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Collection Aaron Copland Collection

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From "Mid-Day Thoughts" to "Music for the Theatre" (8 works)

Mid-Day Thoughts
Form: Piano
Date: 1982
First performance: 1983 February 28. Bennett Lerner
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1984
Timing: 5'
Dedication: "To Bennett Lerner"
Notes: published with Proclamation for Piano as "Two Piano Pieces." Based on the slow movement of a projected Ballade for Piano and Orchestra of 1944
Midsummer Nocturne
Form: Piano
Date: 1977
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1977
Timing: 2'
Dedication: "To Phillip Ramey"
Miracle at Verdun
Form: Incidental music
Date: 1931
Play: Hans Chlumberg
First performance: 16 March 1931, New York
Publisher: Unpublished
Notes: For small orchestra (no upper strings) and chorus. The music for chorus is for the most part liturgical
Movement for String Quartet
Date: 1921
First performance: 1921 December 15. Paris
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1988
Timing: 4.5'
Dedication: "to Vivian Perlis"
Notes: First performance after 1921: 18 October, 1984, Alexander String Quartet. Music from this piece was incorporated into the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra.
Related digital items:
Music for a Great City
Form: Orchestra
Date: 1964
First performance: 26 may 1964. London. London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Aaron Copland
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1965
Timing: 24'
Dedication: "Commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra in Celebration of its Sixtieth Anniversary Season and Dedicated to the Members of the Orchestra."
Contents: I. Skyline II. Night Thoughts III. Subway Jam IV. Toward the Bridge
Notes: a suite drawn from the music to Something Wild
Music for Radio
Form: Radio orchestra
Date: 1937
First performance: 25 July 1937. Columbia Symphony Orchestra, cond. Howard Barlow
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1940
Timing: 12'
Dedication: "to Davidson Taylor."
Notes: sometimes known as "Saga of the Prairie," the winning entry in a competition to name the piece. Revised in 1968 with the title "Prairie Journal." This piece uses material from the unfinished choral work Ballad of Ozzie Powell
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Music for the Movies
Form: Orchestra
Date: 1942
First performance: New York. Saidenberg Little Symphony
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Date of publication: 1970 ( with Robbins retaining copyright on II and V)
Timing: 16'
Dedication: "to Darius Milhaud."
Contents: I. New England Countryside II. Barley Wagons III. Sunday Traffic IV. Grovers Corners V. Threshing Machines
Notes: Drawn from the film scores for Of Mice and Men (II and V), Our Town (IV), and The City (I and III)
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Music for the Theatre
Form: Chamber orchestra
Date: 1925
First performance: 20 November 1925. Boston. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, conductor
Publisher: Cos Cob Press
Date of publication: 1932
Timing: 22'
Dedication: "to Serge Koussevitzky."
Contents: I. Prologue: Molto moderato / Subito allegro molto / Tempo I II. Dance: Allegro molto III. Interlude: Lento moderato IV. Burlesque: Allegro vivo V. Epilogue: Moderato / Lento molto
Notes: a ballet danced to this work, entitled Tragödie im Suden, was prepared in scenario by the publisher but never produced
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