Aaron Copland: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Aaron Copland built an "American sound" out of Parisian training, Brooklyn modernism, Shaker hymnody and Mexican dance halls. This mix traces the lineage from Boulanger's studio and Stravinsky's rhythmic shock through the New York composer collectives he organized, out to the ballet and film worlds he entered, and on to the Hollywood and concert composers still writing in his open fifths.

The Kynda mix for Aaron Copland

• Key Influence · Le Sacre du printemps by Igor Stravinsky (1913). Copland repeatedly named Stravinsky the decisive modern influence on his language, and the jagged, irregular meters and ostinato blocks of the Piano Variations and Music for the Theatre descend directly from the Sacre's rhythmic engine. He encountered the score in Paris in the early 1920s, where Stravinsky's neoclassic turn was the dominant topic in Nadia Boulanger's orbit, and later conducted and wrote admiringly about his work.
• Influencia Obscura · A Negro Rhapsody by Rubin Goldmark (1922). Goldmark, nephew of Karl Goldmark and a Dvořák pupil, was Copland's first serious teacher in New York from 1917, giving him conservative German-rooted training in harmony and counterpoint that the young composer both absorbed and rebelled against. Goldmark forbade Scriabin and the moderns, which pushed Copland toward Paris — and he also taught Gershwin, making him an unseen root of American concert music.
• Local Roots · Amériques by Edgard Varèse (1921). Varèse's International Composers' Guild was the New York institution Copland's generation measured itself against; Copland's own Copland–Sessions Concerts of 1928–31 were conceived as an American-focused alternative to that European-dominated avant-garde platform. Amériques, written in Manhattan and scored with sirens and massed brass, is the rival vision of the city Copland grew up in on Brooklyn's Washington Avenue.
• Beyond the Medium · Simple Gifts by Joseph Brackett (1848). Copland found this Shaker dancing song in Edward Deming Andrews's collection The Gift to Be Simple and made it the variation finale of Appalachian Spring in 1944, turning an obscure religious tune into the most recognizable melody in American concert music. The borrowing typifies his 1930s–40s method of quarrying hymnals, cowboy anthologies and Mexican song collections for raw thematic material.
• Peer · Sinfonía india by Carlos Chávez (1936). Chávez was Copland's closest composer friend; he invited Copland to Mexico in 1932, premiered his work there, and the trip to the Salón México dance hall produced Copland's first popular orchestral hit. Chávez's use of indigenous melody and percussion as nation-building material directly paralleled Copland's turn to cowboy songs and hymns, and the two corresponded for decades.
• From the Canon · Piano Variations by Aaron Copland (1930). The austere, percussive peak of Copland's abstract modernist period, built from a four-note cell hammered through twenty variations. It explains everything the populist ballets are usually thought to contradict: the same intervallic economy and dry attack reappear in the Appalachian Spring fugue and return undisguised in the twelve-tone Connotations of 1962, showing one continuous method rather than two careers.
• Key Collaborator · Night Journey by Martha Graham (1947). Graham choreographed and danced Appalachian Spring in 1944, even supplying the title from a Hart Crane poem after Copland's score was written; her angular, grounded movement vocabulary shaped the work's spareness. Night Journey, her Oedipus myth piece with a William Schuman score and Isamu Noguchi set, shows the same collaborative method of composer, sculptor and choreographer that produced Copland's masterpiece.
• Legacy · Harmonielehre by John Adams (1985). Adams has spoken often of growing up inside Copland's sound world in New England and of Copland as the founding figure of a usable American vernacular; his own open diatonic expanses, slow harmonic change and fanfare rhetoric — plus pieces like Short Ride in a Fast Machine — descend from it. Harmonielehre's radiant tonal arrival rewrites the Copland landscape idiom with minimalist machinery.

