WHEN I WAS VERY MUCH YOUNGER, my “Dutch aunt,” Mary Lee Thompson, commended works by the composer Aaron Copeland.1
Because I held Miss Thompson in high regard, I hied off to the local music emporium and acquired a copy of a work by Copeland.
Then promptly swore off Copeland.
The record — those were the days of Long Playing (LP) 33 rpm vinyl platters — was, it turned out, one of Copeland’s early, “experimental” works.2
To this scrivener's ears, the “music” was a cacophony of discordant noises.
I reported back to Miss Thompson that I had sworn off Copeland. I presented her with the album.
Being far wiser than I, she elected not to debate the point, but suggested that what I heard was “early Copeland” and perhaps I could try a later work.
As usual, she was correct. (The only thing we disagreed about to the end was her appreciation of Henry Watson Fowler3 and what I considered — and still consider — his lackadaisical approach to the English language. Then, and now, I follow University of Chicago and Harvard grammar rules.)
Eventually — as she undoubtedly knew I would — I “revisited” Copeland’s compositions and, as she knew I would, found his later works music I truly appreciated.
What changed my mind?
Fanfare for the Common Man for brass, percussion (1942)
Appalachian Spring for 13 instruments, ballet (1944); suite for orchestra (1944)
Both frequently are heard on FM stations.
There are many other Copeland works I came to appreciate.
According to Wikipedia4, Copeland “found composing orchestral music in the modernist style he had adapted abroad a financially contradictory approach, particularly in light of the Great Depression. He shifted in the mid-1930s to a more accessible musical style which mirrored the German idea of Gebrauchsmusik ("music for use"), music that could serve utilitarian and artistic purposes. During the Depression years, he traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, and Mexico, formed an important friendship with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez and began composing his signature works.”
My introduction to Copeland was a pre-Depression work, a shock for a person who had grown up with traditional classical music as presented by the Indianapolis Symphony.
- I did not encounter “modernist” works on stage until 1975 when the Israeli symphony insisted on pairing something modern with something traditional. I dislike being “force fed” and attended only one of the band’s concerts.
Lesson learned
Actually the heading should be lessons (plural) learned.
Lesson one: Listen to sage advice offered by those older and wiser. (I now am much older, but I’m not sure if I am all that much wiser.)
Lesson two: First impressions should not be cast into concrete; things are “subject to change.” The change may come from the person or object that gave the first impression or from the person on whom the first impression was made.
When my children were little, I insisted they try new foods. If they found the food unpalatable, they didn’t have to eat it.
Now my grandchildren get the same treatment. In most cases, they have come to appreciate foods they were certain they would not like.
I “tasted” Copeland’s music and found it discordant.
Then I had another “taste” of Copeland’s compositions and changed my “tune.”
I later learned a little Copeland history and why he changed his “tune.” I’m glad he did; I find much of his music evocative of scenes I have seen with my own eyes. (Over the years I have lived in most of the contiguous U.S. states and I have seen what Copeland saw in America.)
Sources
1. https://www.biography.com/musician/aaron-copland
2. http://www.coplandhouse.org/aaron-copland/list-of-works/
3. https://teflpedia.com/H._W._Fowler
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copeland
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