Amazon.com
Opening with a 12-page chapter that gives a sharper impression of the great American composer's personality than many full-length books, this superb biography goes from strength to strength as it elucidates Aaron Copland's background, beliefs, affiliations, and achievements. Music historian Howard Pollack depicts Copland (1900-90) as a man whose inner serenity and self-confidence enabled him to encompass "startling dichotomies" in his life and work. "A participant in the avant-garde, he wrote works of popular appeal," comments the author. "A Jewish, homosexual, liberal New Yorker, he became a national hero." Moving forward in a generally chronological manner, the narrative mixes two kinds of chapters. Some pursue themes over time: his feelings about European music (he adored Stravinsky, was ambivalent about Mozart), his political commitments (which got him into trouble during the McCarthy era), and his relationships with fellow composers and a host of nonmusical artists all equally determined to give America its own distinctive culture. Others concentrate on describing and analyzing groups of compositions: perennial favorites like Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid, of course, but also the concertos and symphonies respected by his peers. In either mode, Pollack writes with a clarity and dignity eminently suitable to his subject, who seems as warmly appealing as his music. --Wendy Smith Book Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Great approach and thorough biography
When Pollack wrote this book, Copland desperately needed a biographer, and for a initial comprehensive effort, Pollack's book more than fills the bill.

The book is a hefty 550 pages, not counting notes and index, but its unorthodox organization--the chapters are chronological, alternating, for example, a history of a few works with an analysis of some aspect of Copland's life--keeps the story moving.In fact, this organizational gambit is about the only thing that makes a life so sprawling as Copland's manageable.By grouping together everything having to do with, say, Copland and European composers, in one chapter, he makes it much easier for the reader to sink his teeth into the subject and to refer back to a topic later on.

This book is almost a hagiography--Pollack clearly adores Copland and, if anything, views him as underappreciated.In particular, Pollack seeks to revive Copland's reputation as a "serious" composer, right up there in the 20th-century American canon with Ives.Along with such staples as "Appalachian Spring" and "Fanfare for the Common Man," Pollack wants us to recognize the achievements of his later, twelve-tone works.Further, he attempts (somewhat convincingly) to show the relationship between his "popular" works and the less-accessible ones, whereas Copland's works have often been seen as belonging to different "periods."

I wouldn't be surprised if someone supersedes this biography in another 15 or 20 years, but for now, Pollack's book is a great introduction to the man and his work.Not only that, but it places Copland's ascension from struggling artist to eminent public figure in such a way to inspire young artists in all fields.A great read.

Modish in parts, but still an essential guide to Copland
Whilst Esquire as early as 1948 called Copland "America's No. 1 Composer", secondary Copland literature (which, given Copland's habitat and distinction, one automatically credits with a forest-wrecking amplitude) proves surprisingly scarce. The first words of Pollack's own book are, in part: "For many years I took Copland for granted ... he remained a shadowy figure at some distance from the central concerns of myself, my classmates and my teachers".

Amazingly, between 1955 and the present volume not a single comprehensive study of Copland's life, by an outsider (as distinct from Copland's own explications of his aesthetic), appeared. "Essential" biographies of someone or other emerge, if we are to believe the book trade's spin-doctors, at least once every week; the account under review actually deserves this adjective. Its author (Professor of Music at the University of Houston) shows his love for Copland's oeuvre on every page, which helps; here is no glorified doctoral thesis where the authorial jargon struggles to drown out the authorial yawns.

Yes, as other reviewers have complained, modish identity politics get too indulgent a treatment; yes, as they have also complained, Pollack makes too small an effort to integrate his insights into a coherent structure. But we're not likely to encounter a better guide to the subject.

Variations on Copland
While occasionally indulging in tendentious "theory," University of Houston professor of music Howard Pollack's ambitious, uneven book is redeemed by the author's encyclopedic knowledge, informed affection forCopland's (1900-1990) person and music, and the biographer's ability, moreoften than not, to write technically sophisticated musical analyses withoutobscuring the music.

Given the identity politics dominating the newmusicology, for all its flaws, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of anUncommon Man, is a good and valuable book.It contains information frompreviously unavailable letters and interviews with the late composer'sfriends and relations.But why does a tenured, respected professor writingfor a trade house adopt the method of cobbling on end chapters dealing withtendentious, identity-political theory that can only detract from the work? And yet, at present, this may be as good as can be hoped for: Some theoryas encore, to satisfy the commissars.The alternative is, increasingly,all tin-eared theory, and no music.

