Aaron Copland and His World by Edited by Carol J. Oja & Judith Tick soon to be presented for sale on the excellent BookLovers of Bath web site!
Published: Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2005, Paperback.
Contains: Black & white photographs; Facsimiles; Musical scores;
From the cover: Aaron Copland and His World reassesses the legacy of one of Americas best-loved composers at a pivotal moment as his life and work shift from the realm of personal memory to that of history. This collection of seventeen essays by distinguished scholars of American music explores the stages of cultural change on which Coplands long life (1900-1990) unfolded: from the modernist experiments of the 1920s, through the progressive populism of the Great Depression and the urgencies of World War II, to post-war political backlash and the rise of serialism in the 1950s and the widespread cultural turbulence of the 1960s.
Continually responding to an ever-changing political and cultural panorama, Copland kept a firm focus on both his private muse and the public he served. No self-absorbed recluse, he was very much a public figure who devoted his career to building support systems that would help composers function pro-ductively in America. This book offers multiple critiques on Coplands role in these shifting contexts.
The contributors include music historians long associated with Copland scholarship such as Vivian Perlis, Howard Pollack, and Larry Starr, as well as newer voices to Copland, among them Elliott Antokoletz, Leon Botstein, and Martin Brody. The book also gives voice to younger scholars: Emily Abrams, Paul Anderson, Elizabeth Crist, Melissa de Graaf, Neil Lerner, and Beth Levy. And it offers interdisciplinary essays by the dance scholar Lynn Garafola, the art historian Gail Levin, and the cultural historian Morris Dickstein.
The topics range from Coplands role in shaping an American school of modern dance to his relationship with Leonard Bernstein; his homosexuality, especially as influenced by the writings of Andre Gide; and theoretical explorations of cultural nationalism. Coplands rich correspondence with the composer and critic Arthur Berger, who set the parameters of Coplands reception for much of the composers lifetime, is published here in its entirety, edited by Wayne Shirley.
Very Good. Upper wrapper slighty curled. Text complete, clean and tight.
[XXI] 503 pages. Index. Trade Paperback (9¼” x 6″).
Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I tempt you with something from my Music catalogue?
BookLovers of Bath 