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Copyrighted
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Julia Frances Smith
1953
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 Sponsoring Committee: Professor Alonzo Myers, Professor Vincent
Jones; Special Consultants: Associate Professor Marion
Bauer, Professor Aaron Schaffer

AARON COPLAND, HIS WORK AND CONTRIBUTION TO AMERICAN MUSIC

A Study of the Development of his Musical Style

and an Analysis of the Various Techniques of
Writing he has Employed In his Works

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JULIA PRANCES SMITH

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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Doctor of

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Philosophy In the School of Education of

New York University

1952
i I'&eoio aos optcl

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without permission.
 May 21, 1952

I, Julia Prances Smith, hereby /guarantee that no part of

the dissertation which I have submitted for publication has been
heretofore published and (or) copyrighted in the United States of
America, except in the case of passages quoted from other published
sources; that I am the sole author and proprietor of said disser­
tation; that the dissertation contains no matter which, if published,
will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the
copyright of any other party; and that I will defend, indemnify and
hold harmless New York University against all s\iits and proceedings
which may be brought and against all claims which may be made against
New York University by reason of the publication of 3aid disserta­
tion

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417 Riverside Drive - Apu. VC
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New York 25, N.Y
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 An Abstract of

AARON COPLAND, HIS WORK AND CONTRIBUTION TO AMERICAN MUSIC

A Study of the Development of hl3 Musical Style

and an Analysis of the Various Techniques of
Writing he has Employed In his Works

JULIA PRANCES SMITH

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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Doctor of

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Philosophy in the School of Education of

New York University

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/ 7, !
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Sponsoring Committee: Professor Alonzo Myers, Professor Vincent

Jones; Special Consultants: Associate Professor Marion
Bauer, Professor Aaron Schaffer

1952

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 One of the least explored fields of study is that of the

contemporary American composers of serious music. A study which

shows the historical development, the aesthetic philosophy and

the trends of technique, materials and forms of a single Ameri­

can composer such as Aaron Copland, should add to the world au­

thority and evidence of America’s creative achievements. The

purpose of this study is to determine Aaron Copland’s position

in and his contribution to contemporary American music; as re­

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vealed by an investigation of his background, his works (both

musical and critical), his organizational activities in behalf

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of contemporary music, some aspects of his influenco on the

younger composers, and professional critical opinions of him

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during the period from 1921 to 1950.

Employing the historical method of research^, the study

involved three major processes; 1. Collection of Data,- the ob­

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taining of musical scores from Copland’s publishers and other

sources; of his books and critiques from his publishers and the

New York Public Library; of articles, books and newspapers con­

cerning Copland's life and works from the New York Public Libra­

ry and the Music Library of North Texas State College, Denton;

of original letters and scrapbook material from Mr. Copland,

John Kober and John Kirkpatrick; uncontrolled Interviews in re-

1. According to the principles established by Good, Barr and

Scates, The Methodology of Educational R esearch. New York:
D. Appleton-Gentury Co., 1936.

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 ii

gard to Copland's background and with respect to his musical in­

fluence. 2. Criticism of Data Collected,- all data (including

music) was subjected to criticism, both external and internal.

5. Presentation of the Facts in Readable Form,- the study itself,

which involved problems of organization, composition, exposition

and interpretation.

Numbering twelve chapters, the study is divided into four

sections. The first concerns Copland's background, the Goldmark

and Boulanger years of study. The second, presenting musical

analyses of Copland's approximately sixty-five works, traces his

style development through three main periods: the French-Jazz,

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the Abstract, and the American Folksong Periods. Two other chap­

ters are devoted to the Copland-Gessions Concerts and the Yaddo

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Festivals, while the final one discusses Copland ’3 Critical Works
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and Influence.
Regarding Copland’s position in American music the most

significant conclusions drawn from the study are these:

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1. With the approach of the 200 Anniversary commemorating

the United States as a nation, it is significant that the art of

music has produced, In Aaron Copland, its first great American

comnoser.
2. The American musical ancestry from which he appears to

have been derived is from the following line of composers:

Billings, Foster, Gottschalk, MacDowell, Gilbert, Griffes, Ives,

Gershwin and Virgil Thomson.

