What Are The Similarities Between Copland And Gershwin

Aaron Copland and George Gershwin held multiple similarities throughout their pre-composing lives. The two were born around the same time, Gershwin being born September 26th of 1898 and Copland November 14th of 1900 both in Brooklyn New York. Both of the composers came from Russian Jewish immigrant families, and both developed into musical prodigies through piano teachers from the neighborhood which they both rapidly outgrew. It wasn’t until both men began their musical careers that stark differences arose between the two, mainly through their musical education and how immersion in American society versus European society affected their styles. Both artists are still considered to be the most widely celebrated and most successful modern American

art music composers in modern history, both nationally and internationally.
Copland embraced the norms of American popular music, and utilized them in an artistic manner in his unique harmonic composition which he developed while studying in Europe. Meanwhile, Gershwin brought the ideal skills and methods of a classically trained musician, and infused them with elements from popular American music of that time. To understand each composer’s unique approach to 20th century American music, it is important to thoroughly understand their individual backgrounds; this will provide insight to the composer’s musical influences of that time and how it differentiated the two from one another. Secondly it is important to keep in mind the events that were taking place during this era of rapid change. At the beginning of both men’s careers America was well on its way to entering the era of excess commonly known as the Jazz Age in the music world, or more popularly the Roaring Twenties.
Influence from England, France, and elsewhere in Europe poured into American borders creating a unique mix of cultures, from which blossomed forth a flourishing variety of entertainment in New York that spread all over the country. The 1920’s were years of massive growth for music, they represented an opportunity for America to invent something distinct from the rest of the world that would give the new population a common interest; music would rush to fill that void. Whether it was through Broadway or through the block of West 28th St. between 5th and 6th Ave. known as “tin pan alley,” modern compositions were becoming readily available to anyone that cared to listen. This area was developing into a mecca for emerging composers and lyricists working on or around Broadway at the time, including Gershwin.

The era placed pressure on American composers to write music that was exclusively and distinctly American.

For a society that was now being defined by radically changing racial and ethnic diversity, the music that bore the label of “American” by definition required that multiplicity of cultures. Gershwin’s and Copland’s compositions both epitomize this idea because they were so successful in defining and uniting diverse elements of American culture into their arrangements, giving the American music scene a new exclusive tradition of both foreign sounds and exotic rhythms.

George Gershwin, who lived from the years 1898 to 1937, discovered music at the age of six, and at twelve his talent on his brother’s piano which was directly followed up with lessons. Soon he began studying with Charles Hambitzer, who many say had the strongest and most profound influence on Gershwin. Hambitzer introduced him to the music of Debussy and Ravel, the early works of Arnold Schoenberg, and classical piano literature. At the young age of fifteen Gershwin dropped out of high school and worked in pan tin ally as the

youngest song plugger ever making $15 a week, at the same time he began to get his feet wet in classical composition. By 1919 he had written his first hit "Swanee" and his first Broadway show "La, La, Lucille." Over the next four years he wrote a total of 45 songs, of those included a twenty-five-minute opera called “Blue Monday” that was composed in a mere five days, the piece contained many classical music clichés, but offered several hints towards developments he would be introducing into his works soon to the public. By 1924 in less than three weeks he composed "Rhapsody in Blue," "Concerto in F" followed the next year, and his musical success "Oh, Kay!" the year after that. George continued to compose popular music for the stage, and eventually began to lead a double life, trying to make his mark as a serious composer. His compositions of both classical and popular music, led him to discover a unique combination of the two. His works were built from a foundation of African American music, which brought elements of ragtime and jazz to his Broadway scores, concert works and operas. Gershwin’s compositions can be categorized into three distinct styles, popular, classical, and a mixture of the two. To all three he infused the skill and style of a trained musician, while at the same time incorporating these modern elements that were the most prevalent during the period he was living in. As America moved on towards the thirties, he began to experiment with his musicals, becoming increasingly more creative and more innovative. Music critics of the time were often at a loss as to where to place Gershwin’s music in terms of genre. Some dismissed his work as predictable and tiresome, but they seemed to always find favor with the general public. Later he began to compose Broadway works directed towards the social issues that were emerging from post-World War I America including “Of Thee I Sing” which stormed the country and was the first comedy composition ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. Towards the end of his short career he debuted his most ambitious composition, “Porgy and Bess” which balanced popular music with classical. Gershwin described the performance’s genre as a “folk opera,” and it is considered to be Gershwin’s most complex and best known works, as well as the most important American musical compositions of the 20th century. Following Porgy and Bess he moved to Hollywood California with his brother, in 1937, a little over a decade after he wrote Rhapsody in Blue. Once the brothers had moved in they were hired to compose the music for a film titled “Shall We Dance” staring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Soon after this Gershwin began to experience strange symptoms severe headaches and strange smells, before he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Shortly after the tumor had been detected, he had plans to return to New York to work on writing serious music including a string quartet, a ballet and a second opera, but these pieces were never completed. At the young age of 38 on July 11, 1937, America lost on of its most beloved composers during surgery in an attempt to remove the tumor.