What influenced Aaron Copland

• Igor Stravinsky. The article identifies Copland as influenced by Stravinsky. (also via Appalachian Spring, Le Sacre du printemps, The Rite of Spring) “I think Aaron Copland would do the same: for both men Stravinsky is in many ways an ideal, a hero-figure.” (Tempo)
• Nadia Boulanger by Nadia Boulanger. Copland studied with Boulanger and was inspired by her approach. (also via Trois pièces pour violoncelle et piano) “He studied three years with Boulanger, whose eclectic approach to music inspired his own broad taste.” (Wikipedia)
• Arnold Schoenberg. Copland experimented with Schoenberg's twelve-tone system. (also via Pierrot lunaire) “Copland's work from the late 1940s onward included experimentation with Schoenberg's twelve-tone system, resulting in two major works, the Piano Quartet (1950) and the Piano Fantasy (1957).” (Wikipedia)
• Pierre Boulez by Pierre Boulez. Boulez's music changed Copland's view of serial technique. “The music of French composer Pierre Boulez showed Copland that the technique could be separated from the "old Wagnerian" aesthetic with which he had associated it previously.” (Wikipedia)
• Rubin Goldmark. Copland studied composition and related subjects with Goldmark. (also via A Negro Rhapsody) “After attempts to further his music study from a correspondence course , Copland took formal lessons in harmony , theory , and composition from Rubin Goldmark , a noted teacher and composer of American music” (Wikipedia)
• Requiem, Op. 48 by Gabriel Fauré (1890). Requiem, Op. 48 (Gabriel Fauré) — titan for Aaron Copland “During his stay in Paris, he began writing musical critiques, the first on Gabriel Fauré, which helped spread his fame and stature in the music community.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson (1890). The Poems of Emily Dickinson (Emily Dickinson) — culture for Aaron Copland “Her poetry is frequently anthologized and has been used as text for art songs by composers such as Aaron Copland, Nick Peros, John Adams and Michael Tilson Thomas.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Rhapsody in Blue (George Gershwin) — culture for Aaron Copland “After attempts to further his music study from a correspondence course, Copland took formal lessons in harmony, theory, and composition from Rubin Goldmark, a noted teacher and composer of American music (who had given George Gershwin th…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Isidor Philipp. Copland studied with Philipp at Fontainebleau. “On arriving in France, he studied at Fontainebleau with pianist and pedagog Isidor Philipp and composer Paul Vidal .” (Wikipedia)
• Paul Vidal. Copland studied with Vidal at Fontainebleau. “On arriving in France, he studied at Fontainebleau with pianist and pedagog Isidor Philipp and composer Paul Vidal .” (Wikipedia)
• Alfred Stieglitz (1864). Copland adopted an artistic conviction associated with Stieglitz. “While Copland did not care for Stieglitz's domineering attitude, he admired his work and took to heart Stieglitz's conviction that American artists should reflect "the ideas of American Democracy."” (Wikipedia)
• Carl Ruggles. Copland drew on Ruggles's music in pursuing an American sound. “In his quest to take up the slogan of the Stieglitz group, "Affirm America", Copland found only the music of Carl Ruggles and Charles Ives upon which to draw.” (Wikipedia)
• Charles Ives. Copland drew on Ives's music in pursuing an American sound. “In his quest to take up the slogan of the Stieglitz group, "Affirm America", Copland found only the music of Carl Ruggles and Charles Ives upon which to draw.” (Wikipedia)
• Les Six. Les Six provided an example for Copland's efforts to connect with fellow composers. “Inspired by the example of Les Six in France, Copland sought out contemporaries such as Roger Sessions , Roy Harris , Virgil Thomson , and Walter Piston” (Wikipedia)
• Darius Milhaud. Milhaud inspired some of Copland's early works. “Milhaud was Copland's inspiration for some of his earlier "jazzy" works. He was also exposed to Schoenberg and admired his earlier atonal pieces” (Wikipedia)
• Maurice Ravel (1875). Ravel's music was among the contemporary French music that engaged Copland. “During his studies with Boulanger in Paris, Copland was excited to be so close to the new post-Impressionistic French music of Ravel , Roussel , and Satie” (Wikipedia)
• Albert Roussel. Roussel's music was among the contemporary French music that engaged Copland. “During his studies with Boulanger in Paris, Copland was excited to be so close to the new post-Impressionistic French music of Ravel , Roussel , and Satie” (Wikipedia)