,3. In respect to his "modern" musical language, Copland

appears to be the lineal descendant of Debussy, Scriabin, Faure,

Mahler, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Milhaud and Chavez.

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 Aaron Copland*3 contribution to our music may be summar­
ised as follows:

1. His distinguished musical production, reflecting not

only his use of twentieth century discoveries in music materials

but its discoveries in new musical mediums, such as the radio,

phonograph and sound-film,

2. His two books and approximately fifty published crit­

iques which are important contributions to our scanty critical

literature.

5. His organizational activities, including the Copland-

Sessions Concerts, the Yaddo Festivals of American Music and

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the American Composers' Alliance, all of which have contributed

to the advancement of American music.

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4. His travels to the Latin-American countries which have
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resultedin an. inter-American relationship whose significance

is more than artistic.

5. His realization that the transmission of an American

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musical tradition is a continuous process for which the younger

composers must be fittingly prepared as future guardians of our

musical heritage.
6. His musical influence, extending beyond the boundaries

ofthe United States to the younger composers of Latin-America,

Europe and Israel. These contributions offer proof that Ameri­

can music, in the work of Aaron Copland, has at last come of age.

JtJM

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is a pleasure to express my gratitude for the help given

to mo in the preparation of this biographical-critical study to
my Sponsoring Committee,- especially to Dr. Jack Watson, who
though no longer associated with the New York University, instruct­
ed me in the Principles of Musical Research and guided me in the
plan of my study; and to Dr. Aaron Schaffer, of the University of
Texas, friend of Aaron Copland, who not only provided me with
three early 3ongs of the composer hut made detailed criticisms of
this manuscript. I also wish to thank my aunt, Dr. Ruby Smith,
for her valuable help in the cutting and shaping of the final ver­
sion of the study and for her assistance in the translation of the
Spanish critical reviews that form so essential a part of it. For
the reading and expert criticism of the manuscript I am al3o in­
debted to Beverly Barkesdale, Musical Director of the Toledo Mu ­
seum of Art, and to Alene Jean Tralnor, music and art critic of
the Toledo Blade. Acknowledment must also be made to John Hjalmar
Kober and to John Kirkpatrick for Copland letters, newspaper re­
views and, to the latter, for the loan of the ’’Pastorale” mp iscript.

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Recognition must be made to the Music Librarians at the New
York Public Library, both 42 and 58 Street Branches, to Anna
Harriet Heyer, Librarian of the School of Music at North Texas
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State College, Denton, and to Robert A. Hug, in charge of the
newspaper microfilms at tho New York (42 S t r e e t ) Public Library,
for their assistance over a long period of time.
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To Mr. Copland's publishers grateful acknowledgment is made

of their permissions to use quotations, both of word3 and music,-
Including Arrow Music Press, C.C0 Birchard, Boosey and Hawkes,
Cos Cob Press, Carl Fischer, H.W. Cray, Alphonse Leduc, New Music
Press, Salabert, E.C. Schirmer, and B. Schott and Co. Acknowledg­
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ment is also made to Julius Mattfeld, of Columbia Broadcasting

System, and to the American Music Center for the loan of orches­
tral manuscripts.

Finally, my grateful thanks are offered to Aaron Copland

himself for biographical and musical (Including critical) material,
for his reading and checking of the manuscript for accuracy of
fact, and for numerous personal interviews granted me as well as
letters containing Information without which this study would
not be comprehensive.

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 PREFACE

It Is generally recognized that in the struggle for exist­

ence in a new country the cultural arts, of necessity, must as­

sume a place of secondary importance,- a fact especially true

of music. Yet even now in the United States, a nation not quite

200 years old, it is with pride that we can point to the achieve­

ments not only of our literary men and painters, but also to the

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effo.-ts of our creative musicians. There are in the front rank

of our "modern" composers at least a half-dozen men including

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Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Roy Harris, Roger Sessions, Walter

Piston and the atonalist Wallingford RIegger (all American-born),

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who possess first-rate compositional techniques, by means of

which each is able to write distinguished music expressive of

his own particular background.

