Contemporary American Composers: Aaron Copland; 2
- Episode Number
- 2
- Producing Organization
- WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/516-8c9r20sr46
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- Description
- Episode Description
- After a brief recapitulation of Aaron Coplands life and career, the program scene shifts again to the composers studio. Talking directly to the audience, Mr. Copland speaks of the experience of composing music, explaining in simple terms exactly what a composer does. In particular, he describes the relation of functional music music that serves as a background, a theme, an intensification of a moodto folk music. Notes, or even the musical patterns, are less important than the mood they evoke; Mr. Copland illustrates this point by playing themes that he used in his opera The Tender land and in other works. The program then turns to film clips showing the composer at the Tangle wood, Massachusetts, Music Festival. He is seen first conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a rehearsal of his suite based on The Tender Land, and then conducting the orchestra during the concert performance an exciting climax to a portrait of a great composer. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- In the twentieth century, for the first time, American composers have achieved international recognition in a field previously dominated by Europeans. Who are these composers? What makes them unidentifiable as Americans? National Educational Television has prepared an exciting new series devoted to these men and their work. In many respects the series resembles Heritage. The format is relaxed. The composer talks directly to the audience and can express himself fully without having to adhere to a rigid outline. Film clips, scores, maps, photographs, and many other visual aids establish the background, the influences, and the pattern of the composers life and work. Among the film clips are those of the composer performing or conducting his work. Thus, the viewer can listen to the composer explain his music and then watch and hear him perform it. The result is a distinguished and highly personal series of portraits in depth. Aaron Copland is no stranger to National Educational Television audience. He has appeared on intermission interviews during Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts: his suite entitled Appalachian Spring was heard by the hundreds of thousands of NET viewers who saw Martha Grahams filmed ballet of that name; his music was performed and discussed on two programs in last years Boston Symphony series and the series Two Centuries of Symphony devoted one program to the work of this important American contemporary composer. Aaron Copland, who was born in Brooklyn in 1900, has been composing since he was twenty. He studied with several distinguished musicians, including Nadia Boulanger (featured personality on Heritage XII). He has received honorary degrees from Princeton, Harvard, Brandeis, Oberlin, and several other colleges and Universities. He has also received a Pulitzer Prize (1944), an Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1950), for The Heiress: film score), a gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1956), and many other honors. He is an articulate, thoughtful man with courtesy and warmth and an unflagging unwillingness to help students, musicians, and anyone who is interested in music. The two half-hour episodes on Aaron Copland were produced by WQED, Pittsburgh and were originally recorded on film. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1961-00-00
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Performance
- Media type
- other
- Credits
-
-
Director: Ziegler, John W.
Host: Copland, Aaron
Producer: Ziegler, John W.
Producing Organization: WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Writer: Sterne, Colin
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Contemporary American Composers: Aaron Copland; 2,” 1961-00-00, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 23, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-8c9r20sr46.
- MLA: “Contemporary American Composers: Aaron Copland; 2.” 1961-00-00. American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 23, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-8c9r20sr46>.
- APA: Contemporary American Composers: Aaron Copland; 2. Boston, MA: American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-8c9r20sr46