• Erik Satie. Satie's music was among the contemporary French music that engaged Copland. “During his studies with Boulanger in Paris, Copland was excited to be so close to the new post-Impressionistic French music of Ravel , Roussel , and Satie” (Wikipedia)
• Francis Poulenc. Poulenc was among the French composers whose music engaged Copland in Paris. “During his studies with Boulanger in Paris, Copland was excited to be so close to the new post-Impressionistic French music of Ravel , Roussel , and Satie , as well as Les Six , a group that included Milhaud , Poulenc , and Honegger .” (Wikipedia)
• Pierrot lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg (1912). Copland particularly admired Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire. “He was also exposed to Schoenberg and admired his earlier atonal pieces, thinking Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire above all others.” (Wikipedia)
• Anton Webern. Webern was among the European composers who impressed Copland. “Webern , Berg , and Bartók also impressed him. Copland was "insatiable" in seeking out the newest European music, whether in concerts, score reading or heated debate.” (Wikipedia)
• Alban Berg. Berg was among the European composers who impressed Copland. “Webern , Berg , and Bartók also impressed him. Copland was "insatiable" in seeking out the newest European music, whether in concerts, score reading or heated debate.” (Wikipedia)
• Béla Bartók. Bartók was among the European composers who impressed Copland. “Webern , Berg , and Bartók also impressed him. Copland was "insatiable" in seeking out the newest European music, whether in concerts, score reading or heated debate.” (Wikipedia)
• Frank Martin. Martin's twelve-tone works reinforced Copland's changing view of the technique. “Subsequent exposure to the late music of Austrian composer Anton Webern and twelve-tone pieces by Swiss composer Frank Martin and Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola strengthened this opinion.” (Wikipedia)
• Luigi Dallapiccola. Dallapiccola's twelve-tone works reinforced Copland's changing view of the technique. “Subsequent exposure to the late music of Austrian composer Anton Webern and twelve-tone pieces by Swiss composer Frank Martin and Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola strengthened this opinion.” (Wikipedia)
• Frédéric Chopin. Chopin was among Copland's earliest musical interests. “While Copland's earliest musical inclinations as a teenager ran toward Chopin , Debussy , Verdi and the Russian composers, Copland's teacher and mentor Nadia Boulanger became his most important influence.” (Wikipedia)
• Claude Debussy. Debussy was among Copland's earliest musical interests. “While Copland's earliest musical inclinations as a teenager ran toward Chopin , Debussy , Verdi and the Russian composers, Copland's teacher and mentor Nadia Boulanger became his most important influence.” (Wikipedia)
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813). Verdi was among Copland's earliest musical interests. “While Copland's earliest musical inclinations as a teenager ran toward Chopin , Debussy , Verdi and the Russian composers, Copland's teacher and mentor Nadia Boulanger became his most important influence.” (Wikipedia)
• Franz Liszt. Liszt inspired Copland's early piano works and songs. “Copland's compositions before leaving for Paris were mainly short works for piano and art songs , inspired by Liszt and Debussy.” (Wikipedia)
• Jazz. The biography describes jazz as an inspiration for Copland’s symphonic ambitions. “From jazz he hoped to draw the inspiration for a new type of symphonic music, one that could distinguish itself from the music of Europe.” (American Masters (PBS))
• Thomas Hart Benton. The article compares the ballet's accessible use of source material with Benton's murals. (via Billy the Kid) “In this way, Copland's music worked much in the same way as the murals of Thomas Hart Benton , in that it employed elements that could be grasped easily by a mass audience.” (Wikipedia)
