The Cat and the Mouse (Scherzo Humoristique) (1923)

Aaron Copland, American composer, was born in 1900 in New York. He was taught to play the piano by his elder sister, and when he was 15 years old he decided he wanted to be a composer. In 1921 he went to Paris to study with the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger, and during his 3 years in Paris he was at the forefront of the mucical avant-garde. After his return to the United States he produced his first major work, the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra which was first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1925.Copland, like Bach, assimilated all the important musical trends of his lifetime. Jazz, Stravinsky's neoclassicism, American folklore, and finally Schoenberg's 12-tone system, all made their imprint on his music, and yet his style remained unique, personal, and instantly recognizeable. He stopped composing in 1970, but continued conducting and lecturing for more than 10 years, as well as promoting modern American works and establishing the composition department at Tanglewood. He died in 1990 in the Phelps Memorial Hospital in Tarrytown (New York).Copland is rightly considered the most important American composer of the mid 20th century. He produced masterpieces in most musical genres. His most enduringly popular works are those of his 'Americana' period : Rodeo, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, Danzon Cubano, El Salon Mexico, the film scores Our Town and The Red Pony, and the incidental music for Irwin Shaw's play Quiet City. The 'Fanfare for the Common Man' from his imposing Third Symphony has become an icon of American music, played at countless celebratory occasions. His concerti include a Piano Concerto and a Clarinet Concerto written for Benny Goodman. He also left a sizable body of chamber music, songs, and piano music.His piano works span the better part of his career. Between the early frolic of The Cat and the Mouse (1920) to the serial 10-tone Piano Fantasy (1957), we find these major landmark works : Passacaglia (1922), Piano Variations (1930), Sonata (1941), and the ever popular Four Piano Blues (1948), all of which are among the most important American piano works of the time. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Works of classical repertoire often exhibit complexity in their use of orchestration, counterpoint, harmony, musical development, rhythm, phrasing, texture, and form. Whereas most popular styles are usually written in song form, classical music is noted for its development of highly sophisticated instrumental musical forms, like the concerto, symphony and sonata. Classical music is also noted for its use of sophisticated vocal/instrumental forms, such as opera. In opera, vocal soloists and choirs perform staged dramatic works with an orchestra providing accompaniment.Longer instrumental works are often divided into self-contained pieces, called movements, often with contrasting characters or moods. For instance, symphonies written during the Classical period are usually divided into four movements:( 1) An opening Allegro in sonata form, a slow movement,a minuet or scherzo (in a triple metre, such as 34), and a final Allegro.These movements can then be further broken down into a hierarchy of smaller units: first sections, then periods, and finally phrases.Performers who have studied classical music extensively are said to be "classically trained". This training may come from private lessons from instrument or voice teachers or from completion of a formal program offered by a Conservatory, college or university, such as a Bachelor of Music or Master of Music degree (which includes individual lessons from professors). In classical music, "...extensive formal music education and training, often to postgraduate [Master's degree] level" is required.Performance of classical music repertoire requires a proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, harmonic principles, strong ear training (to correct and adjust pitches by ear), knowledge of performance practice (e.g., Baroque ornamentation), and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom expected for a given composer or musical work (e.g., a Brahms symphony or a Mozart concerto).The key characteristic of European classical music that distinguishes it from popular music and folk music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them: fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent harmonic logic.The use of written notation also preserves a record of the works and enables Classical musicians to perform music from many centuries ago.Although Classical music in the 2000s has lost most of its tradition for musical improvisation, from the Baroque era to the Romantic era, there are examples of performers who could improvise in the style of their era. In the Baroque era, organ performers would improvise preludes, keyboard performers playing harpsichord would improvise chords from the figured bass symbols beneath the bass notes of the basso continuo part and both vocal and instrumental performers would improvise musical ornaments.Johann Sebastian Bach was particularly noted for his complex improvisations. During the Classical era, the composer-performer Mozart was noted for his ability to improvise melodies in different styles. During the Classical era, some virtuoso soloists would improvise the cadenza sections of a concerto. During the Romantic era, Beethoven would improvise at the piano.classical music ,classical music news ,classicalmusicworldusic youtube ,classical music composers ,classical music radio ,music history ,classicalmusic lover ,classicalmusicblog ,classical music downloads ,classical music concerts ,classical music for babies ,classical music for studying ,classical music for kids ,classical music online ,classical music of... Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.