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Unquestionably the leader of this imposing group is Aaron

Copland,- a musician par excellence and at the same time, a man

who is idealistic, modest and thoroughly human. Not only is he

prominent in the field of composition, but he has also surpassed

his colleagues in additionally self-imposed activities w M oh re­

late to other aspects of American music. These activities are:

critical writings devoted to the interests of contemporary music,

in which he has become the spokesman, or as it were, the "god­

father" of American music; organizational activities in behalf

of American composers; his resulting influence on the music of

iii

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 iv

his time; and finally his international travels,- including two

official missions to South America for our State Department as

an ambassador of good will to our neighbors to the South of us.

In choosing to write about a living composer I realized at

once certain basic concepts: (1) not only are there more availa­

ble facts concerning a living man and his works, but also the

facts can be checked with greater accuracy; (2) it becomes evi­

dent at once that a living composer cannot be evaluated in the

light of historical perspective, therefore such a study becomes,

inevitably, the interpretation of a contemporary; (3) yet, in

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chronicling the life and work of a living composer the study,

within itself, becomes historical;

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comprehensive research made of a foremost American composer's

life and work, this dissertation should set a precedent for oth­
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er studies to be developed about our living composers, a number

of whose accomplishments warrant comprehensive examination and

detailed analysis; (5) such additional studies would add to the

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world authority and evidence of America's creative achievements;

(6) to the person, or persons engaged in such studies would come

a greater knowledge of twentieth century techniques, as expressed

in the works of our leading composers.

The purpose of this investigation, then, is to determine

Aaron Copland's position in and his contribution to contemporary

American music; as revealed by an investigation of his back­

ground, his works (both musical and critical), his organizational

activities in behalf of contemporary music, some aspects of his

influence on the younger composers, and professional critical

opinions of him during the period from 1921 to 1950.

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 ESTABLISHING A CRITICAL STANDARD FOR CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

'Employing the "History of Ideas" Method as a technique,Max

Graf, Viennese music critic and historian of music, in his Compos­

er and Critic, has given us the historical background of musical

criticism.

Stating that musical criticism stemmed from the French es-

/ _
thetic advanced by Rene Descartes and, therefore, has been in

existence for approximately 200 years, Graf tells us that the

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first conflict between composer and critic in modern musical his­

tory took place between Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Adolph
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Scheibe. Scheibe failed in his criticism of Bach, according to

Graf, because he wrongly judged Bach's music from the historical

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standpoint. Bach was essentially a man of the Baroque epoch and

wrote his music in the Baroque style: contrapuntal, Protestant,

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ecclesiastical; while Scheibe, aware that such music had "gone

out of style" with the rising Age of Reason, championed the new

music, which was homophonic, operatic and worldly. Thus two great

representatives of different epochs faced each other. In terming

Bach's music "labored, intricate, and over-elaborate", Scheibe

failed in his judgment of Bach, stated Graf, just as all music

critics who have used the standard of a formed taste instead of

historical standards have since failed.

Whereas the cause of critic-composer misunderstanding in

1. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1946.

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 B a c h ’s time was the conflict between rising rationalism and Ba­

roque imagination, at the beginning of the nineteenth century

it was romanticism versus classicism. In the nineteenth century,

according to Graf, Hanslick was as wrong about Wagner, Liszt,

and Bruckner (and in the same way) as Scheibe had been about Bach.

In the twentieth century the struggle entered a third phase,-

modernism versus romanticism.

In concluding his illuminating book Graf stated that in

the eighteenth century music criticism set out "to infuse life,

society, and art with more reason, more light, more humanity,"

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Finding criticism in the twentieth century about to enter a new

historical period, he predicted that "its work may be the new

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and difficult task of helping to make life and art the common
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property of all'1,- a noble task.
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Turning to contemporary America, the present investigator

noted with approbation Harvard University’s Symposium on Music

Criticism, perhaps the most Important convocation of its kind

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in our nation's musical history, which took place May.1-3, 1947,

under the auspices of the University’s Department of Music.

According to Richard F. French,'Professor A. Tillman Mer­

ritt, Chairman of the Department of Music at Harvard University,

in his introductory remarks, revealed that the Symposium was de­

veloped because of the feeling within the Department that "some-

one ought to do something about music criticism." The Department

selected the titles of the addresses and the order in which they

appeared, thereby indicating the topics that the University be-

2. IbidT., pp. 11-326.

3° Music and Criticism, A Symposium. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1948. Preface, pp. v-vi.

