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Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (Music in American Life)
 
 
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Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (Music in American Life) (Paperback)

by Howard Pollack (Author) "In maturity Copland stood just under six feet tall, a lanky figure weighing only about one hundred and fifty pounds ..." (more)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 728 pages
  • Publisher: University of Illinois Press; New edition edition (1 Mar 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0252069005
  • ISBN-13: 978-0252069000
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 855,204 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
"Now is the time for a comprehensive, insightful biography of Aaron Copland, and Howard Pollack has answered the call... This is a professional, open-minded and understanding look at a composer and a man who epitomized those qualities himself... A book as sober, respectful, and finely nuanced as this is just what [Copland's] legacy deserves." -- John Rockwell, New York Times Book Review "In this honest, exhaustive, well-written, and loving biography, Copland appears as the quintessentially American composer." -- Booklist "The quintessential biography of one of the 20th century's most influential composers." -- American Songwriter "As Pollack ably shows, one finds much to admire in both Copland's music and life. His purpose, responsibility, generosity, optimism, clarity of thought, friendliness, and vast influence have given the U.S. a musical leader of whom it can be proud. Highly recommended." -- Choice "Taut and clear... Not only a success in its own right, but a valuable model of what biography can and probably should be." -- Kirkus Reviews

Product Description
One of America's most beloved and accomplished composers, Aaron Copland played a crucial role in the coming of age of American music. This substantial biography is the first full-length scholarly study of Copland's life and work. A conductor, music critic, and teacher who wrote clearly and accessibly about music, Copland composed some of the twentieth century's most familiar works - Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man - in addition to a wealth of music for opera, ballet, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, band, radio, and film. Howard Pollack's expansive and detailed biography examines Copland's musical development, his political sympathies, his personal life, and his tireless encouragement of younger composers, presenting a balanced and skillfully wrought portrait of an American original.
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In maturity Copland stood just under six feet tall, a lanky figure weighing only about one hundred and fifty pounds. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Great information, lousy structure, 7 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Aaron Copland (Hardcover)
Up until now, the scholarly information about Aaron Copland has been curiously skewed. The 2-volume book about his life and work by Vivian Perlis relied primarily on an oral history conducted with the composer. Unfortunately, Copland was very reticent to discuss his personal life. Accounts by "friends" and colleagues like Virgil Thomson seemed to have an ax to grind, usually on Copland's neck. So the need for a book that could place the composer's work in the context of his personal life and the larger milieu he lived in was greatly needed. Howard Pollack's new biography has all the goods, from Copland's boyfriends to his collaborations with Martha Graham and Agnes DeMille. It's hard to say, however, who deserves a swift kick in the pants for the book's structure: the author or his editors at Henry Holt. Pollack structures the book like an anthology of articles. While this might ostensibly makes it easier to find specific topics, and use the biography as a reference book, it also means that you are constantly jumping back and forth in time as you try to read the book, which becomes increasingly annoying as one goes along. About halfway through, I stopped trying to read it in sequence and started jumping around from topic to topic. This structural problem also creates other dilemmas. For example, one might assume that since there is a chapter devoted to Copland's personal relationships that one would find all of his significant others there. Not so: to read about his on-and-off relationship with Leonard Bernstein, you must consult the chapter on Copland's relationship to younger composers. Moreover, what is lost in this structure is the unity of the composer's life. By segmenting and sectionalizing various aspects of his life and work into sepearate chapters, we lose the ongoing flow that might encourage readers to connect the "warming" up of Copland's harmonic style to both his involvement in a fairly steady relationship and his engagement with a larger socially-motivated group of artists. Pollack puts the work in one chapter, the boyfriend in another, his colleagues in a third. Copland once quipped that he had a "split personality" (doubtless related to being a closeted homosexual); Pollack shouldn't have split his life up in assembling this biography. All the info is here, but the reader will have to put it together, since the author hasn't.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The quintessential biography of America's greatest composer, 10 April 2000
By robert@harland50.freeserve.co.uk (Milton Keynes, England.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (Hardcover)
Howard Pollack has produced the quintessential biography of Aaron Copland, arguably America's greatest composer. The earlier biographies, and even Copland's autobiography, are historically important but it is Howard Pollack who reveals and confirms just how important Aaron Copland was in defining a body of music that was and remains unique. The key strength of the book for me is that Mr Pollack almost urges the reader to move on and explore the music that he so vividly describes. It is, after all, the music that I and so many of Mr Copland's listeners are drawn to. It is difficult, fo me at any rate, to imagine a world of music without his distinctive and magical voice. Thank you, Mr Pollack, for writing such a full, thoughtful and loving tribute to one of the world's greatest composers.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The finest book on Aaron Copland written thus far., 4 Sep 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Aaron Copland (Hardcover)
Howard Pollack has, quite simply, written the finest account of Aaron Copland' life and music thus far. I have all of the other biographies - including the excellent autobiography by Copland and Vivien Perlis. As worthwhile as these earlier publications are, it is Howard Pollack who has given all Copland devotees the quintessential story of the life and the music of America's greatest composer. I can think of no better place to start exploring Copland's genius than with this book as an introduction to the music, without which the world would be a poorer place and the 20th century would be missing a unique body of sound. It is inconceivable, to me at any rate, to imagine a world without Copland's music. No one else comes close to creating his sound world.

Thank you Mr Pollack for making it so clear to all of your readers that Aaron Copland is not only America's greatest composer but is, historically, and without question, one of most important composers the world has ever produced.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars the finest biography written on the life of a composer !
I have just finished reading Howard Pollack's biography of Aaron Copland.This monumental work provides the diffinitive account of the life and works of America's greatest... Read more
Published on 26 Jul 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book on a wonderful composer
For me, a young American composer, this book was inspirational! It had a perfect balance between Copland's personal life and his music. Read more
Published on 20 May 1999

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