Aaron Copland is regarded as a pioneering figure in American music * While studying in Paris in 1920s was influenced by teaching of Nadia Boulanger, Stravinskian neo-classicism, popular music, and developing European nationalist composing traditions * Upon return to USA, his modernism and use of jazz gave him a reputation as an enfant terrible * In the 1930s and 40s he established a characteristically American vernacular style, employing simple harmonies, folk melodies, and lucid orchestration * Public appeal through such pieces as Fanfare for the Common Man and Old American Songs* Radical late works from 1960s such as Connotations and Inscape adopt an individualised 12-tone idiom * As conductor and educator worked tirelessly to promote other composers, at Harvard, Tanglewood, on radio and television
"...he invigorated the lives of millions of ordinary music-lovers... Whether nervy or calm, harsh or homely, Copland's scores bounce, ring, vibrate and shine like nobody else's." — BBC Music Magazine
Britten's pacifist masterwork, combining war poetry by Wilfred Owen with the Latin Requiem Mass, is included in the Masterworks Library of full scores, ideal for conductors, students and music lovers.
