Copland
Copland wrote a ballet about one of the most famous "western gangsters" in history: Billy the Kid. The work was written in 1938 and remained popular for over a decade. Unfortunately, his works are no longer
heard or performed often enough today. In my opinion, Copland is one of the greatest American performers in music history, but he is not given the recognition he deserves by today's society. By looking at Copland's works
and analyzing his "Billy the Kid," the necessary proof of his greatness will, without question, show the fact that he is one of the greatest American composers of all time.
Aaron Copland, whose family name was changed from Kapland by immigration officials in New York, was born on November 14, 1900 and died December 2, 1990. His parents were of Lithuanian Jewish descent. His parents emigrated from Russia to the United States. His father owned a department store and they did not live lavishly. As he explained, "I was born on November 14, 1900 on a street in Brooklyn that can only be Geruso 2 described as drab. It had none of the garish color of the ghetto, none of the charm of an old New England thoroughfare, or even a pioneer street...."He began to take piano lessons at the age of fourteen under the tutelage of his sister Laurine.
Soon he wanted more professional lessons. Despite the fact that his four elder siblings had taken lessons with no success, he convinced his parents to pay for lessons. "I distinctly remember with what fear and trembling I
knocked on the door of Mr. Leopold Wolfsohn's piano studio on Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn, and-once again all by myself-arranged for piano lessons." The idea of composing music was not "connected...with my family or with my
street." By the ag...
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...ers of his time.
The fact that his contemporaries gave him many awards proves that he was one of the greatest composers of his time. Still, the strongest point in proving his greatness is that fact that he was able to adapt to the changes around him. By his own admission, "...an entirely new public for music had grown up around the radio and phonograph. It made no sense to ignore them and to continue writing as if they did not exist. I felt that it was worth the effort to see if I couldn't say what I had to say in the simplest possible terms." His success in changing to the times speaks volumes about his ingenuity. Many people have an extremely difficult time dealing with
change and adapting to it. Copland's fluidity dealing with change was amazing. The fact that he kept up with the changing times and did it with great success is amazing; he didn't "miss a beat.
Classical music can be best summed by Mr. Dan Romano who said, “Music is the hardest kind of art. It doesn't hang up on a wall and wait to be stared at and enjoyed by passersby. It's communication. Its hours and hours being put into a work of art that may only last, in reality, for a few moments...but if done well and truly appreciated, it lasts in our hearts forever. That's art, speaking with your heart to the hearts of others.” Starting at a young age Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven have done just that with their musical compositions. Both musical composers changed the world of music and captivated the hearts of many. Their love of composing shared many similar traits, though their musical styles were much different.
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
One man made his impression on the music world soon after he arrived to America. His
many love stories, shaped his legacy. His influences on other artists, such as, African-American singers, Chuck Berry and Little Richard were enormous throughout their careers.
After a concert at a local grammar school, Franz Schoepp pulled David Goodman aside and confided that he had great hopes for Benny’s future as a musician.
...lassical composers, I applaud this man for his creativity, style, but most of all for the great contribution he has made to the music and film world.
Beethoven, I believe, was ahead of his time. To me, he is the greatest composer of all time. His music is not just sounds of music played together in harmony, but a way of life. The music he created for the world is not just to listen to it, but grabs onto the emotion he was setting up. Beethoven's unordinary style cannot ever be copied by any composer or music artist.
Leonard Bernstein is widely known not only as one of the greatest American conductors, but also as a composer whose creativity and passion was spread over a wide range. His social and cultural influences helped shape his career into a musical icon and his music rekindled the American spirit. Above all, he will be remembered as one of the most amazing and influential musical personalities of the twentieth century.
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, tells a story of a family haunted by the pain of their past and their struggle to find peace to move forward. The story begins with character Boy Willie coming up from the south visiting his sister Bernice. Boy Willie introduces the idea of selling the family’s heirloom, a piano, to raise enough money to buy the land on which his ancestors were enslaved. However, both Boy Willie and his sister Berniece own half a half of the piano and she refuses to let Boy Willie sell it. Through the use of symbolism, Wilson uses his characters, the piano and the family’s situation to provide his intended audience with the lesson of exorcising our past in order to move forward in our lives. Our past will always be a part of our lives, but it does not limit or determine where we can go, what we can do, or who we can become.
His music, the subject of matter that earned him his pedestal in society has depicted the time period he lived in while reminiscing in time periods before.
The first thing I will talk about is the type of music he is know for which gave him that name. Most people listen to the type of music he composed but next to none know who or how it was composed. There seems to be an abundance of music fans who know little or nothing about the origin of their music. By discussing what he has accomplished it will explain why he is considered to be so important to his type of music.
A pioneer of Minimalism, Steve Reich is known as “the most original musical thinker of our time” according to The New Yorker. His contemporary musical style was contradictory to the serialism and aleatory styles of music of his time. That is the very component that is used as evidence that Reich is indeed “America’s greatest living composer.” Music is in his blood. Reich’s mother, the very June Sillman (later June Carroll), was a famous lyricist, singer, and actress. She is best known for her co-writing of a piece called “Monotonous” alongside Arthur Siegel. Both mother and son, June Carroll and Steve Reich, contain a similar conversational quality in the music they write/wrote. At a young age, Steve Reich took piano lessons and grew up listening
Gould was born in Toronto on September 25, 1932 to Florence and Bert Gould. Ever since he was born, he displayed a natural aptitude for piano, and started playing at just three years old. He demonstrated perfect pitch, as well as an uncanny ability to memorize music quickly. Despite clear gifts and skills, Gould never did well in school, and never earned his high-school diploma. He studied with the Chilean pianist Alberto Guerrero, and became a world-renowned pianist at just 21 with his
Even though both musicians treated the existing pieces in infinitely different ways, I think it is apparent what both musicians were trying to achieve; self-acceptance. Both musicians were searching for an affirmation of their own individual style. By looking back at musicians previous to them they were able to satisfy their need to pay respect, not only, to what others have done but at the same time develop their own style and, even if subtly, push the envelope.
...cal and romantic eras. He is one of the most well-known composers of all time. By the last decade of his life, Beethoven was almost completely deaf. He gave up conducing and peforming for audiences, and instead took to composing.