Copland Hartford Celebrates

by David LaChance

T H E C O P L A N D C E N T U R Y

During a visit with stu-dents at the Univer sityof Hartford in the sum-

mer of 1972, Aaron Coplandwas asked a provocative ques-tion: What did he think of theemerging field of electronicmusic?

If the student hoped to provoke a condemnation of thenew and a defense of the tradi-tional from the 71-year-old com-poser, he must have been disap-pointed. “I feel fine—when it’sgood,” Copland replied.

“The great drawback of electronicmusic is that if it is not produced live, itmust be put on tape, and tape alwayssounds the same. It is diversity that keepsmusic alive,” he said. “My general atti-tude, however, is to keep an open mindand see what comes along.”

So it was with Copland, an Americanoriginal whose life is being celebrated in“The Copland Century,” a 14-monthseries of events that represents one of thelargest collaborative arts events in GreaterHartford’s history. Through concerts,lectures, dance performances, and films,The Hartt School, the President’sCollege, and 16 other collaborators arejoining The Bushnell in inviting GreaterHartford to get to know a man univer -sally acclaimed as the father of Amer icanmusic.

Many people may feel they are alreadywell acquainted with Copland. His mostpopular works—Appalachian Spring, ALincoln Portrait, Billy the Kid, Rodeo—have become icons of American culture,and Fanfare for the Common Man wasnearly ubiquitous during this past sum-mer of the Olympics. Today, 10 yearsafter his death, his fame shows no signs of abating.

Yet Copland presents many paradoxes.A gentle and quiet man, he wrote musicof enormous power. The gay son of asynagogue president from Brooklyn, hecreated a uniquely American sound. Hespent three years studying the fundamen-tals of classical music in France beforereturning to draw inspiration from jazz,Shaker hymns, and cowboy tunes. A suc-cess in Hollywood, he never lost the

respect of his peers, or forgot what itmeant to be poor and unknown. He was,said his biographer, Vivian Perlis, “a simple, plain man in a most comp li catedway.”

By all accounts, he was that rare com-bination: an artistic genius with a heart ofgold. “He was probably the sweetest man I ever knew in my entire life,” saidJames Sellars, an associate professor ofcomposition at Hartt, who befriendedCopland in 1965. “It was morally impos-sible for him to do anything that was notan altruistic act.”

In fact, Copland’s final act was to giveeverything of himself to his profession.He left Rock Hill, his home in Cortlandt,N.Y., to the Copland Heritage Found -ation, which today maintains the proper-ty as a residence for visiting composers.His fortune he left to a foundation thattoday provides approximately $1 milliona year for new music. “He was unusuallygenerous,” said Robert Carl, chairman ofthe Composition Department at Harttand one of the first to be invited to spenda month at the home.

“There’s no other composer’s house inthe United States that is really so pre-served and used for this purpose,” saidCarl, who stayed at Rock Hill in October1999. “You sleep in his bedroom andwork in the studio where he wrote mostof the music for the last 30 years of hislife. It’s an enormous inspiration to beworking at his table and playing thepiano in the spot where he would be play-ing his piano. There’s a real sense ofbeing immersed in the history of theplace.”

Carl, who is also co-directorof Extension Works, a newmusic ensemble in Boston, waswriting a piano sonata whilestaying at the house and couldfeel Copland’s influence. “Inever saw a ghost, or anythinglike that,” he said, “but nowand then you couldn’t help butimagine him looking over yourshoulder and saying, ‘That’s notthe right note.’” It may havebeen that influence that ledCarl to incorporate a piece of18th-century folk music, “TheWorld Turned Upside-Down,”

in the second movement of his pianosonata, much as Copland had borrowedfrom cowboy songs and Shaker hymns.

A Generous SpiritVisits with music students, such as thosehe made to Hartford in the early 1970s,were another measure of Copland’s gen-erous spirit. Although he turned downnearly all of the many teaching positionsoffered to him (“I didn’t like peopletelling me what to do when I wasyounger, and I’m not going to start doingit myself,” he told The New York Times in1960), Copland enjoyed being aroundmusic students, and on several occasionsaccepted invitations from his friend, thelate Arnold Franchetti, then chairman ofcomposition at Hartt, to lecture inFranchetti’s experimental InteractiveStudies program. Copland had beenawarded an honorary doctorate in 1959by the University, one of the first half-dozen of the 40 institutions that would sohonor him in the ensuing decades.

He said that he did not teach butmerely “diagnosed.” Once, when askedwhat he had told an assembled group ofstudents, he replied, “I taught themabout minimalism. By definition, it can’tdo too much harm.”

“He was very honest and open toyoung musicians,” said Perlis, a Yale fac-ulty member and music historian, whohelped Copland write his two-volumebiography, Copland: 1900 through 1942and Copland Since 1943. “I would say hewas nostalgic for the college he neverwent to.”

