Aaron Copland and His World reassesses the legacy of one of America's
best-loved composers at a pivotal moment--as his life and work shift
from the realm of personal memory to that of history. This collection of
seventeen essays by distinguished scholars of American music explores
the stages of cultural change on which Copland's long life (1900 to
1990) unfolded: from the modernist experiments of the 1920s, through the
progressive populism of the Great Depression and the urgencies of World
War II, to postwar political backlash and the rise of serialism in the
1950s and the cultural turbulence of the 1960s.
Continually responding to an ever-changing political and cultural
panorama, Copland kept a firm focus on both his private muse and the
public he served. No self-absorbed recluse, he was very much a public
figure who devoted his career to building support systems to help
composers function productively in America. This book critiques
Copland's work in these shifting contexts.
The topics include Copland's role in shaping an American school of
modern dance; his relationship with Leonard Bernstein; his
homosexuality, especially as influenced by the writings of André Gide;
and explorations of cultural nationalism. Copland's rich correspondence
with the composer and critic Arthur Berger, who helped set the
parameters of Copland's reception, is published here in its entirety,
edited by Wayne Shirley. The contributors include Emily Abrams, Paul
Anderson, Elliott Antokoletz, Leon Botstein, Martin Brody, Elizabeth
Crist, Morris Dickstein, Lynn Garafola, Melissa de Graaf, Neil Lerner,
Gail Levin, Beth Levy, Vivian Perlis, Howard Pollack, and Larry Starr.
