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 2 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
Story of Our Town — —— PianoClassical 4
Vieux Poeme — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, ViolClassical 7
Dirge in Woods — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, LowClassical 8
Cowboys Amble by — —— PianoClassical 3
Mexican Dance and Finale — —— PianoClassical 3
Celebration After Billy's Capture — —— PianoClassical 3
Night — —— Piano, Voice, Low VoiceClassical 2
My Heart Is in the East — —— Piano, Voice, Low VoiceClassical 4
Laurie's Song from The Tender Land — —— —Classical 3
Fat's Song from The Second Hurricane — —— Low VoiceClassical 4
Duo — —— Piano, violinClassical 4
Clair De Lune — —— PianoClassical 5
Dream March — —— —Classical 3
Grandfather's Story — —— —Classical 2
Paisaje Mexicano — —— —Classical 4
Old American Songs, Set 1: No. 5, I Bought Me a Cat — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Vocal, Double Bass, Tenor, Choir, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, TClassical 13
Passacaglia — —— PianoClassical 3
Night Thoughts — —— PianoClassical 5
Petit Portrait — —— PianoClassical 4
The World Feels Dusty — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 5
The Chariot — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 5
Poet's Song — —— Piano, Voice, Voice High, Low VoiceClassical 5
Piano Blues No. 4 — —— PianoClassical 3
Sentimental Melody — —— PianoClassical 3
The Young Pioneers — —— PianoClassical 3
Sunday Afternoon Music — —— PianoClassical 3
Conversation At the Soda Fountain — —— PianoClassical 3
A Summer Vacation — —— Piano, Voice, Low VoiceClassical 3
Lento Molto — —— Cello, violin, ViolaClassical 3
Rondino — —— Cello, violin, ViolaClassical 3
Gyp's Song from The Second Hurricane — —— Low VoiceClassical 2
Sonata — —— Piano, violinClassical 3
Inaugural Fanfare — —— —Classical 3
Rodeo: IV. Hoedown — —— Piano, violinClassical 1
Appalachian Spring — —— Piano, OrchestraClassical 3
The Nature Gentlest Mother — —— PianoClassical 2
Dear March, Come In! — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 4
When They Come Back — —— Piano, Low VoiceClassical 3
Corral Nocturne — —— PianoClassical 3
Transition — —— PianoClassical 2
Piano Blues No. 1 — —— PianoClassical 2
Going To Heaven! — —— Piano, Cello, Flute, Oboe, violin, Bassoon, Double Bass, Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone, LowClassical 7
The Open Prairie — —— PianoClassical 1
Alone — —— Piano, Voice, Low VoiceClassical 3
Old Poem — —— Low VoiceClassical 3
Piano Blues No. 3 — —— —— 1
Nocturne — —— Piano, violinClassical 2
Embittered from Three Moods — —— Piano— 1

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.