Copland: The Tender Land Suite / Piano Concerto / Old American Songs (Arr. for Chorus)
11/27/2008, 15 Tracks, 1:03:16
Featuring
Robert Hanson
Benjamin Pasternack
Nathaniel Stampley
Jeffrey Hunt
Elgin Symphony Orchestra
St. Charles Singers
Aaron Copland
Did you know?
1/7
Critical Reception
The premiere of Copland's Piano Concerto in Boston was met with an unkind reception, with the audience reportedly giggling nervously and exchanging scathing comments.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Aaron Copland intended his opera, The Tender Land, for young people to perform, aiming to provide material that was natural for them to sing and closer to musical comedy than grand opera.
Historical Context
The opera The Tender Land was influenced by James Agee's 1941 portrait of the American South during the Depression, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, which featured Walker Evans's photographs.
Compositional Technique
Aaron Copland's Piano Concerto, composed in 1926, aimed to explore new avenues in polyrhythms and experiment with shifting, unorthodox, and frequently changing rhythms, making the music polymetric.
Historical Context
The trauma of Aaron Copland's interrogation by Senator Joseph McCarthy's Subcommittee on Special Investigations during the Red Scare is revisited in The Tender Land.
Composition History
The Tender Land was initially conceived as a television opera for NBC, but after its rejection, Copland recast it for the New York City Opera.
Composition History
The Piano Concerto was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony, who suggested Copland could play it himself.
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