Aaron Copland Music Analysis

returning to America, in 1924, Mlle. Nadia Boulanger asked Mr. Copland to write her a piece to perform on an American tour. He accepted and wrote "Symphony for organ and orchestra, with Walter Camrosch as conductor and

In 1920, Schoenberg formulated his twelve-tone technique which can be heard in his one-movement Piano Concerto. One of the warmest and richest harmonies Schoenberg created was The Chamber Symphony No. 2 (1939) which had late Romanticism harmonies with neo-classic spirit (Schoenberg 1). Through Schoenberg and his students, the twelve-tone method became a dominating force in the mid 20th century composition and strongly influenced the course of western music. Schoenberg made a radical break in music with his un-orthodox pitch combinations and his unique rhythms. Schoenberg stated: “Whether one calls oneself conservative or revolutionary, whether one composes in a conventional or progressive manner, whether one tries to imitate old styles or is destined to express new ideas-one must be convinced of the infallibility of one’s own fantasy and one must believe in one’s own inspiration. The desire for a conscious control of the new means and forms will arise in every artist’s mind; and he will wish to follow consciously the laws and rules that govern the forms he has conceived “as in a dream (Norton 1).”

American singer and songwriter Carole King has written and co-written over 400 songs that have been recorded by more than 1,000 artists. King’s career began in the 1960s where she along with her co- songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, who later became her husband, wrote more than two dozen chart hits for many artists. Their hits include "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for The Shirelles, "Take Good Care of My Baby" for Bobby Vee and "You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)" for Aretha Franklin. Carole seemed to be comfortable being the woman behind the music, she had two daughters, a husband and a house to attend to so it seemed as touring and performing live was not in the plan.

In 1906, Igor Stravinsky, married Yekaterina Nesseko and had 4 children. His first composition in 1909, the Firebird, brought him fame in the 20th Century. Sergei Diaghilev, the founder of Ballets Russes, invited him to orchestrate Chopin works for his ballet Les Sylphides. However, it led to the commission of the “Firebird”, a ballet that made him famous. His second work, “Petrushka”, was a transformation of a Russian music into a work of modernity. His third ballet, “The Rite of Spring”, is one of the best landmarks in history of that marked the coming of modernism with amazement and hostility. His works made him a revolutionary composer in the 19th Century. During WWI, Stravinsky and his family moved to Switzerland and returned to France in 1920. During his stay in Switzerland, he created jazz influenced essays such as Ragtime and the Soldier’s Tale. His neoClassical works like the ballet “Pulcinella”, “Symphony of Psalms”, and “The Rake’s Progress” made a widespread influence and inspiration to American composers, making him as an original or primary model. Stravinsky, then, became a conductor and a pianist, and in 1930, he toured in America and composed several pieces such as “Dumbarton

¨My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require.¨ Edward Elgar once said. Composers, like Elgar, are very talented people that use many techniques to make visuals including tempo, instrumentation and dynamics.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Twentieth-Century Classical Composer who was born on June 17th, 1882 in Lomonsov, Russia. Igor Stravinsky has been considered as one of the most talented, beloved and influential composers of the 20th century. Stravinsky referred to himself as an “inventor of music” because of his work being known worldwide before he was 30. He saw composing music as a process of solving problems in music. Igor worked hard, almost every day in an organized environment. He said “I have never been able to compose music unless I am sure that no one would hear me”. Igor didn’t like being poor and wanted to “earn every penny that my art would enable me to extract”.

"The selections by Copland, taken from his 1957 book What to Listen for in Music, express his belief that one listens to music on several planes-the sensuous, the expressive, and the sheerly musical. After a brief discussion of what constitues each of these planes, he admits that rarely does one listen on only one plane, but rather the astute listener is constantly moving from one plane to another as the musical work unfolds," (Pitman)

“Cool” from the theater production, West Side Story, is a classic. Contrary to many song’s we’ve listened to in class, this was written for theater, and therefore is an example of popular music. The song is clearly jazz, it’s slow, follows a typical jazz-like rhythm, and more importantly has finger snapping. The piano plays the same rhythm cyclically, but at different pitches. There is repetition throughout the song lyrically, as well. At around 1 minute in, the continuous lyrics stop, as well as the finger snapping and piano starting and stopping. Jazz instruments can be heard, like the saxophone. Leading up to that, a brass-sounding instrument can be heard, it heightens the tension before the one minute mark. The music gets more intense,

Igor Stravinsky was associated with several different styles if music throughout his lifetime.One of his first styles was primitivism.Primitivism inspired his musical ballet piece "The Rite of Spring".Primitivism features were polyrhythms, bitonality, and ostinato. Stravinsky's second musical style he adopted was Neo-Classicism.One of his well-known neo-classicism pieces is Pulcinella.Pulcinella was also written for a ballet.Neo-classicism featured formal structures, colorful rhythms, and modern harmonies.Lastly, Stravinsky adopted the twelve-tone technique.One of his famous twelve-tone compositions was an elegy for President Kennedy.The twelve-tone technique major feature is