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Fanfare for an

Uncommon Man

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Copland, Perlis said, was also motivat-ed by gratitude for his good fortune. Atthe end of a typical introduction listing hismany achievements, “he would unwindhis long legs, stand up, and say, ‘I’m alucky guy,’” Perlis said during a recent talkat Wilde Auditorium, sponsored by thePresident’s College. “He felt it was a priv-ilege to work in something that he loved,to make a living in music. And he was sohappy to be a part of the 20th century,where everything was new and excitingand different.”

In the truest sense, Copland was a manof the 20th century. He saw great signifi-cance in his November 14, 1900, birthdate, considering himself part of a fresh,new era. Being an innovator was hisbirthright.

Copland began taking piano lessons atthe age of 10, and at age 20 sailed to Paristo study with composition teacher NadiaBoulanger. When he returned to theUnited States, he “was on the spot whenAmerican music was ready to take off,”Perlis said.

His was not an overnight success.Copland endured years of poverty before

the musical world began opening to him,largely through the success of his balletsand film scores. In fact, he had no perma-nent home until he was in his 40s andlived in the homes offriends until then.

The music he created was uniquelyAmerican and uniquelyCopland. It has beenargued that theCopland sound and theAmerican sound arereally one and the same.Tom Schuttenhelm(’99) was a doctoralcandidate at Harttwhen, during his oralexaminations, he was asked to identify sev-eral untitled pieces of sheet music. One ofthem, he knew instantly, was AppalachianSpring.

“When you look at pieces by him, it’salmost unmistakable. You know immedi-ately that it’s Copland,” said Schutten -helm, who teaches at The HartfordAcademy of the Performing Arts andCentral Connecticut State College andcounts Copland as an influence on hisworks for piano. “It is quite evident whenyou see these scores. They’re so brilliantlyput together. It really jumps off the page.It’s so alive. It has so much energy in it.”

An Extraodinary Period of Growth“If you think of the prime of Copland’s lifeand what was taking place in the arts, hewas at the center of a huge development ofan American form and the idea of estab-lishing what is American in the arts,” saidMalcolm Morrison, dean of Hartt. It wasthe excitement created by Copland,Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, TennesseeWilliams, and other American artists thatled Morrison to leave his native Englandfor the United States in the mid-1970s.“It was an extraordinary period of growththat made this country hugely interestingto me,” he said.

The common view is that there weretwo sides to Copland’s music: the accessi-ble, such as Rodeo, which could be enjoyedby a general audience, and the darker,more forbidding pieces that are less fre-

quently played. These, which Coplandreferred to as “my orphans, my neglectedchildren,” are no less brilliant. His PianoSonata, for example, is “one of the greatest

works of this centuryby anyone,” Sellarsflatly states. TheCopland Centurycelebration will fea-ture some of theseseldom-heard pieces,including a suitefrom the opera TheTender Land and theballet Grohg, the firstfull performance ofthat work.

Carl, chairman ofHartt’s composition department, findstwo aspects of Copland’s life particularlystriking: he was one of the first Americancomposers interested in the music of LatinAmerica, putting him “way ahead of thegame.” And, as the winner of an AcademyAward in 1950 for his score for The Heiressand a Pulitzer Prize for music in 1945 forAppalachian Spring, he was one of a veryfew “crossover” artists able to achieve suchgreat success in diverse musical fields.

Copland was particularly careful not torepeat himself; The Tender Land, for example, was his only opera. “Peoplealways wanted him to write a newAppalachian Spring. But that wasn’t whathe was all about,” Perlis says.

The Darkest ChapterPerhaps the darkest chapter in Copland’slife was his investigation by the committeeheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy, theringleader of the red-baiting congressionalcircus of the early 1950s. A LincolnPortrait [1942] was to have been per-formed at the inauguration of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower in January 1953,but the piece was replaced in the programafter suspicions were raised over Copland’spolitical beliefs.

It is a measure of his sunny outlookthat the experience did not leave Coplandbitter (“Agonizing is not my thing,” hetold Perlis), and his place in American cul-ture was secure enough to allow him toride out the storm. Within the nextdecade, he would become one of the most

Robert Carl (left), associate professor ofcomposition and theory and chair of thedepartment, with graduate studentDesh Hindle.

It’s an enormousinspiration to beworking at his

table and playingthe piano in thespot where he

would be playinghis piano.

—Robert Carl

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honored cultural figures in the UnitedStates, receiving the Gold Medal of theAmerican Academy and Institute of Artsand Letters, the Presidential Medal ofFreedom, and honorary doctorates fromsome 40 institutions, among them theUniversity of Hartford.

Today, Copland serves as an inspira-tion, not only for composers who wouldseek artistic achievement at the very high-est level but also for those who wish tomake an honest living at what they love

best. “He walked the line between popu-lar acclaim and critical acclaim very well,”said Charles Michael Demuynck (’99),assistant professor at the University ofEvansville in Indiana.

“Composers today are very aware ofachieving success in their lifetimes. Theydon’t want to wait until 100 years afterthey’re dead to be a success,” Perlis said.“Certainly, Copland is a model for havingit both ways, having the success and hav-ing the art pure.

“Copland’s place historically is secure,very secure,” said Perlis. “His music hascontinued to be performed and has esca-lated in popularity—usually only the samefew pieces, but most composers would saythat’s enough.”

