COPLAND AND HIS WORLD Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Bard Music Festival 2005 AUGUST 12-14 and AUGUST 19-21
The Bard Music Festival’s 11 concerts, one symposium, three panel discussions, and a special event performance of Copland’s spiky “Piano Fantasy” on August 20 comprise a major survey of what might be called “the Copland century in music.” The 2005 Festival’s coartistic directors are Leon Botstein, Christopher H. Gibbs, and Robert Martin, and Judith Tick and Carol J. Oja are Scholars-in-Residence.
Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was 20th-century America’s most prominent composer. He found a unique way to reconcile modernism with music that evoked the landscape and spirit of America. He staunchly advocated a distinctive American voice that could reach a wide public and promoted the careers of a broad range of North and South American composers. “His music and personality cut across the traditional boundaries of the concert hall; he was influenced by jazz, worked in Hollywood, and collaborated with creative figures from the worlds of theater and dance. His life and career offer a fascinating mirror of American life, its politics, popular culture, and conflicting self-images – a mirror that reflects the Gershwin brothers, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Martha Graham, Clifford Odets, Thornton Wilder, Harold Clurman, Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, Paul Strand, Virgil Thomson, Roy Harris, Samuel Barber, Roger Sessions, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, and Leonard Bernstein.”
The documentary film that opens the festival is an appropriate overture to this deep examination of Aaron Copland’s life, works, friends, colleagues, influences, and artistic legacies. More than two dozen of his works will be performed, including indelible favorites like Fanfare for the Common Man and Appalachian Spring, and thornier pieces like the Piano Variations (1930), Inscape (1967) and Grohg (1922-25/rev. 1932). The earliest works in the festival are The Cat and the Mouse and Three Moods for piano, from 1920/21, while the latest will be Night Thoughts (Homage to Ives) for piano (1972).
The American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, will perform large-scale symphonic works in three concerts, the Bard Chamber Players and Bard Festival Chorus under James Bagwell will participate, and numerous vocal and instrumental soloists will take part as well. Peggy and Mike Seeger will perform in a program of music with commentary titled “Aaron Copland and the Folk Revival” on August 20.
In keeping with the Bard Music Festival’s mission to present a composer’s work in a broad musical and cultural context, a wide survey of music of many genres will be performed, and the composer’s place in the historical and political context will be examined and discussed. This year many composers from inside and outside Aaron Copland’s circle will be represented, from George Antheil, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Darius Milhaud, Leo Ornstein, Igor Stravinsky and Virgil Thomson to Pierre Boulez, Benjamin Britten, Carlos Chávez, Jerome Kern, David Del Tredici, Alberto Ginastera and Roger Sessions. There will be a work by his teacher Rubin Goldmark (1872-1936), and works by composers whose work he espoused, and thereby helped, such as Alberto Ginastera and Silvestre Revueltas. In fact, Copland’s interest in Latin America is the subject of an entire program (“South of the Border,” Friday, August 19). And, in the tradition of Bard Music Festival, Princeton University Press will again publish a book of new scholarship and interpretation. This year’s volume, Copland and His World, the 16th in the series, is edited by Judith Tick and Carol J. Oja.
Bard Music Festival details at press-time are given below. Updates will be published on the festival website, http://www.bard.edu/fishercenter. The site also provides phone numbers, ticket information, and directions for getting to Bard (only 90 minutes north of Manhattan).
The Fisher Center box office, which begins selling tickets for Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival on May 2, 2005, can be reached at 845-758-7900. Tickets will also be available on the Fisher Center website listed above.
The Bard Music Festival will present a third weekend of “Copland and His World” this fall, from October 21-23.
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Works by
Aaron Copland in Bard Music Festival 2005:
Three Moods, for piano (1920–21)
Two Pieces (1926)
Into the Streets May First (1934)
Sextet (1937)
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Appalachian Spring (1944)
In the Beginning (1947)
From Old American Songs (1950–52)
Night Thoughts (Homage to Ives), for piano (1972)
Four Motets (1921)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1926)
Symphonic Ode (1929; rev. 1955)
Grohg (1922–25, rev. 1932)
Piano Variations (1930)
Vitebsk, for violin, cello, and piano (1929)
Music for the Theatre (1925)
El salón México (1936; arr. Bernstein)
Violin Sonata (1943)
Piano Fantasy (1955-57)
Statements (1934)
Billy the Kid, ballet suite (1938)
Quiet City (1940)
Piano Quartet (1950)
Symphony No. 3 (1946)
Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1949)
Inscape (1967)
Composers in Bard Music Festival 2005 – Aaron Copland and his World:
George Antheil
Samuel Barber
Marion Bauer
Arthur Berger
Leonard Bernstein
Pierre Boulez
Paul Bowles
Benjamin Britten
John Cage
Elliott Carter
Carlos Chávez
Israel Citkowitz
Aaron Copland
Henry Cowell
Ruth Crawford
David Del Tredici
David Diamond
Irving Fine
George Gershwin
Alberto Ginastera
Rubin Goldmark
Louis Gruenberg
Roy Harris
Lou Harrison
James P. Johnson
Jerome Kern
Colin McPhee
Darius Milhaud
Conlon Nancarrow
Leo Ornstein
Walter Piston
Silvestre Revueltas
Richard Rodgers
Dane Rudhyar
Ned Rorem
Carl Ruggles
Domingo Santa Cruz
William Schuman
Roger Sessions
Elie Siegmeister
William Grant Still
Igor Stravinsky
Virgil Thomson
Edgard Varèse
Heitor Villa-Lobos
BARD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2005
AARON COPLAND AND HIS WORLD
August 12–14, 2005
August 19–21, 2005
WEEKEND ONE August 12-14, 2005
FRIDAY, August 12, 2005
Special Showing: A Documentary Panorama
10:00 a.m.
