Aaron Copland's America: A Cultural Perspective (Hardcover)

~ Gail Levin (Author), Judith Tick (Author), Heckscher Museum (Corporate Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York, this fresh and engaging look at a great American composer reveals a little-known but critically important passion in his life: cherished friendships with some of the most remarkable artists of the twentieth century, many of whom had a significant influence on Copland's music throughout his long and illustrious career. There are two essays, one that focuses on Copland's interactions with the art world (visual and otherwise), the other on his music. The book looks at how the composer's fascination with folk and popular culture, native arts, jazz, cinema, and the search for an American national art gave form to his music, which sprang not only from his personal talent but also from connections to the powerful creative forces around him. Also documented are Copland's friendships with painters such as Georgia O'Keeffe and Diego Rivera; choreographers Martha Graham and Agnes de Mille; and writers Hart Crane, Gertrude Stein, and others. Appalachian Spring and other great Copland works are discussed in context, with photos of ballets and films for which Copland composed included. Paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures by Picasso, de Kooning, Noguchi, and others suggest the parallels between Copland's genius and that of his fellow artists.

About the Author

Gail Levin, a professor of art history at Baruch College, is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including a biography of Edward Hopper and a catalogue raisonn of his work. When not on curatorial assignments or lecture tours around the United States or abroad, she is based in New York. Judith Tick, the author of a book about the composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, is a professor of music at Northeastern University in Boston.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823001105
• ISBN-13: 978-0823001101
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,071,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Copland Illuminated by his Cultural Context, May 2, 2001

By A Customer

This book reproduces the paintings & fills in the story of Aaron Copland's friendships & interactions with the world of the the arts, from his visits to the Brooklyn Museum, Paris, & adventures in New York. A lively & informative review of the show for which the book is a catalogue & interpretive essay, appeared in the New York Times, written by John Russell: [December 22, 2000, Friday] ART REVIEW; Fanfare for Copland, A Fervent Adventurer By JOHN RUSSELL Source: The New York Times Section: Leisure/Weekend Desk [1007 words] Abstract: John Russell reviews Heckscher Museum exhibit illustrating America of composer Aaron Copland. [photo (M)] -------------------------------------------------------------------Lead Paragraph: To walk through ''Aaron Copland's America'' at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, on Long Island, is a considerable adventure. The exhibition is a biographical study of one of the best-loved American composers of the 20th century. But it is much more: a freewheeling, farsearching trawl through an America that, though vital to Copland, was not his only concern...... Born in 1900, Copland lived until near the end of a tumultuous century. He lived more than one of that century's adventures. As a younger American composer, John Adams, said last year, Copland "reached his maturity at the same point that the country was seriously searching for its own cultural identity." He added: "Copland, like Robert Frost and Edward Hopper, found a way of expressing in the most simple and direct language deeply felt intuitions about the American experience." [full review available from NYTimes archive] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What I found moving was the way the book shows what kinds of music, art, ideas were exciting people as Copland matured & how he got into the swim, indeed helped to shape it. For me the music becomes more exciting because the book gives it a context & illustrates & evokes the culture in which Copland made his way.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Copland is great, the book could be better, February 10, 2001

By A Customer

Copland is one of the great american composers. This book makes an effort to capture that perspective in the written word but falls somewhat short. Listen to music for music don't read about it. This book is enjoyable to the huge copland fans who crave everything that has his name on it, but in general is not all to interesting otherwise.