Or, as James Sellars put it, “He hasseeped into the culture so deeply that Idon’t think we’ll ever be able to squeezeCopland out entirely.“He was a great man.”

The University conferred anhonorary doctorate of musicon Aaron Copland (center) atthe 1959 commencement cere-mony. Other honorary degreerecipients that year wereVictor L. Butterfield (far left),president of WesleyanUniversity; Ali Currim Chagla,(second from left), India’sambassador to the UnitedStates; Charles C. Cunningham(second from right), director ofthe Wadsworth Atheneum;and D. Hayes Murphy (farright), chairman of the boardof the Wiremold Company.Standing next to Copland isVincent Brown Coffin, theUniversity’s first chancellor.

Copland Century: Hartford Celebrates the American Composer

The Copland Century represents a unique collaboration of arts groups in the greater Hartford area.As a celebration of Aaron Copland (1900–90), it offers a focus, both nationally and internationally,on the heritage of American music and art over the last 100 years, while reawakening the Copland

spirit of cooperation and encouragement in the arts.Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishers, which is promoting the worldwide Copland 2000 celebration, has

declared Hartford’s celebration the most significant single collaboration on the international calendar. Awide array of concerts, lectures, and educational projects is being presented throughout a 14-month peri-od that began in Hartford last March with the performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring by theMartha Graham Dance Company and the Hartford Symphony at The Bushnell. The focus of the celebra-tion centers on Copland’s own music, as well as the American composers he inspired.During The Copland Century, leading arts organizations in Greater Hartford joined together in this

impressive collaboration that includes the University of Hartford’s President’s College and The HarttSchool, The Bushnell, Chamber Music PLUS, Charter Oak Cultural Center, CONCORA, Connecticut ClassicalGuitar Society, Connecticut Composers, Inc., Connecticut Opera Association, Connecticut Public Televisionand Radio, Dance Connecticut, Hartford Chorale, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Hill-Stead Museum, NewBritain Museum of American Art, and the Wadsworth Atheneum. -JL

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University of Hartford OBSERVER/Winter 2000

DECEMBER 2000Tuesday, December 5Performance 20/20 Stravinsky: OctetStrauss: Till EulenspiegelsQuintetCopland: Duo8 p.m. Lincoln Theater Admission is free.

Wednesday, December 6“Chick Austin: The Friends andEnemies of Modern Art”Gene Gaddis, curator of thenewly restored Austin House inHartford (now a part of theWadsworth Atheneum) gives aPresident’s College lecture onthe eve of the publication of hisnew Chick Austin biography.7:30 p.m. Wilde Auditorium,Harry Jack Gray CenterAdmission: $15

Friday, December 8Hartt Symphony OrchestraConducted by ChristopherZimmermanDiamond: Symphony No. 4Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3,with Sae Hee Kim, pianist, winner ofthe student concerto competition Beethoven: Symphony No. 48 p.m. Lincoln TheaterAdmission: $15, $12, $10

FEBRUARY 2001Friday to Sunday, February 16 to 18As a featured event of the CoplandSymposium, a new version ofCopland’s first full-scale orchestralpiece, his ballet Grohg, will be fullystaged for the first time. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.Sunday at 3 p.m. Lincoln TheaterAdmission: $15, $12, $10

MARCH 2001Wednesday, March 7“Lennie! Portrait of a Legend”President’s College lecture bySchuyler Chapin, author of LeonardBernstein: Notes from a Friend,who will offer personal insight intothe life and work of one of America’sgreatest musical artists: LeonardBernstein.7:30 p.m. Wilde Auditorium, HarryJack Gray CenterAdmission: $15

Thursday, March 15Hartt Symphony OrchestraChristopher Zimmerman, conductorRobert Carl: “Death” for orchestraKhachaturian: Violin ConcertoSibelius: Symphony No. 28 p.m. Millard AuditoriumAdmission: $15, $12, $10

APRIL 2001Wednesday, April 4“Protests and Rituals: Avant-garde Theatre in America1960–1969”President’s College presentationby Chris Baker, literary directorof the Hartford Stage7:30 p.m. Wilde Auditorium,Harry Jack Gray CenterAdmission: $15

Thursday, April 19“Modern Music: An Interviewwith John Corigliano”Robert Carl, chair of composi-tion, The Hartt School, andrecipient of the first AaronCopland Award, will discusswith Corigliano his score forThe Red Violin and his viewson the direction of Americanmusic, in this President’s Collegeevent.7:30 p.m. Wilde Auditorium,Harry Jack Gray CenterAdmission: $15

MAY 2001Wednesday, May 23“Hartford in the 21st Century”In this President’s College panel dis-cussion on the future of Hartfordarts, UofH President Walter Harrisonhosts a select group of Hartford’s pri-mary leaders in the arts to discussissues of funding, education, pro-gramming, and public appreciation.Audience participation will beencouraged, as the direction ofHartford’s artistic development overthe last decade and into this centurycomes under scrutiny.7:30 p.m. Wilde Auditorium, HarryJack Gray CenterAdmission: $15

Events on Campus