Charles Ives and Aaron Copland - A Listener's Guide: Parallel Lives Series No. 1: Their Lives and Their Music [With CD]

by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Daniel Felsenfeld

Book Overview

CHARLES IVES AARON COPLAND A PORTRAIT OF TWO AMERICAN COMPOSERS W/CD PARALLEL LIVES

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574670980
• ISBN13: 9781574670981
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Amadeus
• Length: 170 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

What's on the CD you ask...

Since a third of the book is dedicated to the discussion and dissection of Charles Ives' and Aaron Copland's compositions, here is a listing of the music on the accompanying BMG CD: 1) Copland: Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp and Piano; 2) Copland: Appalachian Spring; 3) Copland: El Salon Mexico; 4) Ives: The Unanswered Question; 5) Ives: "Memories"; 6) Ives: "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven"; and 7) Ives: Three Places in New England - II. "Putnam's Camp". The recording is dominated by Michael Tilson Thomas who appears as both conductor of the London and San Francisco Symphonies and as pianist on "Memories." Also on the disc are Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (Appalachian Spring) and Eduardo Mata conducting the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (El Salon Mexico).

introduction to the music with a CD

Brief biographies of the two premier American composers are followed by tutorials on their music focusing on better-known, widely-aclaimed pieces. The guide succeeds in making the music accessible without dumbing it down at all or trying to popularize it. Felsenfeld is himself a composer and a music writer bringing to the task not only compatibility with Ives and Copland, but also an educator's understanding of the reader's position in wanting to learn more about them and enhance appreciation of their music. With the book is the treat of a CD offering ample samplings of music, including Copland's complete "Appalachian Spring" and four pieces of Ives', who wrote shorter, intense works.