Aaron Copland – Fanfare for the Common Man
Born on this day in 1900, Aaron Copland was 90 when he died in 1990. Often referred to as the “Dean of American Composers”, he wrote in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as “populist” and which he himself called “vernacular”. The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit.
Famously prolific, he wrote in many genres, including symphonies, chamber music, vocal works, opera and film scores. Today he is perhaps best remembered for his ballet scores for Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo and for his Fanfare for the Common Man.
This fanfare was composed in response to the US entry into World War II and was inspired by a famous 1942 speech where vice president Henry A. Wallace proclaimed the dawning of the “Century of the Common Man”. To this day it is often played to introduce significant events, political and artistic, in America and throughout the world.
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