"COPLAND AND HIS WORLD" – THE SIXTEENTH ANNUAL BARD MUSIC FESTIVAL – OPENS ON AUGUST 12 IN ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.

TWO FULL WEEKENDS OF CONCERTS, LECTURES, DISCUSSIONS, AND MORE, WITH PERFORMERS RANGING FROM PEGGY SEEGER TO THE AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CELEBRATING MUSIC OF "THE AMERICAN CENTURY" – AUGUST 12–14 AND AUGUST 19–21 SELECTION OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND A TALK BY COPLAND BIOGRAPHER VIVIAN PERLIS OPEN THE FESTIVAL WORKS BY 44 COMPOSERS WILL BE PLAYED – FROM COPLAND, CARTER, AND KERN TO BARBER, BERGER, AND BERNSTEIN “Copland’s music is the echo of the American flag.” – Leon Botstein The world-renowned Bard Music Festival will focus on “Copland and His World” over two extraordinary weekends next month: August 12–14 and August 19–21. Described by New York Newsday as “brave and brainy,” the Bard Music Festival is the centerpiece of Bard SummerScape 2005, which began on July 8 with performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company and will include a new production of Marc Blitzstein’s opera Regina (July 29–August 6) and Copland’s only opera, The Tender Land (August 4–12). Fifteen composers, ranging from Haydn and Mendelssohn to Ives and Janáček have been celebrated and examined in the annual Bard Music Festivals, given each summer at Annandale-on-Hudson since 1990. In an interview posted at www.iclassics.com , Botstein explains in detail the reasons Bard selected Aaron Copland as the subject for this year’s festival: “At the beginning of the 21st century we thought we should consider the most important American composer of the 20th century, the composer who helped define how we think about America. Copland died 15 years ago, and he has become part of the pop cultural landscape. His music is used to sell everything from beef to cigarettes to patriotism; and these things are sold using Copland’s 20th-century music vocabulary. Remember, Copland was the child of Russian Jewish immigrants and in the span of a single generation helped to define the idea of the quintessential American—yet he’s not Christian, heterosexual, Anglo, or politically conservative. He’s that terrible word: liberal. Copland’s music is the echo of the American flag. Classical music has actually played a more important role in modern America than people realize; it’s had a big impact on Hollywood and on our general sense of what it means to be an American. We’re in a very sensitive moment of our history, with the war in Iraq and terror on our minds. The issues Copland and his colleagues raised are very important ones right now.” Brooklyn-born Aaron Copland (1900–1990) might have appeared unlikely to become a hero of All-American culture, but, as Botstein points out, his ballets "Rodeo," "Appalachian Spring," and "Billy the Kid" and his "Fanfare for the Common Man" are all quintessential sounds "typical" of the USA, even to people who've never visited this country. But Copland didn't work in a vacuum: he studied in Europe, he wrote for Hollywood films, he loved jazz, and he promoted music not only by his fellow U.S. composers, but also by composers from other parts of the Americas–Carlos Chávez, Alberto Ginastera, Heitor Villa-Lobos, to name only three–and he adored Broadway and popular music. So "Copland and His World" will present works by more than 40 of Copland's contemporaries in a dozen concerts, the first of which will be given on Friday, August 12 at 8.30 p.m., preceded by a talk delivered by Leon Botstein. The festivities will open that morning with a special showing of Copland in documentary films and continue with a conversation with Copland's biographer Vivian Perlis, who will also participate in other festival events. Programs during Weekend One include the topics "Paris, Boulanger and Jazz," "Copland, the Early Years" (the program will include a performance of Copland’s ballet score Grohg accompanied by a showing of Jennifer Reeves’ film Shadows Choose Their Horrors which takes as its starting point Copland’s scenario), "The Private and the Public Copland: Issues of Personal and National Identity," and "Varieties of Engagement: the American Jewish Composer." Weekend Two will open with the symposium "Mid-Twentieth-Century American Culture and Politics" "South of the Border" and "Copland and the Folk Revival" and conclude with "The Triumph of the American Symphonic Tradition," a concert that will include Copland's Third Symphony (whose opening bars are also known as "Fanfare for the Common Man"), the Roger Sessions Second Symphony, and fanfares by Walter Piston, Roy Harris, Henry Cowell, and William Grant Still. For further information: Consult Bard's website at www.bard.edu/bmf/2005/, which includes complete programs, repertoire, performers, a visitor's guide giving information about getting to the Bard campus, buying tickets, places to visit, and where to stay in the beautiful Hudson River Valley. Programs for Bard Music Festival 2005 also follow below. The Bard box office is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are available by phone at (845) 758-7900 and may also be ordered online. # # # BARD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2005: “AARON COPLAND AND HIS WORLD” WEEKEND ONE: August 12–14, 2005 FRIDAY, August 12, 2005 SPECIAL SHOWING: A Documentary Panorama Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center 10:00 a.m. A selection of documentaries will be shown throughout the day. Please consult the website for titles and 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; Kenneth Bowen, 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) We’ve Come (1934) SATURDAY, August 13, 2005 PANEL ONE: Memory and History Olin Hall 10:00 a.m.