The finest book on Aaron Copland written thus far.
Howard Pollack has, quite simply, written the finest account of Aaron Copland' life and music thus far. I have all of the other biographies - including the excellent autobiography by Copland and Vivien Perlis. Asworthwhile as these earlier publications are, it is Howard Pollack who hasgiven all Copland devotees the quintessential story of the life and themusic of America's greatest composer. I can think of no better place tostart exploring Copland's genius than with this book as an introduction tothe music, without which the world would be a poorer place and the 20thcentury would be missing a unique body of sound. It is inconceivable, to meat any rate, to imagine a world without Copland's music. No one else comesclose to creating his sound world.

Thank you Mr Pollack for making it soclear to all of your readers that Aaron Copland is not only America'sgreatest composer but is, historically, and without question, one of mostimportant composers the world has ever produced.

the finest biography written on the life of a composer !
I have just finished reading Howard Pollack's biography of Aaron Copland.This monumental work provides the diffinitive account of the life and works of America's greatest composer.This is a "must read"for classical music lovers or anyone interested in American culture in the20th century. ... Read more

Book Description
"The definitive guide to musical enjoyment" (Forum) with over 1.5 million copies in print. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Fun and educational
i bought this book because it's so cheap. I was curious about what Copland would say in the book. In fact, it reminds me a lot of thing I have forgotten about writing the music, which is great.

Awesome book
My orchestra director recommended this book because it is the next logical step in musical development.I am a private music teacher and principal cellist in a symphony.Michael, my director, teaches at a university and asks his students to purchase this book.I found it absolutely fascinating and it helps to understand the differing styles and composers.Worth every penny!Aaron Copland is a genius.

what to listen for in CLASSICAL music
On the back of my copy, it says "the best book of its kind I have ever seen - deems taylor"

I don't know if the latest edition still says that, but it's important to know what KIND of book this is. It was written in 1939, and its chapter on "Contemporary Music" is about composers who died long ago.

It's not exactly a "complete idiot's guide" to the subject of what goes on with classical music, but it's close.

Despite its age, it really is beautifully written and contains loads of good information about listening to classical music.

Easily Worth the Price and Well Worth the Effort
Not easy to read but the easiest, useful book on the subject.Revisions excellent.

A great look at music through a great composers eyes!
This is a wonderful book on music appreciation that is accessible to everyone.I first read it many years ago and found that it many layers making it applicable to what I knew at the time and even more relevant as I've gotten older.

I played music professionally for 11 years and I have a deep understanding of music theory.I have also given some lessons on various instruments over the years and appreciate classical music greatly.This book was probably the first book that opened my eyes to classical music and helped me to appreciate it much more.

Many other people have reviewed this book and their words have captured much of my sentiments.Suffice it to say that this work is a gem and an added bonus is that it presents its topic through the eyes of a composer, a man who loved music and fortunately could convey his feelings and orientation to his art beautifully in words.

Thanks Mr. Copland.My life is indeed better for having found this book early in life when I was beginning my musical journey. ... Read more

Book Description
21 art songs, plus 4 arias in the High Voice volume, or 3 arias in the Medium/Low Voice volume. Art song contents for both High and Medium/Low Voice: Dirge in Woods * Old Poel * Pastorale * Poet's Song * Vocalise * Four Early Songs; Night * A Summer Vacation * My Heart Is in the East * Alone * Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (complete; original keys retained for both High and Medium/Low). Arias in the High Voice edition: Laurie's Song (The Tender Land) * Martin's Song (The Tender Land) * The sun is coming up (The Tender Land) * Queenie's Song (The Second Hurricane) * Arias in the Medium/Low edition: Ma's Song (The Tender Land) * Fat's Song (The Second Hurricane) * Gyp's Song (The Second Hurricane). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The best in 20th Century American Art Song literature
When it comes to American art song repertoire, Aaron Copland sets the standard for all others. This is pretty much the best and most complete selection of Copeland art songs and high-voice arias that I was able to find.This edition includes the Emily Dickinson songs and his vocalise that is not readily available in other compilations. this book is worth every penny or the selection of music it offers.It is an essential component of every soprano's library.

The difficulty of this 20th Century American Art Song repertoire is deceptive, since the music mirrors the trend of minimalism that was so prevelant during the time that Copland was composing.The pieces use a wide range of atonal melodies and open fourths and fifths to create what might be seen as a dissonant sound.