• Le Sacre du printemps by Igor Stravinsky (1913). Le Sacre du printemps (Igor Stravinsky) — titan for Aaron Copland “Copland named Igor Stravinsky as his "hero" and his favorite 20th-century composer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Trois pièces pour violoncelle et piano by Nadia Boulanger (1914). Trois pièces pour violoncelle et piano (Nadia Boulanger) — titan for Aaron Copland “After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland traveled to Paris, where he first studied with Isidor Philipp and Paul Vidal, then with noted pedagogue Nadia Boulanger.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• A Negro Rhapsody by Rubin Goldmark (1922). A Negro Rhapsody (Rubin Goldmark) — ghost for Aaron Copland “After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland traveled to Paris, where he first studied with Isidor Philipp and Paul Vidal, then with noted pedagogue Nadia Boulanger.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Music for a Farce by Paul Bowles (1938). Music for a Farce (Paul Bowles) — ghost for Aaron Copland “Among this group in the heady cultural atmosphere of Paris in the 1920s were Paul Bowles, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Henry Miller, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound, as well as artists like Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Amedeo Mod…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Simple Gifts by Joseph Brackett (1848). Simple Gifts (Joseph Brackett) — culture for Aaron Copland “The song, written in 1848, was largely unknown outside of Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used the melody in his 1944 composition Appalachian Spring.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• Roger Sessions by Roger Sessions. Copland co-founded the concert series named for him and Sessions. (also via Symphony No. 1) “He also helped found the Copland-Sessions Concerts to showcase these composers' chamber works to new audiences.” (Wikipedia)
• Martha Graham by Martha Graham (1894). The biography identifies Copland’s score for Graham’s Appalachian Spring. (also via Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid) “He composed scores for a number of ballets, including two of the most popular of the time: “Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo” (1942) and Martha Graham ‘s “Appalachian Spring” (1944), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize.” (American Masters (PBS))
• American Composers Alliance. Copland helped found the American Composers Alliance. “In 1938, Copland helped form the American Composers Alliance to promote and publish American contemporary classical music. He was president of the organization from 1939 to 1945.” (Wikipedia)
• The New School. Copland taught classes at The New School. “His generous work as a teacher at Tanglewood, Harvard, and the New School for Social Research gained him a following of devoted musicians.” (American Masters (PBS))
• Marian Anderson (1897). The article describes a Copland-conducted performance in the account of Anderson narrating Lincoln Portrait. (also via Lincoln Portrait) “In 1976, Copland conducted a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga .” (Wikipedia)
• George Gershwin. Piano Concerto (Aaron Copland) — peer for George Gershwin (via Piano Concerto, Rhapsody in Blue) “After attempts to further his music study from a correspondence course, Copland took formal lessons in harmony, theory, and composition from Rubin Goldmark, a noted teacher and composer of American music (who had given George Gershwin th…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Four Saints in Three Acts by Virgil Thomson (1934). Four Saints in Three Acts (Virgil Thomson) — geography for Aaron Copland “Inspired by the example of Les Six in France, Copland sought out contemporaries such as Roger Sessions, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, and Walter Piston, and quickly established himself as a spokesperson for composers of his generation.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein (1937). The Cradle Will Rock (Marc Blitzstein) — peer for Aaron Copland “Back in New York, he connected to the Composers Collective - with members as Aaron Copland and Hanns Eisler - known for their left-leaning political viewpoints.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Fall River Legend by Agnes de Mille (1948). Fall River Legend (Agnes de Mille) — collaborator for Aaron Copland “De Mille's first recognized significant work was Rodeo (1942), whose score was by Aaron Copland, and which she staged for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Vivian Perlis. Copland and Perlis collaborated on his autobiography. “In the 1980s, he collaborated with Vivian Perlis on a two-volume autobiography, Copland: 1900 Through 1942 (1984) and Copland Since 1943 (1989).” (Wikipedia)
• Orson Welles (1915). Aaron Copland selected Welles to direct his operetta The Second Hurricane. (via The Second Hurricane) “American composer Aaron Copland chose Welles to direct The Second Hurricane (1937), an operetta with a libretto by Edwin Denby.” (Wikipedia)
• The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. The article draws a compositional comparison between the two ballets. (via Billy the Kid) “In that sense, Copland's Populist works such as Billy the Kid , Rodeo , Appalachian Spring are not far removed from Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring .” (Wikipedia)
