Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man [Hardcover]

Howard Pollack (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805049096 | ISBN-13: 978-0805049091 | Publication Date: March 15, 1999 | Edition: 1st

A candid and fascinating portrait of the American composer.

The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) became one of America's most beloved and esteemed composers. His work, which includes Fanfare for the Common Man, A Lincoln Portrait, and Appalachian Spring, has been honored by a huge following of devoted listeners. But the full richness of Copland's life and accomplishments has never, until now, been documented or understood. Howard Pollack's meticulously researched and engrossing biography explores the symphony of Copland's life: his childhood in Brooklyn; his homosexuality; Paris in the early 1920s; the Alfred Stieglitz circle; his experimentation with jazz; the communist witch trials; Hollywood in the forties; public disappointment with his later, intellectual work; and his struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, Pollack presents informed discussions of Copland's music, explaining and clarifying its newness and originality, its aesthetic and social aspects, its distinctive and enduring personality.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

In this exhaustive study, Pollack (Walter Piston) offers a compelling look at a composer whose output included much more than the ballet scores so familiar to the general public, such as Billy the Kid, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring. Copland (1900-1990) wrote music for opera, ballet, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, band, radio and film, while making important contributions as a music critic, teacher and conductor. Pollack follows Copland's development from the early pieces written when Copland was a student of Nadia Boulanger in Paris to his later 12-tone scores that alienated the public and many critics. He discusses the music that influenced Copland and examines his most important works, arguing that his compositions are distinctly American. Interspersed with analyses of Copland's music are discussions of his personality (he was typically characterized by friends and colleagues as warm and charming), his homosexual relationships and his lifelong social consciousness, which made him a tireless promoter of young composers and also led to his involvement in radical politics and hard times during the McCarthy era. Pollack captures the spirit of Copland's music in words, as when he compares the 1926 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra to a "mobile" in which "separate but related ideas appear and reappear in various combinations."
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 702 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805049096
• ISBN-13: 978-0805049091
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #501,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great approach and thorough biography, January 29, 2005

By 

Jeff Sackmann "Author, Total GMAT Math and gm... (Astoria, New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aaron Copland: THE LIFE AND WORK OF AN UNCOMMON MAN (Music in American Life) (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book on a wonderful composer, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man (Hardcover)

For me, a young American composer, this book was inspirational! It had a perfect balance between Copland's personal life and his music. My only minor complaint is its organization. I have recommended this book to many friends both, musician and layman; and I recommend it to you!

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The finest book on Aaron Copland written thus far., September 3, 1999

By 

Robert J. Harland (Milton Keynes, England.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man (Hardcover)

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. As worthwhile as these earlier publications are, it is Howard Pollack who has given all Copland devotees the quintessential story of the life and the music of America's greatest composer. I can think of no better place to start exploring Copland's genius than with this book as an introduction to the music, without which the world would be a poorer place and the 20th century would be missing a unique body of sound. It is inconceivable, to me at any rate, to imagine a world without Copland's music. No one else comes close to creating his sound world.

Thank you Mr Pollack for making it so clear to all of your readers that Aaron Copland is not only America's greatest composer but is, historically, and without question, one of most important composers the world has ever produced.