Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man

Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man by Pollack, Howard. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780805049091.

A candid and fascinating portrait of the American composer. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) became one of Americas most beloved and esteemed composers. His work, which includes Fanfare for the Common Man, A Lincoln Portrait, and Appalachian Spring, has been honored by a huge following of devoted listeners. But the full richness of Coplands life and accomplishments has never, until now, been documented or understood. Howard Pollacks meticulously researched and engrossing biography explores the symphony of Coplands life: his childhood in Brooklyn; his homosexuality; Paris in the early 1920s; the Alfred Stieglitz circle; his experimentation with jazz; the communist witch trials; Hollywood in the forties; public disappointment with his later, intellectual work; and his struggle with Alzheimers disease. Furthermore, Pollack presents informed discussions of Coplands music, explaining and clarifying its newness and originality, its aesthetic and social aspects, its distinctive and enduring personality.