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 vii

lleved could best be treated In such a series of meetings. Prom

the published addresses by such scholars, writers, composers and

musicians as Archibald T. Davison, E«M.Forster, Roger Sessions,

Edgar Wind, Olga Samaroff, Virgil Thomson, Otto Kinkeldey, Paul

Henry Lang, and Huntington Cairns,the present investigator has

evolved a criterion for the study of Aaron Copland’s musical and

critical works based on the following premises.

In defining the basic difference between the critical and

the creative attitudes, E.M. Forster stated that to "Think before

you 3pe«k is criticism’s motto; speak before you think is crea­

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tion's." In advancing on Its object, the critical attitude has

two aims: (1) aesthetic,- "It considers the object in itself, as

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an entity, and tells us what it can about its life; (2) ... the

relation of the object to the rest of the world." Criticism, he

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maintained, "can educate, theorize, analyse, stimulate - admira-

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ble achievements."

Regarding the "Critical Nature of Art", Edgar Wind stated

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that according to the doctrine of autonomy of art, there is only

one question a critic may legitimately discuss: "Has the artist

achieved the effect at which he aimed?" But Wind argued that

the critic should also ask the "forbidden" question: "Should

this kind of effect be arrived at, and what should be its place

in our experience?"

In making a musical judgment on a new piece of music, Vir­

gil Thomson was of the opinion that that judgment must be based

on a description of the work which will tell us: "What Is it like?"

/ ______________________________
4. Ibid., ""Raison D'litre of Criticism", pp. 11-34.
5. Ibid., p. 70.

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 viil

and. "What is it about?" before we can know "How does it go?"

Thomson listed the techniques of musical description in

four steps: (1) S tylistic Identification, its period or school,

which will answer the question, "What is it like?"; (2) Expres­

sive identification, the wo rk ’s medium and its patterns of emo­

tional life, answering the question, "What is it about?"; Classi­

cal Aids to Memory, consisting of the known methods of melodic,

harmonic, orchestral, and formal analysis, which provide the an­

swer to "How does it go?"; Verbal Presentation of the musical

description, which is a literary rather than a musical problem.

Noting that some of the musical branches are easier to write

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about than others, Thomson 3tated that musical composition "is
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chiefly described in metaphor, though the stylistic and expres­

sive identifications do have a scholastic terminology."

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Observing that he had mentioned nothing about "communicating

on e’s passion about a work", Thomson averred that that phase of

criticism presents no problem, for it takes place automatically

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and inevitably. Terming the description and analysis of a work

the most interesting features upon which a musical Judgment may

be based, Thomson affirmed that it is by these means that o n e ’s

opinion or Judgment may be defended. Without recourse to these

methods, whether one likes or dislikes a given work will influ­

ence nobody.^

Against the backdrop of 200 years of musical criticism and

following the Harvard precepts advanced by the University’s Sym­

posium on Music Criticism, let us examine the life and work of

a foremost American composer,- Aaron Copland.

6 Ibid., "Art of Judging Music1', pp. 103-113.

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 CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Establishing a Critical Standard for Contemporary Music

I. The Background, Childhood and Early Music Study

of Aaron Copland 1865-1917

II. The Years of Study with Goldmark: Manhattan

1917-1921

III. The Years of Study in Paris with Boulanger and

Other European Influences 1921-1924

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IV. First Style Period (French-Jazz): The Jazz Idiom
New York 1924-1927

V. First Style Period (French-Jazz): Experimentation

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and Recapitulation New York 1927-1929

VI. Concerts of Contemporary Music 1928-1931

The Copland-Sessions Concerts
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VII. Second Stylo Period (Abstract) America, Europe,

Africa, Mexico 1929-1935

VIII. Yaddo Festivals of American Music 1932 and 1933

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IX. Third Style Period (American Folksong):