• Annie Moses Band. The article links Annie Moses Band's Hoedown to Copland's music. (via Hoedown) “Aaron Copland's music has served as the inspiration for a number of popular modern works of music: "Hoedown" – Annie Moses Band” (Wikipedia)
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The article identifies Emerson, Lake & Palmer's version of Copland's fanfare. (via Fanfare for the Common Man) “Aaron Copland's music has served as the inspiration for a number of popular modern works of music: "Hoedown" – Annie Moses Band [ 210 ] " Fanfare for the Common Man " – Emerson, Lake & Palmer” (Wikipedia)
• John Browning. Browning performed Barber’s Piano Concerto at Philharmonic Hall’s opening. (via Piano Concerto) “his Piano Concerto which was one of three works by him commissioned for the opening of Lincoln Center and was performed at the opening of Philharmonic Hall with pianist John Browning in September 1962.” (Wikipedia)
• Amériques by Edgard Varèse (1921). Amériques (Edgard Varèse) — geography for Aaron Copland “All of its composers here are Jews" (referring to students of Louis Gruenberg and Nadia Boulanger, including Aaron Copland and Marc Blitzstein).” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Symphony No. 1 by Roger Sessions (1927). Symphony No. 1 (Roger Sessions) — geography for Aaron Copland “Inspired by the example of Les Six in France, Copland sought out contemporaries such as Roger Sessions, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, and Walter Piston, and quickly established himself as a spokesperson for composers of his generation.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Sinfonía India by Carlos Chávez (1935). Sinfonía india (Carlos Chávez) — peer for Aaron Copland “During the Depression years, he traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, and Mexico, formed an important friendship with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, and began composing his signature works.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Symphony No. 3 by Roy Harris (1939). Symphony No. 3 (Roy Harris) — peer for Aaron Copland “Inspired by the example of Les Six in France, Copland sought out contemporaries such as Roger Sessions, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, and Walter Piston, and quickly established himself as a spokesperson for composers of his generation.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Night Journey by Martha Graham (1947). Night Journey (Martha Graham) — collaborator for Aaron Copland “He helped fill a vacuum for American choreographers to fill their dance repertory and tapped into an artistic groundswell, from the motion pictures of Busby Berkeley and Fred Astaire to the ballets of George Balanchine and Martha Graham,…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" by Leonard Bernstein (1942). Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" (Leonard Bernstein) — collaborator for Aaron Copland “For the occasion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Centennial, Copland composed Ceremonial Fanfare for Brass Ensemble to accompany the exhibition "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries." Leonard Bernstein, Piston, William Schuman, and Thomson …” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Samuel Barber. Appalachian Spring (Aaron Copland) — peer for Samuel Barber (via Appalachian Spring) (musicbrainz.org)

Who Aaron Copland influenced

• Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein sought Copland's compositional advice and described him as a teacher-like figure. (also via Piano Variations, Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah") “Although he was never a formal student of Copland's, Bernstein regularly sought his advice, often citing him as "the closest thing to a composition teacher [Bernstein] ever had."” (Wikipedia)
• The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn). Weezer's song is described as partially based on Copland's work. (via Variations on a Shaker Hymn) “" The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) " – Weezer (partially based upon "Variations on a Shaker Hymn")” (Wikipedia)
• Harmonielehre by John Adams (1985). Harmonielehre (John Adams) — legacy for Aaron Copland (musicbrainz.org)
• The Cowboys by John Williams (1972). The Cowboys (John Williams) — legacy for Aaron Copland “The piece is based on the hymn "Simple Gifts", made famous by Aaron Copland in Appalachian Spring.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• blue cathedral by Jennifer Higdon (2000). blue cathedral (Jennifer Higdon) — legacy for Aaron Copland