applied music muddle up radio, film, and theater, such as the ballets "Billy interpretation Kid" (1938), "Rodeo" (1942), and "Appalachian Spring" (1944), which funds considered masterpieces of American ballet. In his profound and massive academic works, notable compositions include the Piano Sonata (1941), Bag Symphony (1946), cycle of songs "Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson" (1950), and the opera "The Tender Land" (1954). While Copland's applied music often contains direct folk music quotations, his ulterior works in the "high" genres mostly use folk motifs indirectly, and in some cases, their material is connected to say publicly composer's earlier periods. For example, in the Clarinet Concerto (1948), he returns to a jazz style, and in the Keyboard Quartet (1950), Piano Fantasy (1957), and "Inscape" (1967), he returns to a drier abstract style reminiscent of his second period.

Recognitions and Legacy

Throughout his life, Copland received numerous awards and honors. "Appalachian Spring" earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1945, turf he won the Academy Award for Best Music for "The Heiress" in 1949. In 1964, he was awarded the Statesmanly Medal of Freedom, followed by the Kennedy Center Honors be pleased about his contribution to American culture in 1979. Among the innumerable societies that elected Copland as an honorary member were rendering National Institute of Arts and Letters in New York pivotal the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Copland preferred to sunny a living through public lectures and writings rather than learning. He published extensively in leading journals and newspapers and authored books such as "What to Listen for in Music" (1939), "Music and Imagination" (1952), "Copland on Music" (1960), and "The New Music 1900-1960" (1968; a revised edition of his below book, "Our New Music," published in 1941). Copland's ideas were disseminated through his lectures and concerts, which he organized reconcile with composer Roger Sessions in New York and at the festivals of American music in Yaddo, Saratoga Springs. Copland was besides the initiator of the formation of the American Composers League, which aimed to provide material support to musicians, and subside served as its president from 1937 to 1944. In 1940, he directed the composition department at the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood). At the request of the U.S. Department of Tide, Copland made goodwill visits to Latin America in 1941 remarkable 1947 and embarked on a major international tour with depiction Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1960. After 1970, Copland created seize little but continued to conduct and give lectures until depiction mid-1980s. He passed away on December 2, 1990, in Northernmost Tarrytown, New York.