Gebrauchsmusik American Style 1934-1950

X. Third Style Period (American Folksong):

Ballets - Music for Plays and Films 1931-1948

XI. Third Style Period (American Folksong):

The Patriotic and Absolute Works 1939-1950

XII. Critical Works and Influence 1924-1952

Notes

Appendixes

Bibliography

Index of Musical Analyses

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 I EW
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 CHAPTER I

THE BACKGROUND, CHILDHOOD AND EARLY MUSIC STUDY OE AARON COPLAND

(1865-1917)

Chapter I mentions briefly the evolution of our national

economy as it pertains to the Copland and Mittenthal families in

America. Establishing the origin of these families in Lithuania,

it tell3 of their migration to America and their settlement here

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shortly after the Civil War; of the subsequent marriage of Harris

Copland and Sarah Mittenthal; and of the birth in Brooklyn, New

York, of their youngest son, Aaron Copland,

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reviews the musical background of New York from 1900 to 1917, the
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period of Aaron Copland’s childhood, and shows that Aaron's deci»

sion to become a composer was made during his sixteenth year«

Before the Civil War our national economy was one of self-
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sufficiency and independence, both of family and community. Si­

multaneously with the great expansion westward, there had been

growing up North, East and South two entirely different systems

of life,- that of industrialization in the North and East, and

that of agrarian self-sufficiency, fostered by slavery, in the

South. Inevitably with the general expansion, these two differ­

ent economies were to engage in a bitter struggle, the tragic

Civil War, in which the South was completely overpowered.

By the spring of 1865, with the Civil War finished and the

issue of slavery at last settled, the people both North and South

returned to their peace-time tasks. Immigration was invited, and

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 in the decade following the war 7,000,000 new persona were add-
1
ed to our population* Among the millions of these new immi­

grants came Aaron Mittenthal, maternal grandfather of Aaron

Copland,

The Origin of the Copland-Mittenthal Families and Their Migration

to America (1865-1900)

Identifying Aaron Copland as an "American composer", it

is of value to this study, in order more nearly to determine to

what extent his music expresses our national environment, for us

to investigate his family origin, to consider the reasons for

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the families' migrations to America and to point out their places

of residence in the United States.

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Hews of America's welcome to immigrants, with the prospect

of a future home for every family, in a land offering greater

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opportunities than any country in Europe, spread as far as the

little village of Vistinich, Lithuania, a border town, opposite

Koenig3burg, Prussia. It was here that Aaron Copland's mother,

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Sarah Mittenthal, was born in 1862. Sarah's father, Aaron Mit­

tenthal, had married Bertha Witt3tein and the following children

had been born in Vistinich; Annie, Fannie, Louis and Sarah*

In 1867 or 1868 Sarah's father, acting on the advice of

cousins who had earlier settled In America, came to the United

States. Though his couains had settled in Jefferson, Texas, be­

lieving that that town would be the coming large city of Texas,

1. C h a r l e s T . and Mary r T Beard^ Basic History of the United

States. Philadelphia; The Blakiston Company,~T9"4T7 pp. TJ302.
K Biographical facts cited in this chapter have come from family
sources, for which corroboration has been sought and found.

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 -3-

Aaron Mittenthal chose instead to settle in Chillicothe, Illi­

nois, where he established a 3mall general store» His business

prospered sufficiently for him to be able by 1869 to send for

his wife and four childrens Sarah, then, was about seven years

old when she came to America. Ihe family remained in Chilli­

cothe about two years, Samuel being born there in 1870,

Selling out his stock of goods and supplies, Aaron Mitten­

thal next moved his family westward to Peoria, Illinois, remain­

ing there another two years, where Lillian was born In 1872. By

now Sarah and the older children were attending public school

and were learning our American language and customs, which they

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found to be quite different from their Yiddish mother tongue and

Jewish traditions. Life at home revolved around the general

store, by now a somewhat larger establishment than the one In

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Chillicothe. Mittenthalfs wife and older children, after school
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hours, helped in the store, selling everything from side bacon

to shoes and haberdashery for ucash on the barrel-head'*.