A selection of documentaries ranging from Leonard Bernstein’s birthday tribute from 1961 to TV interviews will be shown throughout the day. Please consult website for individual show times. (To be repeated Friday, August 19.)
4:00 p.m. A conversation with Vivian Perlis
PROGRAM ONE: Aaron Copland: An American Master
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
8:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Leon Botstein
8:30 p.m. Performance: Michael Boriskin, piano; John Hancock, baritone; Nicholas Kitchen, violin; Anna Polonsky, piano; Marietta Simpson, mezzo-soprano; Diane Walsh, piano; Music from Copland House; Members of the American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, conductor; Bard Festival Chorus, James Bagwell, choral director
Aaron Copland
(1900–90)
Three Moods, for piano (1920–21)
Two Pieces (1926)
Into the Streets May First (1934)
Sextet (1937)
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Appalachian Spring (1944)
In the Beginning (1947)
From Old American Songs (1950–52)
Night Thoughts (Homage to Ives), for piano (1972)
SATURDAY, August 13, 2005
PANEL ONE: Memory and History
Olin Hall
10:00 a.m. – noon
Judith Tick, moderator; Vivian Perlis; and others
PROGRAM TWO: Paris, Boulanger, and Jazz
Olin Hall
1:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Howard Pollack
1:30 p.m. Performance: Danny Driver, piano; Spencer Myer, piano; Ann Panagulias, soprano; Wesley Rogers, tenor; Bard Festival Chamber Players, Teresa Cheung and Rebecca Miller, conductors; Bard Festival Chorus, James Bagwell, choral director; and others
Aaron Copland (1900–90)
Four Motets (1921)
George Gershwin (1898–1937), Piano Preludes (1926)
James P. Johnson (1894–1955), The Carolina Shout (c1917)
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), Ragtime (1917–18)
Darius Milhaud (1892–1974), La création du monde, Op. 81 (1923)
Louis Gruenberg (1884–1964), The Daniel Jazz, Op. 21 (1925)
Marion Bauer (1882–1955), From Four Piano Pieces, Op. 21 (1930)
Israel Citkowitz (1909–74), Five Songs from Chamber Music (1930)
Virgil Thomson (1896–1989), Hymns from the Old South (1949)
PROGRAM THREE: Copland, the Early Years
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
7:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Carol J. Oja
8:00 p.m. Performance: Alan Feinberg, piano; American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, conductor
Aaron Copland (1900–90)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1926)
Symphonic Ode (1929; rev. 1955)
Grohg (1922–25, rev. 1932)
George Antheil (1900–59), A Jazz Symphony (1925)
Virgil Thomson (1896–1989), Symphony on a Hymn Tune (1928)
SUNDAY, August 14, 2005
PANEL TWO: The Private and the Public Copland: Issues of Personal and National Identity
Olin Hall
10:00 a.m. – noon
Carol J. Oja, moderator; Nadine Hubbs; David Schiff; Gayle Murchison
PROGRAM FOUR: Copland, Advocate of Contemporary American Music
Olin Hall
1:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Beth Levy
1:30 p.m. Performance: Randolf Bowman, flute; Jennifer Dudley, mezzo-soprano; John Hancock, baritone; Spencer Myer, piano; Anna Polonsky, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players, Teresa Cheung, conductor; and others
Edgard Varèse (1883–1965), Hyperprism (1922–23)
Henry Cowell (1897–1965), The Banshee (1925)
Ruth Crawford (1901–53), Songs (1929)
Roger Sessions (1896–1985), Piano Sonata No. 1 (1927–30)
Dane Rudhyar (1895–1985), Paeans (1927)
Charles Ives (1874–1954), Songs (1900-21)
Colin McPhee (1900–64), Gamelan Transcriptions, for flute and piano (1935–36)
PROGRAM FIVE: Varieties of Engagement: The American Jewish Composers
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
5:00 p.m. Performance: Melvin Chen, piano; Robert Martin, cello; Sharon Roffman, violin; Bard Festival Chamber Players, Rebecca Miller, conductor, and others
Aaron Copland (1900–90),
Vitebsk, for violin, cello, and piano (1929)
Music for the Theatre (1925)
Rubin Goldmark (1872–1936), Prairie Idylls (1915)
Selections from musicals by Leonard Bernstein (1918–90), George Gershwin (1898–1937), Richard Rodgers (1902–79), and Irving Berlin (1888–1989), chosen and introduced by Jonathan Tunick
WEEKEND TWO August 19–21, 2005
Special Showing: A Documentary Panorama
10:00 a.m.
