The American Stravinsky

The Style and Aesthetics of Copland's New American Music, the Early Works, 1921-1938

Subjects: American Studies, Music
Paperback : 9780472069842, 304 pages, 73 musical examples, 22 tables, 6 x 9, August 2013
Open Access : 9780472901005, 304 pages, 73 musical examples, 22 tables, 6 x 9, May 2018
Hardcover : 9780472099849, 304 pages, 73 musical examples, 22 tables, 6 x 9, February 2012

This open access version made available with the support of libraries participating in Knowledge Unlatched.
See expanded detail +

The first study to show Copland's style development from his early works through his first widely accessible ballet

Look Inside

Description

One of the country's most enduringly successful composers, Aaron Copland created a distinctively American style and aesthetic in works for a diversity of genres and mediums, including ballet, opera, and film. Also active as a critic, mentor, advocate, and concert organizer, he played a decisive role in the growth of serious music in the Americas in the twentieth century.

In The American Stravinsky, Gayle Murchison closely analyzes selected works to discern the specific compositional techniques Copland used, and to understand the degree to which they derived from European models, particularly the influence of Igor Stravinsky. Murchison examines how Copland both Americanized these models and made them his own, thereby finding his own compositional voice. Murchison also discusses Copland's aesthetics of music and his ideas about its purpose and social function.

Gayle Murchison is Associate Professor of Music and Africana Studies at the College of William and Mary.

"...Gayle Murchison has succeeded in redefining Copland and his music. Future scholarship should start here." -- Stephen Brown, TLS-The Times Literary Supplement

"...Gayle Murchison has succeeded in redefining Copland and his music. Future scholarship should start here." 
—Stephen Brown, TLS-The Times Literary Supplement

- Stephen Brown