Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn on Nov, 14th, 1900. His parents were Conservative Jews that had Lithuanian origins. Copland’s father, Harris Morris Copland, upon moving to the United States, changed his name from Kapland to Copland while living and working in Scotland. He did this for three years to pay for the boat fare to the United States. Upon entering the country, his parents owned a shop in Brooklyn called H.M. Copland’s. The second floor of the shop was where the family established residence.
As far a music goes, the only influence of encouragement that Copland had was from his mother. Being a musician herself, she arranged for music lessons for all five of her children. Aaron Copland’s older brother Ralph was the most promising …show more content…
So he, much due to the correspondence with his friend Aaron Schaffer and with the support of his mother, went to Paris to study at the Fontainebleau School of Music with teachers Isidor Philipp and Paul Vidal. He realized that the teaching that he received was very similar to the training he had received in America and wanted a new influence. He sought out the famed teacher Nadia Boulanger who recognized his talent immediately. The one year that he planned to study turned into three. He found her to be a major source of encouragement and was very electric in the way that she taught. He then travelled to Italy, Austria, and Germany. This provided a completion to his training. He, while in Paris, wrote musical critiques. This allowed him to receive much credibility in the world of music. He returned to The United States with high energy and recognized a new-found voice in the world of music. From 1925 to 1941 the modernist composer would write 15 works moving from elements of jazz infusion to a more classical style. From dance symphonies, to concertos, a ballet, and even some music for Hollywood, this composer ran the 20th century