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Year 2020, , 101 - 137, 30.06.2020
https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.703903

Abstract

References

  • Berger, Arthur V. (1945a). “Aspects of Aaron Copland’s Music” Tempo. 1(10): 2-5.
  • Berger, Arthur V. (1945b). “The Music of Aaron Copland” The Musical Quarterly. 31(4): 420-447.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1950). Prelude, Fugue and Riffs: for Solo Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble. London: Boosey & Hawkes.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1954). The Joy of Music. New York: Anchor Books / Doubleday.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1962a). The Infinite Variety of Music. New York: Simon and Schuster
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1962b). Young People’s Concerts. New York: Doubleday.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1976). The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1982). Findings. New York: Anchor Books / Doubleday.
  • Chavez, Carlos. (1955). Sinfonia No. 3. London: Boosey & Hawkes.
  • Cone, Edward T; Copland, Aaron. (1968). “Conversation with Aaron Copland” Perspectives of New Music. 6(2): 57-72.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1927). Letter from Aaron Copland to Nicolas Slonimsky. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0086/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1929). Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. New York: Cos Cob Press, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1936). Letter from Aaron Copland to Serge Koussevitzky, February 3. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0202/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1939). What to Listen for in Music. New York: Penguin Books.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1942). Danzón Cubano. London: Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1947). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving and Verna Fine. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0595/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1948). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0384/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1951a). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving and Verna Fine. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0625/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1951b). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving Fine, April 3. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0624/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1952). Music and Imagination: The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, 1951-52. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1953). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0414/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1959). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez, May 6. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0442/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1960). Copland on Music. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1968). The New Music: 1900-1960. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1978). Letter from Aaron Copland. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0571/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (2004). A Reader: Selected Writings, 1923-1972. New York: Routledge.
  • Crist, Elizabeth B.; Shirley, Wayne. (2006). The Selected Correspondence of Aaron Copland. Yale University Press.
  • Dickstein, Morris. (2005). “Copland and American Populism in the 1930s” Aaron Copland and His World, 81-100. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Gershwin, George. (1924). Rhapsody in Blue. Milan: G. Ricordi & Co.
  • Harris, Roy. (1931). Sonata for Piano. New York: Cos Cob Press, Inc.
  • Hess, Carol A. (2013). “Copland in Argentina: Pan Americanist Politics, Folklore, and the crisis in Modern Music” Journal of the American Musicological Society. 66(1): 191-250.
  • Kleppinger, Stanley V. (2003). “On the Influence of Jazz Rhythm in the Music of Aaron Copland” American Music. 21(1): 74-111.
  • Mellers, Wilfred. (1948). “Aaron Copland and the American Idiom” Tempo. New Series (9): 17-20.
  • Pollack, Howard. (2000). Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
  • Schuman, William. (1941). American Festival Overture: for Orchestra. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
  • Schuman, William. (1951). String Quartet No. IV. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.

The Development of an American Sound: From the Perspective of Twentieth Century Masters, Aaron Copland & Leonard Bernstein

Year 2020, , 101 - 137, 30.06.2020
https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.703903

Abstract

As musicologists and scholars of American art music, we are forever indebted to Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein for their music, their conducting, teaching, and lecturing, and especially for their writings. It is still a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of music to possess writings from composers that explain, not only their own works, but their perspective on all aspects of the musical world in which they lived. One significant topic which both Copland and Bernstein addressed was the process by which a uniquely American sound began to develop and shape the music of the twentieth century.
Through a thorough examination of their writings, supporting research from other scholars, and original analysis of key musical works, this article will trace the beginnings of a nationalistic thread in American art music and identify the musical traits that communicate such nationalism. Both Copland and Bernstein identified influential figures in the development of an American sound, such as Antonin Dvorák, Nadia Boulanger, Charles Ives, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, William Schuman, Roy Harris, and Carlos Chávez. Also, jazz, folk music, and Latin American music were highly influential to the art music of the twentieth century.
Looking back throughout history, there is rarely one defining moment when music changes completely. It is usually a combination of many and varied factors that occur throughout a period of time. In this study, identifying the causes and influences in the development of an American nationalistic sound, we have the distinct benefit of taking cues from some of the most influential figures in twentieth century art music who blessed musicians, music-lovers, and scholars with their words, eloquently bringing to light the serendipitous events that created the art music of the last century.

References

  • Berger, Arthur V. (1945a). “Aspects of Aaron Copland’s Music” Tempo. 1(10): 2-5.
  • Berger, Arthur V. (1945b). “The Music of Aaron Copland” The Musical Quarterly. 31(4): 420-447.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1950). Prelude, Fugue and Riffs: for Solo Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble. London: Boosey & Hawkes.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1954). The Joy of Music. New York: Anchor Books / Doubleday.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1962a). The Infinite Variety of Music. New York: Simon and Schuster
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1962b). Young People’s Concerts. New York: Doubleday.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1976). The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Bernstein, Leonard. (1982). Findings. New York: Anchor Books / Doubleday.
  • Chavez, Carlos. (1955). Sinfonia No. 3. London: Boosey & Hawkes.
  • Cone, Edward T; Copland, Aaron. (1968). “Conversation with Aaron Copland” Perspectives of New Music. 6(2): 57-72.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1927). Letter from Aaron Copland to Nicolas Slonimsky. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0086/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1929). Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. New York: Cos Cob Press, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1936). Letter from Aaron Copland to Serge Koussevitzky, February 3. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0202/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1939). What to Listen for in Music. New York: Penguin Books.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1942). Danzón Cubano. London: Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1947). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving and Verna Fine. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0595/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1948). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0384/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1951a). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving and Verna Fine. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0625/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1951b). Letter from Aaron Copland to Irving Fine, April 3. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0624/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1952). Music and Imagination: The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, 1951-52. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1953). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0414/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1959). Letter from Aaron Copland to Carlos Chávez, May 6. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0442/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1960). Copland on Music. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1968). The New Music: 1900-1960. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  • Copland, Aaron. (1978). Letter from Aaron Copland. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/copland.corr0571/.
  • Copland, Aaron. (2004). A Reader: Selected Writings, 1923-1972. New York: Routledge.
  • Crist, Elizabeth B.; Shirley, Wayne. (2006). The Selected Correspondence of Aaron Copland. Yale University Press.
  • Dickstein, Morris. (2005). “Copland and American Populism in the 1930s” Aaron Copland and His World, 81-100. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Gershwin, George. (1924). Rhapsody in Blue. Milan: G. Ricordi & Co.
  • Harris, Roy. (1931). Sonata for Piano. New York: Cos Cob Press, Inc.
  • Hess, Carol A. (2013). “Copland in Argentina: Pan Americanist Politics, Folklore, and the crisis in Modern Music” Journal of the American Musicological Society. 66(1): 191-250.
  • Kleppinger, Stanley V. (2003). “On the Influence of Jazz Rhythm in the Music of Aaron Copland” American Music. 21(1): 74-111.
  • Mellers, Wilfred. (1948). “Aaron Copland and the American Idiom” Tempo. New Series (9): 17-20.
  • Pollack, Howard. (2000). Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
  • Schuman, William. (1941). American Festival Overture: for Orchestra. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
  • Schuman, William. (1951). String Quartet No. IV. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
There are 36 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Music
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Erin Kirk 0000-0001-6765-0241

Publication Date June 30, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020

Cite

APA Kirk, E. (2020). The Development of an American Sound: From the Perspective of Twentieth Century Masters, Aaron Copland & Leonard Bernstein. Musicologist, 4(1), 101-137. https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.703903