Aaron Copland’s beginnings begin very similarly to Gershwin’s but have a very different ending.

Starting again in Brooklyn New York, quickly developing an interest in the piano, receiving guidance from his older sister. He later studied under Rubin Goldmark in Manhattan who formed Copland’s fundamentals of counterpoint and composition. During his early years of study he attended multiple classical music performances and found himself drawn to European history, and musicians. At the young age of twenty, Copland packed his bags and set out to Europe where he continued his studies at a Summer School of Music for American Students in Fountainebleau, France. By 1921 Copland had become the first full time American student of Nadia Boulanger in Paris, France. After a brief period of study that continued into the mid-1920s with the famed Boulanger, and after acquiring a deep knowledge of European artists, he sold his first composition to Durand and Sons. His early success drug him deep into the European music scene where he was able to meet many famous composers of the time, one of those people being Serge Koussevitsky who commissioned Copland to write a piece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The decade that followed watched as the young composer’s genius spread to every corner of the world. “Symphony for Organ and Orchestra” was composed in the year 1925 and was the key into the life of professional American music. His compositions to follow were influenced by American jazz

rhythms and the neo-classical style then prevalent in Europe. Upon his return to America in 1924 he dedicated himself to creating music that could be quickly and distinctly recognized as “American,” while simultaneously incorporating a range of styles developed from diverse traditions including jazz, North and Latin America folk music and dance, and European modernism. The American style he had contributed to developing was formed from what he considered the first real American music, which was jazz, and it was from this major musical movement that Copland hoped to draw inspiration from. He aspired to develop modern symphonic music that could distinguish itself from European classical music, by mixing sounds, rhythms, and styles from cultures everywhere he invented his own “American” sound for classical music. Late into the 1920s Copland’s withdrew from his interest in jazz and turned to popular music of other countries once again, attempting to satisfy the expanding audience’s new hunger for American classical music. Throughout his life he had joined and established many organizations focusing on spreading American classical music as well as increasing an audience for the genre. Copland even devoted himself to assist aspiring composers through organizing music festivals for new American musicians and eventually became known as the Yaddo Festival of American Music which was established in 1932. By the mid to late 1930s Copland had become a leader to the community of musicians and composers across America and was one of the most popular musicians in the country. This time was when Copland was the most productive and had an increase of popularity among artist and citizens alike. 1935 specifically, began this time of advancement for Copland with the release of “El Salón México.” The piece took another step further into modern music and brought with it a new sound that was deeply rooted in Mexican folk music. Copland had a strong belief that through music that focused on cultures and incorporated European classical elements he could formulate symphonic music that had the potential to eventually become as popular as jazz. Within these pieces Copland made use of a European derived tonal system which incorporated his love and educational background in Europe with his patriotism for America, this combination can only be heaard in his later works. Copland followed up his plan to take over America with symphonic and classical music through producing a series of ballet compositions focused mainly on themes of the American western frontier and various aspects of American life. In addition to his ballets, he began composing for movies and films which eventually led him to win a Pulitzer Prize for his masterpiece “Appalachian Spring” in 1944 and an Academy Award in 1949 for best written score featured in “The Heiress.” Copland had a passion for expressing the way he viewed America’s times of tragedy and victory and was successful at doing this, through his music. The most important and successful example of this is “A Lincoln Portrait” which was composed in 1942 and featured quotes from Lincoln’s presidency throughout the narrated over the arrangement. As Copland began to enter into the 1950s he began to slow down his life as a composer and picked up an interest in conducting. His new occupation was the perfect balance for Copland because it incorporated his passionate love for music with his innate sense of leadership. For the next twenty years of his life he traveled the world, conducting live performances while simultaneously creating a collection of recorded American works. With few exceptions, the American composer had completely stopped writing original music, and on occasion would rearrange previously written pieces. By 1983 Copland ended his career, after conducting his final symphony. Copland’s generous work as a teacher at schools including Tanglewood, Harvard, and the New School for Social Research gained him an impressive crowd of devoted of fans, supporters, students, and musicians. Copland participated in nationwide celebrations of his 80th birthday in 1980, but was soon a victim to Alzheimer’s disease, and died two weeks after his 90th birthday in 1990. Copland was always an ardent and unselfish promoter of other composers, and was concerned with improving a general understanding of modern music by organizing concerts. Many say that although Copland is labeled as one of the foremost representatives of American Nationalism, some of his best music transcends national boundaries.
Both composers were influenced immensely by the musical revolution going on around them as America changed more and more each decade. It is easy to see that the nation expressed itself through music which then moved on to effect these composers each in their own individual way. Although they have their differences Gershwin and Copland both, in absorbing and uniting diverse elements of American culture into their music as well as cultures that had been integrating themselves into the nation, define American music. They were not only the fathers of American music but also continue to be inspirations to modern composer of America to this day.