Music underwent a plethora of changes throughout the twentieth century, including a complete transformation from the large symphonic works of the late 1800s to the short, electronic ditties of the late 1900s. With all that change, choosing only three composers to represent the entire twentieth century would be impossible. For example, the innovation of electronic music added an entirely new genre to the world of classical music; however, the three composers discussed here did not write in that style and instead influenced other aspects of the music world. Arnold Schoenberg, Aaron Copland, and Igor Stravinsky each greatly impacted the musical world around them. Schoenberg’s journey away from tonality to serialism changed the way that composers wrote for the rest of the century, while Copland’s music emancipated American sound from the European styles. Stravinsky brought many musical styles to the height of what could be accomplished in each one, and his excellence influenced many composers during and after his time. Schoenberg, Copland, and Stravinsky represent three of the most important composers of the twentieth century.

Igor Stravinsky was born June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia. While studying law, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a Russian composer and the most influential member of the composer group known as The Five. Korsakov allegedly told him he should study music. He continued to study under Korsakov his death in 1908. Stravinsky never had another teacher but caught the likes of many Russian composers like Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the famed Ballets Russes, who allowed him to compose a ballet. Among his other compositions nothing compared to his next one under Diaghilev. The result was the voluptuous and impressionistic, The Firebird in 1910, and later in 1911, Petrushka. His next ballet would “ignite the most famous riot in the history of music. With its savage rhythms, absence of melody, and barbaric energy, The Rite of Spring marks the true beginnings of Twentieth Century music, and even today never fails to thrill or amaze listeners” (Sherrane).

Born on June 17, 1882, Igor Stravinsky grew up in Orianenbaum, a resort town off the coast of Finland. His parents loved music and ignited a passion for the fine arts in him at a young age. However, they pushed him to enroll into law school and he agreed. Rimsky- Korsakov’s youngest son also attended the university and soon the two men grew to be close friends. Rimsky- Korsakov mentored him. After graduating from law school, he wrote the composition, Fireworks, and sent it to Korsakov. Unfortunately, his mentor never received the package due to sudden death. Loyal, even after death, Korsakov arranged to have Stravinksy’s pieces used for a performance. This gave him the opportunity to enter into the world of music. Upon the request of a patron, he created the ballet, The Firebird, and it opened in Paris in 1910. Audiences loved it and his popularity skyrocketed. Then in 1911, he wrote Petrouchka, and following that, The Rite of Spring in 1913. The latter caused controversy because of its departure from Romantic music with its erratic sounds and noises. Yet, by a year later, people accepted it and it became a

Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, known for bringing flamboyance and talent into pianistic performances, performed a recital dubbed Chopin & Schubert. In this 1987 recording, Krystian Zimerman performs a couple of songs by Chopin and Schubert. The recording lasted one hour and forty-one minutes where Krystian Zimerman demonstrated his superb technique and refined sensibility to varies uses. The track list begins with Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor, Op.31, then Nocturne in F sharp major, Op.15, followed by Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23. Frederick Chopin composed all these tracks, and each composition took different duration with the first track Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor, Op.31, taking the longest time, around ten minutes. Other tracks also composed by Frederick Chopin captured in the recording include Ballade No.2 in F, Op.38 6, Ballade No.3 in A flat, Op.47, Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52, Fantaisie in F minor, Op.49 and Barcarolle in F Sharp, Op.60 in that order. Eventually, Krystian Zimerman had played eight pieces of songs composed by Frederick Chopin.

All art, including music, is directly influenced by the environment in which the artist lives. It is impossible to create art in a vacuum, unaffected by the society and events surrounding you. The time period, location, and social changes and innovations can have a direct effect on the art produced. Political events, especially wars, can have a strong influence on the music and art produced at that time. For example, music may become more patriotic during a time of war as the composers strive to publicize their national pride. I will explore this idea through the composer Igor Stravinsky and his three most famous ballets in terms of music and choreography. Since I have a retrospective perspective, I will be able to analyze the situation

Arnold Schoenberg completely broke the traditional tonal system. He invented a new way of “twelve-tone” to organize his music. In contrast, Igor Stravinsky was a “tonal composer”. He extended musical ambiguity while “remaining within the tonal system”. Schoenberg and Stravinsky represented the two main paths of music at that time; Schoenberg represented Atonality and Stravinsky represented Tonal Ambiguity. For example, Schoenberg’s work “Pierrot Lunaire” showed atonality more than ever. On the contrary, using “famous bi-tonal chords”, Stravinsky’s composition “The Rite of Spring” solid based on tonal forms, although it was dissonant.