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KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Lou Harrison on Aaron Copland

Analog Audio

Event Type
Interviews
Origin
KPFA
Identifier
AM.1991.02.07
Program Length
24 min
Dates
1991-02-07 | broadcast
| 1991-02-07 | created
Description
As part of a February 7, 1991 program in memory of Aaron Copland, (who died in December,1990), Charles Amirkhanian interviews composer Lou Harrison about his friendship with Copland, as well as playing some samples of Copland’s music, and a brief excerpt from a talk by the quintessential 20th century American composer. Amirkhanian and Harrison discuss Copland’s illustrious career, comparing his early and latter works, and pondering what more might have been, if it had not been for Copland’s decline and eventual death due to Alzheimer's disease. Harrison’s expresses great admiration for, and just a bit of mystification about, the qualities of Copland’s music that made it so representative of the American spirit, even more so than that of Charles Ives. And in a brief excerpt from a talk, we hear Copland himself suggest that his best music simply appears in his mind, rather than resulting from any more deliberate effort to fulfill the requirements of a commission.
Genres
20th century classical
Orchestral music
Musical Selections
El Salón México, for orchestra [excerpt] (1932–36) (0:15) / Aaron Copland -- Rodeo [final movement “Hoe-down”] (1942) (3:27) / Aaron Copland -- [unidentified orchestral music] (1:36) / Aaron Copland -- Simple Gifts, for voice and orchestra (1848, arr. 1943-50) (1:37) / Elder Joseph Brackett [arr. by Aaron Copland]
Performers
New Philharmonia Orchestra (Salón)
London Symphony Orchestra (Rodeo)
Aaron Copland, conductor (Salón ; Rodeo)
Subjects
20th century classical
Orchestral music
Ballets
Songs (High voice) with orchestra
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Amirkhanian, Charles
Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990
Harrison, Lou, 1917-2003
Brackett, Joseph, 1797-1882