Copland: Since 1943 (Pbk) [Paperback]

Aaron Copland (Author), Vivian Perlis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1999

Hailed as important, entertaining, and revealing, Copland: Since 1943 is composer Aaron Copland's irresistible account of the latter half of his career--a career that brought us such pioneering works as Appalachian Spring and Lincoln Portrait, the movie scores for Of Mice and Men and Our Town, and numerous other orchestral and chamber works. It tells the story of how a self-described "brash young man from Brooklyn" went on to become one of the founding fathers of "serious" American music. Featuring cameos by luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein, Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, Benny Goodman, and other peers of Aaron Copland during this explosively creative period, Copland: Since 1943 is an invaluable memoir that charts the crescendo of one of the most accomplished careers in the modern canon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The concluding volume of what is in effect Copland's autobiography, with commentary by Perlis, who teaches at the Yale School of Music, and many Copland friends and admirers, brings the life of America's oldest living composer up to date. Beginning in mid-WW II with the excitement over Appalachian Spring , shortly followed by the Third Symphony, we see Copland in the postwar years gradually becoming less productive, turning to conducting, and finally moving into a dignified retirement replete with honors and celebrations. This is more a tribute than a revealing portrait, though the details of the composer's meticulously recorded life, and his thoughts about his music, will be invaluable to scholars. Perhaps there is not much to disclose: Copland, like his music, seems highly intelligent, well organized, full of vitality with a dash of melancholy--very much the artist as businessman, teacher, rather than as the anguished, solitary soul of popular fiction. He was the foremost world ambassador for American serious music when it very much needed one, and at least two generations of composers owe him a tremendous debt. Illustrated.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Like its predecessor ( Copland , LJ 7/84), this second volume of the well-known Copland-Perlis collaboration is essentially an autobiography interspersed with historical narrative and reminiscences by Copland's associates. Perlis, ever the diligent historian, provides copious documents and footnotes. To read of Copland's life and times--in his words and in those of his colleagues--is to arrive at the very heart of American music, and one is grateful to find there a genuinely compassionate spirit as well as a supremely talented composer. Scholars and lay readers alike will find this an indispensable source of Copland lore.
-Larry Lipkis, Univ. of California at Los Angeles
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 463 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (April 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312050666
• ISBN-13: 978-0312050665
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars well-written memoir from a genius, May 5, 2009

By 

Elizabeth J. Burger "Bettijane Burger" (Charleston WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Copland Since 1943. (Hardcover)

It was a gift to read Copland in his own words. Not only was he a genius composer, an articulate teacher, critic, teacher, mentor, but a firm believer in modern American music.