A selection of documentaries ranging from Leonard Bernstein’s birthday tribute from 1961 to TV interviews will be shown throughout the day. Please consult website for individual show times.
SYMPOSIUM: Mid-Twentieth-Century American Culture and Politics
Room 141 (MPR), Bertelsmann Campus Center
10:00 a.m. – noon
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Geoffrey Sanborn, moderator; Rita Barnard; Lynn Garafola; Michael Kazin; Brenda Murphy; Ellen Schrecker; and others
PROGRAM SIX: South of the Border
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
7:30 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Elizabeth Crist
8:00 p.m. Performance: Daedalus String Quartet; Curtis Macomber, violin; Lauren Skuce, soprano; Blanca Uribe, piano; Richard Wilson, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players; and others
Aaron Copland (1900–90), El salón México (1936; arr. Bernstein)
Silvestre Revueltas (1899–1940), String Quartet No. 3 (1931)
Carlos Chávez (1899–1978), Soli I, for wind instruments (1933)
Conlon Nancarrow (1912–97), Prelude and Blues, for piano (1935)
Alberto Ginastera (1916–83), Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2 (1937); Cinco canciones populares Argentinas, Op. 10 (1943)
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), String Quartet No. 17 (1957)
Domingo Santa Cruz (1899–1987), Viñetas, Op. 8 (1925–27)
Mario Davidovsky (b.1934), Synchronisms, No. 9 (1988)
SATURDAY, August 20, 2005
PROGRAM SEVEN: Aaron Copland and the Folk Revival
Olin Hall
PROGRAM EIGHT: The Lure of Neoclassicism
Olin Hall
1:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Rodney Lister
1:30 p.m. Performance: Randolf Bowman, flute; Bard Conservatory Woodwind Quintet; Bard Festival String Quartet; Laura Flax, clarinet; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Ani Kavafian, violin; Diane Walsh, piano; and others
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), Suite from L’histoire du soldat (1918–19)
Walter Piston (1894–1976), Three Pieces, for flute, clarinet, and bassoon (1925)
David Diamond (b.1915), String Quartet no. 1 (1940)
Elliott Carter (b.1908), Woodwind Quintet (1948)
Irving Fine (1914–62), Partita for Wind Quintet (1948)
Songs by Paul Bowles (1910–99) and William Schuman (1910–92)
Special Event: Copland’s Piano Fantasy
PROGRAM NINE: In Search of a New National Voice
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
7:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Michael Pisani
8:00 p.m. Performance: American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, conductor
Aaron Copland (1900–90)
Statements (1934)
Quiet City (1940)
Carlos Chávez (1899–1978), Sinfonía India (1935–36)
Roy Harris (1898–1979), Symphony No. 3 (1938)
Jerome Kern (1885–1945), From Mark Twain, Portrait for Orchestra (1942)
SUNDAY, August 21, 2005
PANEL THREE: Copland’s Legacy: A Conversation with Composers
Olin Hall
Richard Wilson, moderator; Mario Davidovsky; David Del Tredici; Yehudi Wyner
PROGRAM TEN: Tanglewood and Postwar Tensions
Olin Hall
1:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Amy Beal
Sunday August 21
1:30 p.m. Performance: Bard Festival String Quartet; Courtenay Budd, soprano; Simone Dinnerstein, piano; Marka Gustavsson, viola; Linda Hall, piano; Sharon Roffman, violin; Sophie Shao, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute; Bard Festival Chamber Players
Aaron Copland (1900–90), Piano Quartet (1950)
John Cage (1912–92) and Lou Harrison (1917–2003), Double Music (1941)
Pierre Boulez (b.1925), Flute Sonatine (1946)
Lukas Foss (b.1922), Capriccio, for cello and piano (1948)
Arthur Berger (1912–2003), Duo, for cello and piano (1951)
David Del Tredici (b.1937), I Hear an Army (1964)
PROGRAM ELEVEN: The Triumph of the American Symphonic Tradition
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater
4:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Christopher H. Gibbs
5:00 p.m. Performance: American Symphony Orchestra; Leon Botstein, conductor
Aaron Copland (1900–90)
Symphony No. 3 (1946)
Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1949)
Inscape (1967)