Copland: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

Featuring

John Wilson
BBC Philharmonic
Aaron Copland

Did you know?

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Composition History

Copland composed "Letter from Home" for a radio orchestra directed by Paul Whiteman, known as "The King of Jazz" and commissioner of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Copland initially did not intend for his Third Symphony to have a nationalistic aura, consciously distancing it from the jazz and folk elements of his earlier music.

Compositional Technique

In "Connotations," Copland used his own brand of twelve-note serial composition, a technique he had explored in earlier works like the Piano Quartet and Piano Fantasy.

Composition History

Copland's "Down a Country Lane," originally a piano piece for young pianists, was commissioned by Life magazine and published with his score and photograph.

Composition History

Copland's "Connotations" was specially commissioned for the gala inauguration of the Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, attended by Jacqueline Kennedy.

Composition History

Aaron Copland's Third Symphony was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky, a conductor who also established the Koussevitzky Music Foundation to fund major new works.

Composition History

The inclusion of a reworked version of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man in the Third Symphony's finale contributed to its perception as an emblem of US nationalism.