Copland
"Rodeo" ballet composer
Aaron Copland was an American composer (1900–1990) whose orchestral works defined a distinctly American classical sound.
His ballets *Appalachian Spring*, *Billy the Kid*, and *Rodeo* evoke open landscapes and folk traditions.
The "Copland sound"—spacious harmonies, simple melodies, spare orchestration—became shorthand for musical Americana.
Extended composition for orchestra
- orchestrationScoring for instrumental ensemble
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- balletClassical dance on pointe
- conductorOne who directs musicians
maestro · Tanglewood · Bernstein · concerto · clarinet · piano · chamber · Pulitzer
Edge of settlement
- cowboyMounted cattle herder
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- rodeoCowboy skills competition
- ShakerAustere religious communalist
Appalachia · hoedown · pastoral · heartland · populism · pioneer · homestead · Western
Favoring contemporary approaches
- neo-classicalAncient-style artistic revival
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
- dissonanceLack of harmony
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
polyrhythm · syncopation · clarity · lyricism · impressionism · Stravinsky · twelve-tone · austere
symphony
Extended composition for orchestra
- orchestrationScoring for instrumental ensemble
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- balletClassical dance on pointe
conductor · maestro · Tanglewood · Bernstein · concerto · clarinet · piano · chamber · Pulitzer · notation
frontier
Edge of settlement
Shaker · Appalachia · hoedown · pastoral · heartland · populism · pioneer · homestead · Western · rural
modernism
Favoring contemporary approaches
- neo-classicalAncient-style artistic revival
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
- dissonanceLack of harmony
harmony · polyrhythm · syncopation · clarity · lyricism · impressionism · Stravinsky · twelve-tone · austere · angular
- Modern ClassicalStravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Shostakovich, Prokofiev
- Nationalist MusicDvorak, Grieg, Sibelius, Bartok, Rimsky-Korsakov
- ComposersBach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn
- BalletsSwan Lake, The Nutcracker, Nutcracker, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty
- ModernistsPicasso, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Stravinsky
- woodwindsclarinet, oboe, flute, bassoon, piccolo