–noon Judith Tick, moderator; Phyllis Curtin; Vivian Perlis; Howard Pollack 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; Janice Weber, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players, Teresa Cheung and Rebecca Miller, conductors; Bard Festival Chorus, James Bagwell, choral director Aaron Copland (1900–90) The Cat and the Mouse, scherzo humoristique (1920) Four Motets (1921) George Gershwin (1898–1937), Piano Preludes (1926) Leo Ornstein (1893–2002), Wild Men’s Dance, Op. 13, No. 2 (c1913) 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), Susie Asado (1926); Stabat Mater (1931) 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) (accompanied by Shadows Choose Their Horrors, a film by Jennifer Reeves) 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 E. Levy 1:30 p.m. Performance: Randolph Bowman, flute; Jennifer Dudley, mezzo-soprano; John Hancock, baritone; Spencer Myer, piano; Anna Polonsky, piano; Hiroko Sakurazawa, piano; Janice Weber, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players, Teresa Cheung, conductor Aaron Copland (1900–90), Piano Variations (1930) Edgard Varèse (1883–1965), Hyperprism (1922–23) Henry Cowell (1897–1965), Episode No. 2 (1920); For a Child (1920–30) (world premieres) 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) Carl Ruggles (1876–1971), Angels (1938) PROGRAM FIVE: Varieties of Engagement: The American Jewish Composers Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater 4:30 p.m. Preconcert talk: Edwin Seroussi 5:00 p.m. Performance: Nicole Cabell, soprano; 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 Harold Arlen (1905–86), Irving Berlin (1888–1989), Leonard Bernstein (1918–90), George Gershwin (1898–1937), Burton Lane (1912–97); Jerome Kern (1885–1945) Richard Rodgers (1902–79), and Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930), chosen and introduced by Jonathan Tunick WEEKEND TWO: August 19–21, 2005 FRIDAY, August 19, 2005 SPECIAL SHOWING: A Documentary Panorama Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center 10:00 a.m. A selection of documentaries will be shown throughout the day. Please consult website for titles and 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; Sean Wilentz PROGRAM SIX: South of the Border Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Sosnoff Theater 7:30 p.m. Preconcert talk: Elizabeth B. Crist 8:00 p.m. Performance: Alessio Bax, piano; Lucille Chung, piano; Daedalus String Quartet; Curtis Macomber, violin; Lauren Skuce, soprano; Blanca Uribe, piano; Richard Wilson, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players 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 10:00 a.m. Performance with Commentary by Judith Tick With Peggy Seeger and Mike Seeger PROGRAM EIGHT: The Lure of Neoclassicism Olin Hall 1:00 p.m. Preconcert Talk: Rodney Lister 1:30 p.m. Performance: Randolph Bowman, flute; Bard Conservatory Woodwind Quintet; Bard Festival String Quartet; Philippe Castagner, tenor; Laura Flax, clarinet; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Ani Kavafian, violin; Kevin Murphy, piano; Diane Walsh, piano Aaron Copland (1900–90), Violin Sonata (1943) 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 (1915–2005), 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 Olin Hall 5:00 p.m. Performance with commentary by Michael Boriskin 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) Billy the Kid, ballet suite (1938) Quiet City (1940) Samuel Barber (1910–81), First Essay, Op. 12 (1937) Elie Siegmeister (1909–91), American Holiday (1933) 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 10:00 a.m. – noon 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 1:30 p.m. Performance: Bard Festival String Quartet; Courtenay Budd, soprano; Philippe Castagner, tenor; Simone Dinnerstein, piano; Marka Gustavsson, viola; Linda Hall, piano; Kevin Murphy, 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) Songs by Benjamin Britten (1913–76) and Ned Rorem (b.1923) PROGRAM ELEVEN: The Triumph of the American Symphonic Tradition Sunday, August 21, 2005 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) (with Mia Farrow, narrator) Inscape (1967) Roger Sessions (1896–1985): Symphony No. 2 (1944–46) Fanfares by Walter Piston (1894–1976), Roy Harris (1898–1979), Henry Cowell (1897–1965), and William Grant Still (1895–1978) All programs and artists are subject to change.

This event was last updated on 08-24-2005

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