The Dickinson poems are a barely-connected cycle of songs based on twelve poems written by the beloved poet, Emily Dickinson.The vocal tricks used by Copland include a sort of hockett ("hick-up"), jumps of a tenth, and a sparse accompaniament that leaves the voice quite exposed.In order to sing these pieces (which the composer wished to be sung in a cycle, or back-to-back), the vocalist must have a solid technique, excellent pitch accuracy and great interpretative abilities.It would be a great benefit for any soloist to add the entire cycle to their repertoire in order to have it available for use as a focal or pivotal point of a recital. ... Read more

Book Description
Aaron Copland is one of America's most beloved musical pioneers, famous for Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Lincoln Portrait, as well as the movie scores for "Our Town" and "Of Mice and Men," and numerous orchestral and chamber works.This candid, colorful memoir begins with Copland's Brooklyn childhood and takes us through his years in Paris, the creation of his early works, and his arrival at Tanglewood.Rich with remembrances from Leonard Bernstein, Virgil Thomson, and Nadia Boulanger, as well as a trove of letters, photographs, and scores from Copland's collection, this is one of our most vivid musical autobiographies, and an enduring record of an American maestro's explosively creative coming of age. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a gem of a book.
Copland not only gave us insight into his life, but the lives of the modern classical composers.Through this book you can learn the "family tree" of modern American and European composers. ... Read more

Book Description
Hailed as important, entertaining, and revealing, Copland: Since 1943 is composer Aaron Copland's irresistible account of the latter half of his career--a career that brought us such pioneering works as Appalachian Spring and Lincoln Portrait, the movie scores for Of Mice and Men and Our Town, and numerous other orchestral and chamber works.It tells the story of how a self-described "brash young man from Brooklyn" went on to become one of the founding fathers of "serious" American music.Featuring cameos by luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein, Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, Benny Goodman, and other peers of Aaron Copland during this explosively creative period, Copland: Since 1943 is an invaluable memoir that charts the crescendo of one of the most accomplished careers in the modern canon. ... Read more

Book Description
Now published in The Masterworks Library. Landmark 20th century works from the Boosey and Hawkes catalogue available for the first time in full score format at pocket score prices with introductory notes, illustrations and photographs. Ideal for students, conductors, performers, libraries, CD collectors and generalmusic enthusiasts. Contains: Billy the Kid Suite. Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo and Appalachian Spring. ... Read more

Book Description
Presents a biography of Aaron Copland ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Book
Venezia's love and respect for music shine through in another of the books in his World's Greatest Composers series. The story of Aaron Copland's life is told in an interesting and amusing fashion and shows children howCopland discovered his own style through his experiences over the years.While Venezia's artwork is comical as ever, the choice of artwork is alsowonderful, showing how music as well as art changed as the times werechanging. Children will appreciate how Copland looked to change his musicalstyle when he realized that many people weren't understanding it. Veneziareally brings Aaron Copland to life in this wonderful little book. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Aaron Copland and His World reassesses the legacy of one of America's best-loved composers at a pivotal moment--as his life and work shift from the realm of personal memory to that of history. This collection of seventeen essays by distinguished scholars of American music explores the stages of cultural change on which Copland's long life (1900 to 1990) unfolded: from the modernist experiments of the 1920s, through the progressive populism of the Great Depression and the urgencies of World War II, to postwar political backlash and the rise of serialism in the 1950s and the cultural turbulence of the 1960s.

Continually responding to an ever-changing political and cultural panorama, Copland kept a firm focus on both his private muse and the public he served. No self-absorbed recluse, he was very much a public figure who devoted his career to building support systems to help composers function productively in America. This book critiques Copland's work in these shifting contexts.

The topics include Copland's role in shaping an American school of modern dance; his relationship with Leonard Bernstein; his homosexuality, especially as influenced by the writings of André Gide; and explorations of cultural nationalism. Copland's rich correspondence with the composer and critic Arthur Berger, who helped set the parameters of Copland's reception, is published here in its entirety, edited by Wayne Shirley. The contributors include Emily Abrams, Paul Anderson, Elliott Antokoletz, Leon Botstein, Martin Brody, Elizabeth Crist, Morris Dickstein, Lynn Garafola, Melissa de Graaf, Neil Lerner, Gail Levin, Beth Levy, Vivian Perlis, Howard Pollack, and Larry Starr.