Persuaded by the Jefferson cousins that Texas offered great­

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er opportunities, the family soon moved to Dallas, where Aaron

Mittenthal opened a larger wholesale and retail drygoods store,

Ihe older children, in Dallas as in Peoria, attended the public

schools and helped in the store after school hours* Hare Jacob

was born in 1874 and Abraham'/f, next the youngest, in 1877,

In 1881, reflecting the changing American economy from one

of self-sufficiency of families and communities to one of cen­

tralization in large cities,- a condition by now well established -

# In the absence~oT’records, Abraham Mittenthal Is regarded by

the Copland family as being its most reliable historian.

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 the Mittenthal family, with the children from Sarah down, moved

to New York City, The two older girls and the older boy had,

by this time, married and settled permanently in Texas, the girls

residing in Waxahachie and the boy in Dallas.

In New York City the Mittenthal family first resided on

East Broadway, then later moved to 413 East 122 Street where Na­

than, the youngest, was born. Thus after fourteen years of pa­

tient, successful, nomadic wandering over America in search of

a firm and steadfast anchorage, the Mittenthal family at last

found in New York a place of abode, permanent and lasting.

Aaron Mittenthal continued to develop his wholesale busi­

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ness, distributing, his products nationally. His western sojourn

had taught him a great deal as to what articles were in greatest

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demand. To him it was a real satisfaction to be able to provide

his family with the comforts, education and opportunities which

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he had sought and found in America*

The children attended the New York public schools and, in

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addition, Sarah and Lillian took piano lessons, practicing on the

family Kranicb and Bach grand piano which occupied a prominent

place in the parlor. As Sarah grew older she developed a pretty

singing voice, often accompanying herself at the piano, much to

the enjoyment of both family and friends.

Aaron Copland’s father, Harris Kaplan (pronounced Koplan),

was born around 1860 in the small village of Shave1, Lithuania,

near Kovno, the county seat. This little town was not far from

the village of Vistinich where Sarah Mittenthal, Aaron Copland's

mother, was born, Harris was the oldest child of Sussman and

Freda Kaplan, the others being; Sadye, Becky, Alfred, Fannie,

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 -5-

Abraham, Rose, and Lillian, all born in Shavel.

As in the case of the Mittenthal family, a cousin of the

Kaplan family, a Mr. Sussman, had gone to America, settled in

Brooklyn, and had written letters home telling of the opportun­

ities to be found in the United States©

Harris, the eldest son, in order to escape the indignities

of the Ghetto and the compulsory seven-year Russian military

service, decided to come to America, if possible, by way of Eng­

land. At the British port of entry, the immigration official,

a practical man apparently not versed in languages, wrote on

Harris Kaplan's papers the English equivalent of his name -

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HARRIS COPLAND,- a transcription which Harris was to keep per­

manently. The lad took small menial jobs In London and Manches­

ter, remaining In the latter city about a year until he had

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enough money saved up for his passage to America.
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Into an atmosphere of ruthless business competition in

Brooklyn came the sixteen-year-old Russian-Jewish boy, about

the year 1877. With the help of his cousin Sussman, who had
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preceded him to America, Harris Copland established a dry-goods

business in Brooklyn In partnership with his cousin.

Plucky, resourceful and extremely devoted to his family,

Harris, as he was able, brought over one by one, his brothers

and sisters to this country. He assisted his brothers in estab­

lishing themselves in business and found desirable husbands for

his sisters. Finally the last to come over were his father and

~ A a r 'o h ~ C h l y L a n d " f i le a u W o r T t y ’ T o ir t h e ” i n f b r m’a t'Ib n F e g a r d ir ig -

hi3 father's origin and arrival in America. His uncle, Abra­
ham Mittenthal, corroborated his statements.

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 -6-

mother, who left their Lithuanian homeland behind forever, in

order to begin a new life in America. All wrote their names

Copland and with the exception of Sadye, all settled permanently

in Brooklyn. Sadye married Harris IJris, e. builder of some of

the large Fifth Avenue mansions, and went with her husband to

Manhattan to live.

Endowed with natural business acumen, which he had been

forced to develop through self-instraction, experience and re­

sponsibility, and coached by his partner in the practices of oiis

small American merchant, Harris Copland of the firm of Sussman-

Copland prospered from year to year. Seeing his immediate fami­

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ly launched on independent lives of their own in the newly adopt­

ed country, Harris also began to wish and plan for a home. It

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was not long before he was to meet his future wife.

