JustSheetMusic
Portrait of Aaron Copland

Composer

Aaron Copland

American composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductor (1900-1990)

1900–1990

152 works in the index

Born
1900
Died
1990
Birthplace
Brooklyn
Citizenship / historical state
United States
Period (estimated from birth year)
Modern

Biography

Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American classical composer, as well as a conductor, teacher, and writer. Throughout his influential career he garnered a number of prestigious awards and is credited with creating a distinctively American style of classical composition. His energetic support of American classical music and his mentoring of young composers earned him the nickname “the Dean of American Composers”.

Copland was born on the 14 November, 1900, in Brooklyn, New York, to a family of Lithuanian Jewish descent. In his youth he studied music under noted American composer Rubin Goldmark, before moving to Paris to study at the Fontainebleau School of Music. After composing a number of pieces influenced by contemporary jazz, Copland had his first significant success with the 1939 ballet Billy the Kid. The ballet was among the first to showcase American music and dance styles, and Copland succeeded it with two further successful ballets, Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring (1944), the latter of which won the Pulitzer Prize in composition.

During this period, Copland also composed several pieces that have become American patriotic standards, most noticeably Fanfare for the Common Man (1942). In 1946 he finished his Third Symphony, which has since become the most performed and recorded symphony of the American 20th century. Underlining his compositional flexibility, Copland also composed scores for a number of major films, winning the Academy Award for Best Music for The Heiress (1950), and created the music for the renowned American opera The Tender Land (1954).

In his later life, Copland focused his energy on conducting and teaching. In 1964 he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. He died of Alzheimer’s disease and respiratory failure in North Tarrytown, New York, on the 2 December, 1990.

In this catalogue

Common listed instruments
Piano, Low Voice, violin, Flute, Cello
Genres represented
Classical, American, Religious
Works with composition dates
5 of 152

These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.

Catalogue

Works page 1 of 4

Years are composition dates where known. Instruments describe editions in our catalogue and may include arrangements. A dash means the detail is not recorded.

Works and available sheet music details
WorkYear composedCatalogue / opusKey in titleListed instrumentsGenreEditions
Old American Songs, Set 1: No. 4, Simple Gifts — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Voice, Bassoon, Vocal, Double Bass, Choir, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, TClassical 22
Laurie's Song — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, VoicClassical 14
Old American Songs, Set 2: No. 4, At the River — —— Voice, Low VoiceClassical, Religious 16
Old American Songs, Set 2: No. 3, The Golden Willow Tree — —— Piano, Vocal, Low VoiceClassical 16
The Cat and the Mouse — —— PianoClassical 9
Old American Songs, Set 1: No. 3, Long Time Ago — —— Low VoiceClassical 13
Old American Songs, Set 2: No. 5, Ching-A-Ring Chaw — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Choir, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, SaxophonClassical 18
Fanfare for the Common Man 1942Wikidata —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, ViolClassical 12
Ma's Song from The Tender Land — —— Low VoiceClassical 7
Old American Songs, Set 1: No. 1, The Boatmen's Dance — —— Choir, Low VoiceClassical 15
Hoe Down from "Rodeo" — —— PianoClassical 11
Down A Country Lane — —— PianoClassical 7
Heart, We Will Forget Him — —— Piano, Voice, Low VoiceClassical 7
Sleep Is Supposed To Be — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 8
Ranch House Party — —— PianoClassical 6
The sun is coming up from The Tender Land — —— —Classical 6
Ukelele Serenade — —— Piano, violinClassical 6
Jubilee Variation — —— —Classical 6
New England Countryside — —— —Classical 6
Proclamation — —— —Classical 5
Old American Songs, Set 2: No. 1, The Little Horses — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Voice, Bassoon, Double Bass, Choir, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, SaClassical 17
Piano Variations — —— PianoClassical 5
Proclamation for Piano — —— PianoClassical 5
I've Heard an Organ Talk Sometimes — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, LowClassical 10
Why Do They Shut Me Out Of Heaven? — —— Piano, Voice, Voice High, Low VoiceClassical 7
Vocalise — —— Piano, Flute, Voice High, Low VoiceClassical 6
Billy and His Sweetheart — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, ViolClassical 8
Martin's Song from The Tender Land — —— —Classical 4
Queenie's Song from The Second Hurricane — —— —Classical 5
Nature, The Gentlest Mother — —— Low VoiceClassical 5
Waltz And Celebration — —— Piano, violinClassical 5
Old American Songs — —— —Classical 4
Clarinet Concerto 1947Wikidata —— ClarinetClassical 4
Grovers Corners — —— —Classical 5
Shaker Melody — —— PianoClassical 4
Quiet City for Cor Anglais, Trumpet and Strings — —— —Classical 6
Old American Songs, Set 1: No. 2, The Dodger — —— Piano, Vocal, Low VoiceClassical 11
Old American Songs, Set 2: No. 2, Zion's Walls — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Choir, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, SaxophonClassical 15
Midsummer Nocturne — —— PianoClassical 5
Four Piano Blues — —— PianoClassical 3
In Evening Air — —— PianoClassical 5
Piano Sonata 1941Wikidata —— PianoClassical 5
Midday Thoughts — —— PianoClassical 5
There Came A Wind Like A Bugle — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 6
Pastorale — —— Piano, Voice High, Low VoiceClassical 6
Buckaroo Holiday — —— PianoClassical 5
Saturday Night Waltz — —— PianoClassical 7
The Resting-Place On the Hill — —— PianoClassical 5

Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. Authority record: VIAF 51874819. Portrait: CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.