Book Description
In the 1930s, Aaron Copland began to write in an accessible style he described as "imposed simplicity." Works like El Salon Mexico, Billy the Kid, Lincoln Portrait, and Appalachian Spring feature a tuneful idiom that brought the composer unprecedented popular success and came to define an American sound. Yet the cultural substance of that sound--the social and political perspective that might be heard within these familiar pieces--has until now been largely overlooked.While it has long been acknowledged that Copland subscribed to leftwing ideals, Music for the Common Man is the first sustained attempt to understand some of Copland's best-known music in the context of leftwing social, political, and cultural currents of the Great Depression and Second World War. Musicologist Elizabeth Crist argues that Copland's politics never merely accorded with mainstream New Deal liberalism, wartime patriotism, and Communist Party aesthetic policy, but advanced a progressive vision of American society and culture. Copland's music can be heard to accord with the political tenets of progressivism in the 1930s and '40s, including a fundamental sensitivity toward those less fortunate, support of multiethnic pluralism, belief in social democracy, and faith that America's past could be put in service of a better future. Crist explores how his works wrestle with the political complexities and cultural contradictions of the era by investing symbols of America--the West, folk song, patriotism, or the people--with progressive social ideals.Much as been written on the relationship between politics and art in the 1930s and '40s, but very little on concert music of the era. Music for the Common Man offers fresh insights on familiar pieces and the political context in which they emerged. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

short but profound
Of all the books out there about music, page for page this is one of the best. It's a composer's perspective on why music gets composed, and HOW it gets composed. Copland takes you into the thought processes of musical creation. If you've ever been tempted to subscribe to the idea that music is a universal language, Copland undercuts that idea by exploring the theme of music as NONVERBAL SYMBOLS in a SYSTEM of inherited sounds. The second half of the book is dated, because he's addressing issues that were contemporary in the 1950s. But the first half is well worth reading.

To learn to listen
This book contains the text of the sixCharles Eliot Norton lectures that Copland gave at Harvard. Copland thinks about Music and its meaning. He speaks about the creation and appreciation of Music as activities of the Imagination. He rails against the fuddy- duddy music scene in which all over the world a very limited repertoire of classic works holds the stage. He talks about the special affinities composers have for different types of instruments. He argues for a greater openness to new Music. He distinguishes between the capacity of the ordinary listenerer and the professional musician in terms of their ability to anticipate what is next in the score.
He teaches throughout the meaning of being a listener and lover of Music. ... Read more

Product Description
These twelve songs were composed at Sneden's Landing, New York, at various times during the period from March 1949to March 1950. They are the first works the composer had written for solo voice and piano since 1928. The poems subject matter deal with nature, death, life and eternity. Only 2 of the songs are related thematically, the 7th and the 12th. Nevertheless, the composer hopes that, in seeking a musical counterpart for the unique personality of the poet, he has given the songs, taken together, the aspect of a song cycle. ... Read more

Book Description
Copland's famous ballet suite has never been published in a solo piano transcription. This new version is idiomatic for the instrument, retaining all the music from the standard 1945 orchestra suite. ... Read more

Book Description
Aaron Copland is one of America's best-known composers and writers and twentieth century music. This volume brings together for the first time the best of his published essays on music, with previously unpublished material from his diaries, letters, and writings to present a complete picture of Copland as a cultural critic. ... Read more

Book Description
Contents: Old American Songs (Complete) * Piano Concerto * John Henry. ... Read more

Product Description
DURATION 13 MINUTES. INSTRUMENTATION DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. ... Read more

Product Description
"Note on the Revised Edition: Almost twenty years have passed since the first edition of this book was issued in 1939. It is naturally gratifying to me to know that it has continued to be found useful by music listeners since that time, both in America and abroad. During the past two decades we have witnessed an unprecedented spread of interest in all forms of music throughout the world. Both the quantity and quality of music listening have changed, but fortunately for the author, the basic problems of "what to listen for" have remained about the same. For that reason, only minor corrections were needed in the body of the text. Two new chapters have added---one on the thorny question of how present-day composition should be listened to, the other considering the comparatively new province of film acoring and its relation to the movie-goer. The first of these added sections needs a word of explanation in view of my original claim, in the Preface to the first edition, that contemporary composition posed no special listening problems of its own. This still seems to me to be true. Nevertheless, it is equally true that after fifty years of so-called modern music there are still thousands of well-intentioned music lovers who think it sounds peculiar. It seemed worth an extra try to see if I could elucidate some few facets of new music listening that do not come within the scope of other chapters. Both new sections are based on articles originaly prepared for The New York Times Magazine. My thanks are due the editors for permission to recast some of the material originally printed there. At the back of the book a list of recordings of works mentioned in the text (with a few additions) will be found. For those interested in further reading, a short bibliography has been added, including a special listing of books by composer-authors. These were set down in the hope that listeners would want to hear composers speak for......" [by Aaron Copland, Crotonville, New York, 1957] ... Read more

