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Aaron Copland
An Aaron Copland Centenary Tribute
He heralded the Common Man, and the uncommon organist, too. With a Fanfare, a Preamble, a Passacaglia and a symphony composed in Paris for his teacher’s debut in New York City, we explore some characteristic yet surprisingly little-known organ works by one of America’s most famous composers.
Program Broadcast dates:
- November 6, 2000
Links and Resources
Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston:
Archdiocese of Boston,- International Organ Foundation,
- Organ Society
- Philharmonic Hall, New York, NY
Music played in the program
COPLAND: Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) –Dorothy Papadakos (1954 Aeolian-Skinner/Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, NY) B&V CD-1996 (out-of-print; or contact )
COPLAND: Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1953) –Hans-Ola Ericsson (1987 Grönlund/Luelå Cathedral, Sweden) Bis CD-510
COPLAND: Quiet City (1939) –John Wilds, trumpet; Alison Luedecke (1968 Aeolian-Skinner/Saint Paul’s Cathedral, San Diego, CA) World Library CD-3070 (800-566-6150; wlps@jspaluch.com)
COPLAND: Episode (1940) –Hans-Ola Ericsson (1987 Grönlund/Luelå Cathedral, Sweden) Bis CD-510; also Rollin Smith (1883 Roosevelt/First Congregational Church, Great Barrington, MA) Repertoire RRSLP-12 (out-of-print)
COPLAND (trans. John Fesperman): Passacaglia (1922) –Adrian Partington (1882 Willis/Reading Town Hall, England, UK) Priory CD-687
COPLAND (trans. Wachner): El Salon Mexico (1936, excerpt) –Julian Wachner (1875 Hook & Hastings/Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston, MA) (OHS recording 8/22/00)
COPLAND: Symphony (No. 1) for Organ and Orchestra (1924) –New York Philharmonic/Leonad Bernstein, conductor; E. Power Biggs (1962 Aeolian-Skinner/Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY) Sony Classical CD-63155
Copland (b. 11/14/1900) was an accomplished pianist who, despite an acknowledged antipathy towards it, understood the organ rather well. His First Symphony, written at the request of Serge Koussevitsky for Copland’s Parisian teacher, organist Nadia Boulanger, served as both her and his ‘debut opportunity’ back in the United States. After the Symphony’s premiere in 1925 shortly following its composer’s return from his stylistically liberating European studies, Copland wrote only one other original work for pipe organ, Episode (1940). The other pieces on this program are transcriptions, one by Copland (Preambule), one sanctioned by him (Passacaglia), and two done because they needed to be. But, hey, we celebrate the Copland Centenary any way we can!