Lou Harrison on Aaron Copland

07.02.1992

Charles Amirkhanian

As part of a February 7, 1991 program in memory of  Aaron Copland (New York, 1900 - New York, 1990), Charles Amirkhanian interviews composer Lou Harrison about his friendship with Copland, as well as playing some samples of Copland's music, and a brief excerpt from a talk by the quintessential 20th century American composer. Amirkhanian and Harrison discuss Copland's illustrious career, comparing his early and latter works, and pondering what more might have been, if it had not been for Copland's decline and eventual death due to Alzheimer's disease. Harrison expresses great admiration for, and just a bit of mystification about, the qualities of Copland's music that made it so representative of the American spirit, even more so than that of Charles Ives. And in a brief excerpt from a talk, we hear Copland himself suggest that his best music simply appears in his mind, rather than resulting from any more deliberate effort to fulfill the requirements of a commission.