Composer Aaron Copland was born to parents who immigrated to the US from Russia. It is fascinating to reflect how a person can grow up in a Jewish/American environment and ultimately “invent” the sound of American Music.
Yes, he had terrific training, including studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Still, his is an amazing story.
Now there is a brand new recording of Copland’s music.
Copland:
Appalachian Spring
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! – Ballet in One Act
Performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin.
Aaron Copland wrote his rarely-heard ballet Hear Ye! Hear Ye! for Ruth Page, the dancer and choreographer who was to become the Grande Dame of American ballet. Its scenario is a murder in a nightclub and the ensuing trial in a Chicago courtroom. Copland infused the score with the spirit of his jazz-influenced pieces, controversially distorting part of the National Anthem, and infiltrating music from some of his earlier works.
In complete contrast, Appalachian Spring is his most famous work, a true American masterpiece founded on transfigured dance tunes and song melodies. This is volume two of the Complete Ballet series.
Here is Leonard Slatkin:
