Aaron Copland - America's Music

Now that we're still somewhat in the celebratory spirit and the July 4th festivities are lingering inside us, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about Aaron Copland, the father of American music.  Honestly, I fell in love with Copland the first time I heard his music.  I remember quite vividly listening to a piece on the radio when I was a child which I really liked, and as it turned out it was Copland (although I do not remember exactly which one).  The great thing about Copland is he was able to write music which had a uniquely modern style to it, very American with elements of jazz and folk, while simultaneously keeping the sound extremely conservative as there are barely any elements of dissonance or atonality in it.  A lot of his music is fun and jolly (the first time I heard "Billy the Kid" I literally laughed it was so great), and some of his music is more solemn and serious, but everything he wrote had a really special spirit to it.  Here is a clip of one of his pieces, Rodeo, which I'm sure you've heard even if you're not familiar with his music.

It should be pretty clear to you now why Copland is known to be the father of Ameican music.  Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1900 to Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.  When he was an adolescent and young adult he felt that if he tried he would be able to make classical music in America just as popular as jazz was.  In a sense he succeeded.  As a young man he went to France to study music, which was at that time the heart of music, and he met great personalities such as Serge Koussevitzky who encouraged him to write a piece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra to which he obliged and entitled the composition "Symphony for Organ and Orchestra".   Throughout his life Copland wrote many pieces, much of which included scores for the theater and ballet.  He wasn't just limited to American music either.  Copland's dream was to bring classical music to Mexico as well.  In the 1930's he wrote a composition called "El Salon Mexico" which really was able to synthesize classical music with Mexican folk music.  Some of his most famous scores were from the movie "Our Town" and "Of Mice and Men".  He was also very involved in Tanglewood, the Berkshire summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in which he taught for nearly two and half decades.  There was also a stage in his life when he was involved in conducting and he made appearances throughout the world as a guest conductor.  

In my opinion what made Copland really special was his passion to bring classical music to the world and his vision of integrating it with the popular music of the time.  He was a romantic; he was an impressionist; he was a modernist.  He created the future and he continued the past. 

Happy Independence Day

I hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day weekend, and that everyone is doing something meaningful to celebrate this day.  The video I posted above is Horowitz's transcription of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", believe it or not it is probably Horowitz's most famous composition.  Something nice to add to your Independence Day experience (Perhaps some BBQ background music;)).  It is really a nice time of year, now that school's out and all, to appreciate the wonderful country that we live in, the country that introduced democracy to the world and freedom for everyone.  Let's just pray that America remains the stronghold in international politics, and that even if the East becomes stronger politically, that we should not lose our freedom and way of life in this country.  I would just like to share a quick thought about the day (nothing to do with music).  On Independence Day I think that it would be a good time to reassess our value system as a country, and that by no means is meant to imply that our current system is bad or incorrect, but rather that some of the main foundations of our values have perhaps been misconstrued to some extent.  Independence and democracy are good things and I do not believe that any true American at heart would say otherwise.  When our forefathers founded this land they meant it to be a place where people could live in harmony and there would be no oppression based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or anything.  There could be freedom of speech, carrying arms, religion, and so many more rights that were denied (and still denied) in many countries.  After America spread the idea of democracy, many more countries have followed a similar system to our credit.  Yet, independence was not intended to be incompetent with ethics.  Why are so many Americans today depressed, unhappy with their marriages, and despise aging?  Why is a ridiculously high percentage of spouses cheating on the other, or men addicted to pornography?  I think the answer to all these questions is because we are so obsessed with independence that the freedom has come to lead people to so much selfishness and unhappiness.  When you sit next to someone on a bus, when was the last time you said hello and introduced yourself?  Even freedom carries with it the burden of obligation.  Obligation to a spouse, child, neighbor, country, and even to the country.  People are happier when they are selfless.  There is really nothing more redeeming than realizing that you are living your life for something or someone greater than yourself.  There is no need to run after wealth or physical beauty unless a person is truly unhappy with who he is.  And the more selfish a person becomes the more unhappy and arrogant he becomes.  The entire country was created on the premise that we are meant to work together and not be completely self-absorbed.  We are meant to share our lives with one another; not create a wall in our brains that says that anything that doesn't have anything to do with me is nonexistent.  Freedom, more often than less, means being able to do things and not doing them because there are greater responsibilities.  Greater things in life.  Unfortunately we see this in times of war and suffering, but not enough in times of peace.  After September 11th, for example, there was so much unity in the country and people actually came out of their bubble for a little bit because the country as a whole was under attack.  And that feeling still has not left.  I think it is truly important on this day to appreciate the real freedom we have and to use that freedom, not to chain our lives, but to make our lives all the more meaningful.  Happy Independence Day!

Rufus Wainwright - Prima Donna

Firstly, I feel it extremely important to bring to everyone's attention that the New York City Opera, as of now, is planning on leaving the David H. Koch Theatre in Lincoln Center (which also houses the New York City Ballet) because of financial reasons.  Clearly this would be a huge loss, not just for Lincoln Center, but for the entire New York music world.  There is a petition which calls to allow the Opera to stay where it is, which I encourage everyone to sign.  The petition can be found on the website: http://www.savenyco.org/.  I just signed the petition moments ago, and it doesn't cost any money so there's nothing to lose.  On the petition you can post a comment for added effect, which is probably most effective if short but meaningful.  I thought I might share with you my comment:

To me, Lincoln Center represents the heart of music.  I have been coming to Lincoln Center ever since I was a little kid, and I will never forget my first concert there.  The NYC Opera is an integral and intrinsic part of the Center and I think it would be a real loss for the entire music world, and especially for New York.  I think that it would be an extremely worthy cause to make sure that the Opera does not leave its heart.  

You can read more about the decision on this article by the NY Times.  

Speaking of the New York City Opera, just two nights ago, Tuesday night, the Opera put on a free concert at the Winter Garden of the 
World Financial Center, starring Rufus Wainwright who is most well-known for his opera "Prima Donna" which the NYC Opera is planning on presenting next spring.  The opera premiered in 2oo9 in Manchester, but has yet to see the face of New York.  At the concert the other night, Wainwright played two arias from the opera (which is in French), "Dans mon pays de Picardie" and the more famous one "Les feux d’artifice".  There is no question Wainwright is extremely talented and writes nice music, but his composition skills are not as up to par as many would expect a professional composer's to be.  In terms of his "pop" music which includes repertoire such as his "Hallelujah" and "Across the Universe" I happen to be a big fan and I think he is a really talented composer (and musician).  You definitely hear a lot of Bob Dylan in his music, and there is definitely a lot of heart and soul which makes it so attractive.  The simplicity of his music with the heart definitely puts him in the same ballpark as Chapin, Dylan, and Judy Gardland, and for that he gets two thumbs up.  Although I've never heard his opera, Prima Donna (no, I never went to England to see it), I have heard mixed things about it.  While people say that it is a creative opera, it apparently has plenty of faults.  Just the language, French, for instance, seems to be a rather ironic choice for an opera who's themes (both content and music) are overtly more modern than 19th century Bizet, and for whom English would seem to be much more appropriate a choice.  In fact, the Met is not performing the opera at all (even though it helped commission it along with the NYC Opera) because they wanted it to be in English.  Besides the language though, many of the musical passage's transitions have been allegedly rigid or not smooth, and the entire tone of the piece is apparently unclear and ambiguous.  Even so, I do hope to see the opera when it comes to New York (hopefully at Lincoln Center), and I am very much anticipating the event.  

In terms of the rest of the concert on Tuesday, Wainwright performed a few of his pops songs, and there was a performance of a few other opera arias, including Bizet's "Habanera" from Carmen and the quartet from the third act of "Rigoletto" by Verdi.  You can read more about the concert on this article by the Times, as well as an article (also by the Times) written in 2009 about Prima Donna after its premier in Manchester.  I do not think I could close this post without posting a video of the quartet in Rigoletto, now that I mentioned it, as it happens to be my favorite aria in opera. 

Claude Bolling - Baroque Jazz

A piano teacher once told me "Bach is the source of everything".  I did not understand at the time the truth and depth of those words, and to this day I still do not fully grasp that concept, but the more music I listen to the more I understand.  I have often heard people say things along the lines of "Bach is boring" or "baroque music is dull", but truly trained ears can hear that all music has its sources in baroque and especially in Bach.  Many later composers implement baroque styles more evidently (take Beethoven's string quartets, for instance, or Mozart's Requiem), but even in those compositions that you cannot directly hear baroque music, the sources lie in it.  While this is a complex concept to fully comprehend, the connection between baroque and jazz does not take a rocket scientist to grasp.  The entire concept of jazz is based directly off of the baroque style and is extremely evident when listening.  Sometimes when I'm listening to Miles Davis I can just hear a Bach fugue accompanying.  There is really no one who brings out this connection more than Claude Bolling, a French composer, who wrote "baroque jazz" music.  The first time I listened to a recording of this type of music (it actually was not a Bolling CD) I was literally blown away.  Bolling really displays true brilliance in connecting these two types of music.  You cannot really understand that "Bach was centuries after his time" until you listen to Bolling.  The music is simple, granted, but simplicity breeds genius and this is some of the most creative stuff you can get your hands on.  All music, in truth, is interrelated and you can always trace different styles back to different sources. While much of it is not so obvious, I think a lot of the time this connectivity is overlooked and not appreciated enough.  Often the transition between different periods fogs this notion, but the concept still remains true.  Here is a sample of his music (Yo-Yo Ma plays cello).  I think you'll enjoy.