Amazon.com
The title of this book is a misnomer: there are no parallels between these two composers' lives except that both were Americans and musical innovators. They were as different as they could be. Copland was an open-hearted, open-minded cosmopolitan New Yorker, who, actively engaged in human and social affairs, wrote mainly accessible music and books for the people. Ives was an embittered, idealistic, secretive recluse who wrote mainly inaccessible music and books for himself while selling insurance for a living. Yet, as Daniel Felsenfeld shows in this thoughtful, enlightening book, each in his own way laid the foundation for what came to be defined as the "American" sound and spirit in music. Convinced that a composer's work is inseparable from his life and personality, Felsenfeld divides his book into three inventively organized sections. Beginning with a brief biography and ending with a discussion of some of his subjects' striking characteristics, he shows how their training and experiences influenced their work and careers and then devotes the central part to analyzing their music. Guidance for listening and understanding is aided by a CD of their most familiar compositions in excellent performances.

Copland, son of Jewish Polish-Lithuanian immigrants, studied with Nadja Boulanger, but being surrounded by French music and culture only strengthened his resolve to become an "American" composer. Despite a brief flirtation with serialism, he was determined to close the gap between composer and audience, and he succeeded admirably: his colorful scores, often suffused with folk and jazz idioms, speak to everyone; he became not only one of the most popular, but most respected composers of his time.Ives, whose musician father opened his ears to unheard-of musical combinations, was born into a New England family steeped in transcendental philosophy. His music, eccentric and deliberately perverse, is an acquired taste. Any composer who feels impelled to write a long, linguistically and philosophically impenetrable essay explaining his "magnum opus" can hardly expect to capture a large audience. Felsenfeld makes the best possible case for it, but one senses admiration rather than love.The author's style is not always felicitous (Copland's teacher "feared that Ives' influence might improperly influence the talented young man"), but having obviously read all of Copland's popular and Ives' indigestible writings, he was perhaps improperly influenced himself.--Edith EislerBook Description
This book explains-in vivid picturesque detail-why we still listen with admiration to the work of these men, and how their personalities and the era in which they lived affected their music. The accompanying CD includes a sampling of their music from masterworks such as Appalachian Spring and The Unanswered Question to less common gems and includes guided listenings of exactly how the pieces work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What's on the CD you ask...
Since a third of the book is dedicated to the discussion and dissection of Charles Ives' and Aaron Copland's compositions, here is a listing of the music on the accompanying BMG CD: 1) Copland: Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp and Piano; 2) Copland: Appalachian Spring; 3) Copland: El Salon Mexico; 4) Ives: The Unanswered Question; 5) Ives: "Memories"; 6) Ives: "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven"; and 7) Ives: Three Places in New England - II. "Putnam's Camp". The recording is dominated by Michael Tilson Thomas who appears as both conductor of the London and San Francisco Symphonies and as pianist on "Memories."Also on the disc are Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (Appalachian Spring) and Eduardo Mata conducting the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (El Salon Mexico).

introduction to the music with a CD
Brief biographies of the two premier American composers are followed by tutorials on their music focusing on better-known, widely-aclaimed pieces. The guide succeeds in making the music accessible without dumbing it down at all or trying to popularize it. Felsenfeld is himself a composer and a music writer bringing to the task not only compatibility with Ives and Copland, but also an educator's understanding of the reader's position in wanting to learn more about them and enhance appreciation of their music. With the book is the treat of a CD offering ample samplings of music, including Copland's complete "Appalachian Spring" and four pieces of Ives', who wrote shorter, intense works.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

American Orchestral Master
Copland's Third Symphony is a representative sample of this composersideas on symphonic coposition.The composition is unique in content,forms, tonalities, orchestration etc making it unmistakably Copland. Onecan feel the americanism of the work - its inherent patriotic mood that washigh at the time it was composed.Truely one of the greater Americanmusical achievements of the 20th cent. or of any century! ... Read more