# Aaron Copland's "other" type of music



## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

Other type of music means his film music, or maybe something tht did not title with a traditional one like "symphony", or "concerto", or "quartet". Yes his film music is quite cool if you are into a different feel but very wide range of expressition. I attended a concert of some of his film music and was impressed over six months ago, to begin to understand some of his lesser known music.

I would like to explore his other works - any works actually. I know the symphonies and concertos. His clarinet & harp concerto also has this "other" feel to it like I get with his film music.  Can you share your recommendations and knowlege about Copland is appriciated.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

Piano Variations / Sonata / Fantasy


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

His two sets of "Old American Songs' and his settings of Poems of Emily Dickinson are favorites of mine. Both have been recorded frequently. The Old american Songs are usually sung by a Baritone (William Warfield was the first and perhaps the best) but there is an excellent recording, if you can still find it, by the great tenor Peter Pears with Benjamin Britten at the piano,


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Nice clip, thanks for posting.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Love Copland. Some personal favorites:

Down A Country Lane - a gorgeous three minute piece that was written for piano and arranged for youth orchestra

Old American Songs (sets 1 and 2) - great collections of American folk songs given a very artistic makeover

The Red Pony - A suite of music written for a film based on the John Steinbeck book of the same name

Our Town - A suite from the film. Grovers Corners is especially beautiful

Quiet City - A one movement work based on music from a play by Irwin Shaw


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

I LOVE this clip of Copland's "I Bought Me A Cat" from "Old American Songs - Part 1"





13yjY


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

Very good Olias, thank you.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

All good. The only one I'd add is his _*Lincoln Portrait*_, for narrator and orchestra (1942). I've recently been listening to a version with wind band. It can come across as kind of cheesy & cliched to some now, but given Copland's leftist/Communist background, this work was quite controversial then, it was banned for a time in the USA, during the McCarthyist "witchhunt" era. But apart from the politics, it's quite an uplifting work, speaking to the nation coming together during the times of war it was written in. Henry Fonda narrated a good recorded version of ages back, with the composer conducting, but there have been other more recent ones, eg. James Earl Jones did one as well (the voice of Darth Vader!).

I agree his less travelled works can be very rewarding, but I have yet to listen to his serial works like_ Inscape_ and _Connotations_. I will get to them eventually, they are yet another thing I want to get to eventually.

Another thing is his writing on music appreciation, aimed esp. at layman listeners like many on this forum. I recently read one of his books, focusing on modern/contemporary music, a series of lectures he did in the 1950's. It was very interesting, coming from a composer's viewpoint, how these guys think about music, how they take their inspiration and turn it into reality, etc. I recommend his writings to people, they are still worth reading despite the fact that they're not exactly recent, they made me think about music on a deeper level for sure...


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## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

lots of suggestions for me to discover. Even the American songs.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

For slightly 'knottier' Copland I would suggest the previously mentioned Piano Variations and Connotations for Orchestra. Also of interest are two of his rare chamber works, the Sextet transcription of his 1930s Short Symphony and the Piano Quartet from 1950.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Here's my recommendation. I picked up a copy of this excellent CD a couple of years ago.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^I think that work _Grohg_ was refashioned into his_ Dance Symphony_. I've got the latter on disc but have only given it a cursory listen. It's with Maestro Dorati conducting his Detroit players. I'll have to listen to it sometime, I have in the past skipped over it to just listen to the more popular "warhorse" works on that disc...


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Sid James said:


> ^^I think that work _Grohg_ was refashioned into his_ Dance Symphony_. I've got the latter on disc but have only given it a cursory listen. It's with Maestro Dorati conducting his Detroit players. I'll have to listen to it sometime, I have in the past skipped over it to just listen to the more popular "warhorse" works on that disc...


Yes, that is correct according to the Argo liner notes. Grohg was Copland's first major orchestral work composed during his time in Paris in the 1920s. The piece went largely unheard at the time due to the fact that it was never picked up by a choreographer or ballet company. He updated the score in 1932. It was discovered by Oliver Knussen miscatalogued in the Library Of Congress in the 1980s.


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