Concerts in the Park - where art thou?

For all of you that read my post about the summer, can now shed a tear or two for probably my favorite New York City event of the season.  The "concerts in the park" which has been one of the New York Philharmonic's most anticipated traditions, is taking a bow off the stage for the summer of 2011.  Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonic's music director, said that instead he wants to do a memorial concert for September eleventh, and he will also do a concert in Central Park on September 15th.  I can't say that I am not disappointed, although I do think the memorial concert is a really good thing.  The concert in the park events were really a big part of my summer, sitting on the Great Lawn of Central Park listening to the Philharmonic - New York, music, summer....you get the idea.  Anyway, here is an article from the New York Times about the decision.  Really good article.

Ok, a couple of other quick things.  Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to the "pages" link on the side of the blog which I will be quickly adding to.  I am going to make a new page which will feature a new musical personality (composer, conductor, musician etc.) or composition every week.  I will give an overview of it/him/her and talk about it.  I really am open to comments, so if there is anything you want me to write about, whether on that page or the entire blog, just let me know by writing a comment or sending an email and I will definitely read it and, if feasible, write about it.  

Finally, I couldn't leave you without a piece of music.  Here is a great video of Wynton Marsalis playing Haydn's trumpet concerto (1st mov.).  A really really great piece of music.  

Keeping Score

It's strange that for a composer who wrote brilliant and legendary music, who was the conductor for the New York Philharmonic, and who was just overall one of the biggest musicians of last century, that one of his greatest legacies should be a television series he aired for children.  Everyone's heard (if not seen) of Leonard Bernstein's "young people's concerts" - aired 53 times in forty countries across the world - in which he would talk about different musical topics to children.  The bad news is that we don't have Leonard Bernstein anymore.  The good news is that we have the San Francisco's Symphony Orchestra which is now airing a new television series called "Keeping Score".  My understanding is that "keeping score" is not just geared for children, and it will focus on learning about specific composers (Mahler, I believe, is the first).  The series will be aired on PBS starting on June 30th.  "Keeping score" isn't just a television program however.  The Orchestra is doing an entire outreach program in which it will get children and the masses to learn more about classical music.  In an article I read by the Washington Post it said that one quarter of the audience at any given night at the Orchestra is the first time they're experiencing a classical music concert.  Cry or laugh, but it's just the facts.  I think this is a really great endeavor and it will hopefully make our youth a little more cultured and music-oriented.  We really need to educate our children (and even adults) about the importance of music, as our culture drifts further and further away from it.  Lady Gaga is real competition believe it or not.  This definitely will not be the last time I will be talking about the importance of musical outreach, so don't relax so quickly.  Here is a short video about their show about Mahler:

Summertime - no, not Gershwin

        Alas, the summer months are upon us and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high, school's out and the music is playing.  In other words....party time!  The great thing about New York (I apologize to all those out-of-towners) in the summer is that it presents endless cultural opportunities and the music always seems to be playing.  One of my favorite summer pastimes is just to walk around central park, breathe, and listen to the music.  A jazz trio, children playing, a solo clarinetist, and even the taxis seem to add a special dimension in the summer.  I feel that in the summer there is something more we can appreciate in music than the rest of the year, and it's not (just) the weather.  In the summer a whole burden of stress seems to be lifted from our shoulders, and even amongst those who work and don't have a break.  The stress of school, deadlines, family issues, all seem to be nonexistent for at least a period of time in the summer.  Love fills the air and music fills the souls.  We can take this stress-reduced time of year and really get in with what life is all about.  Whether it be the way we listen or make music, spend time with our family and friends, going to a museum, or just having a good time, the easy and cool aura of the summer can really give us a push for the rest of the year.
       We'll definitely be talking about the different musical opportunities over the summer, but for now here is  a great article I saw in the NY Times published this week about The Knights, an orchestral group that performs every summer in central park.  The concerts go until August 22 (so says the article) and if you want something musical, fun, and meaningful to do this summer, this is a wonderful opportunity.  So now is the time to gear up and really do the things that you can't do during the rest of the year (and in ways you can't during the rest of the year).  Toodaloo.