Harris Copland and Sarah Mittenthal met at some family so­

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cial gathering. Almost Immediately Sarah was attracted to the

handsome, successful and impeccably groomed young man. Though

Sarah had other suitors who frequently called, she never loved
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anyone but Harris. He, on his part, often came to the house to

hear the sweet-voiced, shy girl sing for him. She made a pretty

picture sitting at the piano, playing her own accompaniment in

an accomplished manner. Unable to resist her appealing singing

of UI Await Thee, My Love”, Harris asked Sarah to become his wife".’

They were married in 1885 in Pythagoras Hall, located on

Canal Street, at what is now the entrance to Manhattan Bridge.

Harris took his young wife to Brooklyn to live.

Laurlne (Mrs. Charles Marcus) is authority for the information

regarding her parents' courtship as related to her by her fa­
ther, and corroborated by her uncle, Abraham Mittenthal,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 At this point it is well for us to turn aside from a con­

sideration of the newly-weds, Harris Copland and Sarah Mitten-

thal, and to review briefly the musical conditions in America

in general, and in New York in particular, during the childhood

and youth of their now famous son, Aaron Copland.

Musical Conditions in New York Prior to World War I_

John TUskor Howard has noted that our American music, as

such, falls into three periods; from 1620 to 1800 beginning with

the early New England psalmodists; from 1800 to 1860; and from
2
1860 to the present time.

W
It was during the second period (1800-1860) that the min­

strel show became a favorite diversion, for which Stephen Fos­

ter wrote melodies.

IE
Noting that, technically, we have no folk­

songs, Deems Taylor has stated that the "Negro spirituals and
EV

Stephen Foster’s songs are the nearest to completely indigenous

3
folksongs that we possess". It is the opinion of many compos­

ers and music educators that almost every American, who since
PR

Foster's time has incorporated folksongs, or the feeling for them

Into serious music, in an effort toexpress nationalism, has been

directly influenced by Foster.

The late critic, Paul Rosenfeld, has observed that "Ameri­

can music, the body of music rooted in the American soil, begins

with Edward MacDowell and is of our tirne*"^ Educated in both

France and Germany, MacDowell was our first composer to give

2o O u r ‘American Music . New York! Thomas Y„ Crowell Company, I9'29.

p p . 3-624T
3o L Treasury of Stephen Foster. New York; Random House, 1946,
p p 7-'8 ,
i. One Hour With American Music. Philadelphia; J.H. Lippincott
Company, p. 31.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 -8-

Amerlcan music a standing in the world of art. According to

Richard Aldrich, MacDowell's works (with the exception of the

Indian Suite) “are the personal expression of his own genius

and embody nothing of that folk-song spirit that has chiefly

influenced the nationalists, as Chopin was influenced by the

national songs and dances of Poland, Grieg by those of Norway,

■>5
Dvorak by Bohemia."
v/
Dvorak, director of the National Conservatory of Music in

New York from 1892 to 1895, taught American composers a respect

for the folksongs of our country and, in his works composed on

our shores, showed our composers what they might do with the

materials at hand*
EW
Among his pupils was Rubin Goldmark, who was

to become, in turn, the teacher of Aaron Copland,,

In regard to the twenty-two year period (1902-24), during

I
which Richard Aldrich served as music critic for the New York
EV

Timers, Oscar Thompson has observed; “The rise of orchestras was

the most significant phenomenon of America's musical life, pro­

PR

gressing from the era of Damrosch to that of Stokowski, with

Stransky leading on to Mengelberg and the new day of symphonic

splendor that reached high noon about the time of his (Aldrich's)
0
retirement.“

During these years the Metropolitan Opera Company was at

its best when it had to meet the competition provided by Hammer-

stein's brilliant Manhattan Opera Company* If this period was

the “golden age“ of opera in America, it was no less a “golden

I). Concert Life in New Y o r k . New'Yorkl G .P .~Putnam's Son s’, TS’4'10

p o 206.
6. “An American School of Criticism'’, Musical Quarterly.
''Io _L« XX III, p o 4o 5 *

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.