The arrangement of 'El Salon Mexico' for solo piano on this recording was made by Leonard Bernstein, a close friend of Copland, who was paid $25 for the work in 1939.
Performer Biography
Eugenie Russo, the pianist on this recording, has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, Asia, and the USA, including a successful debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York in 1986.
Composition History
The ballet 'Rodeo' was commissioned by Agnes de Mille, who convinced Aaron Copland to compose it despite his initial reluctance, as he had already written a 'cowboy ballet' ('Billy The Kid').
Composition History
Aaron Copland's Piano Sonata manuscript was stolen from his home in 1941, forcing him to reconstruct it with the help of friends who remembered some of the themes.
Composer Biography
Aaron Copland was the first full-time American student to study with Nadia Boulanger, a renowned French composer and composition teacher, in Paris in 1921.
Composer Biography
Aaron Copland, like George Gershwin, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian parents, and their music was the first from American composers recognized internationally as distinctively 'American'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Aaron Copland deliberately introduced jazz elements into his early works to remove 'European' influences and later aimed for an accessible, popular style to reach a wide audience.
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