Review: The American Stravinsky

132 Notes, September 2013 issue. As way of a final comment, the musical examples are superbly typeset. Edward Jurkowski University of Lethbridge The American Stravinsky: The Style and Aesthetics of Copland’s New American Music, the Early Works, 1921–1938. By Gayle Murchison. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012. [xviii, 285 p. ISBN 9780472099849. $80.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index. Widely regarded as the quintessential composer of American music, Aaron Copland played a crucial role in the development of twentieth-century art music. From his early experimentation with jazz idioms to the incorporation of folk tunes in his later compositions, the Dean of American Composers was dedicated to creating music with a distinctly “American” sound. Scholars often debate the source of inspiration for this artistic vision and how Copland achieved his compositional style, with each argument contributing to a richer understanding of the composer’s works. Taking this important discussion one step further, Gayle Murchison, in her The American Stravinsky: The Style and Aesthetics of Copland’s New American Music, the Early Works, 1921–1938, delves into Copland’s compositions, arguing convincingly that Copland did not simply see himself as an American composer, but rather a modern American composer. Offering a detailed investigation of Copland’s life and careful analysis of his early musical compositions, Murchison reveals the distinctly modernist tendencies permeating his works. Indeed, throughout her thorough study, she successfully challenges the standard convention of dividing Copland’s career into stylistic periods. Instead, she demonstrates how Copland maintained consistent compositional techniques throughout his career, shifting only the “foreground elements of his music or the source of his borrowed melodies and rhythms” (p. 234). This crucial discovery within Copland scholarship reveals a compositional consistency underlying Copland’s oeuvre that had not yet been clearly addressed. Targeting a musically literate audience, Murchison, in an eloquent, well-executed, and accessible manner, reveals Copland’s adaptation of modern European compositional techniques, and explains how he made them his own. Murchison’s strong musical analysis and accompanying score excerpts are a particular highlight of this study. She offers a fresh understanding of Copland’s groundbreaking works through the lens of modern European influence, while providing a language with which to discuss Copland’s complexity. Moreover, she builds upon the seminal studies that came before her; by combining the sociohistorical context of Copland’s life with detailed musical analysis of his modern compositional techniques, she ultimately reveals Copland’s lifelong commitment to creating modern American music. The text proceeds chronologically, further contributing to Murchison’s argument, for one may easily observe the same modernist elements pervading Copland’s compositions throughout the decades. Introducing Copland’s early fascination with European modernism in chapter 1, “Scherzo humoristique (Cat and Mouse),” Murchison explains Copland’s early adoption of these ideals while in secondary school, which he learned by attending live performances, listening to contemporary recordings, and independent score study. She notes that “before he had even graduated high school, Copland had been exposed to the music of the leading European modernists, ranging from Debussy to Stravinsky” (p. 12). Highlighting this influence on Copland’s early compositions, she provides a detailed analysis of Scherzo humoristique (Cat and Mouse), highlighting Copland’s early exploration of an ultramodern style. She first illuminates Debussy’s influence on Copland’s use of pentatonic and whole tone scales before arguing convincingly for Stravinsky’s role as “the composer after whose music Copland modeled his own” (p. 29). Citing octatonicism, black and white key division, the importance of the tritone, and the use of VII-I harmonic progressions, her analysis clearly attributes Stravinsky’s Petrushka as the inspiration for Copland’s early modernist work. Indeed, it is during this early stage that Copland began developing the modernist style that remained consistent throughout his career. Book Reviews Paris marked the next step in Copland’s compositional development, and, as Murchison explains in chapter 2, “Boulanger and Compositional Maturity,” it is here that he grew from an eager young student to a mature composer. With Boulanger’s emphasis on technique, her concept of la grande ligne, and her fostering of Copland’s interest in Stravinsky, Copland’s well-renowned teacher left a lasting impression on his compositional career, which Murchison illustrates through analyses of Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra and the second movement, Rondino, of the Two Pieces for String Quartet. Noting the latter as a form of collage, Murchison identifies not only evidence of Boulanger’s la grande ligne, but also of Stravinsky’s interlocking polyrhythmic ostinatos and of various rhythmic and harmonic jazz elements, explaining that Copland “juxtaposes the old and the new, recycling classical form, canon, Renaissance techniques, and contrapuntal texture of the past with the contemporary techniques of Stravinskian modernism” (p. 47). Such clear, compelling analyses throughout chapter 2 simultaneously offer a fresh approach to understanding the complexities of Copland’s early works while creating a basis to consider his later compositions. Focusing largely on Copland’s exploration of jazz in chapters 3 and 4, Murchison discusses the composer’s use of the idiom both prior to and throughout his time in Paris. She first highlights Copland’s original conception of jazz as a primarily rhythmic phenomenon that uniquely combines polyrhythms and cross-rhythms, which she demonstrates in her analysis of Copland’s Three Moods (also known as Trois esquisses). This understanding of Copland’s jazz background prepares one for chapter 4, in which Copland, inspired by the French neoclassicists, fully embraces jazz as “a style that was both modern and American” (p. 82). Importantly, Murchison reveals that Copland saw jazz as only one element of a composition, believing that one must incorporate these innovative rhythms with other modern aesthetics in order to create a successful work. Revealing Copland’s theory in practice, she follows with analyses of Grohg and Dance Symphony, highlighting the composer’s combination of jazz rhythms, Boulanger’s counterpoint, Stravinsky’s polyrhythms and shifting metri- 133 cal accents, and Les Six’s neoclassicism, concluding, “Copland realized that a synthesis of modernist harmonic, tonal, and melodic techniques and jazz-derived and jazz-influenced rhythms could be the style and substance of a technically mature, modern, urban American art music that equaled that of Europe” (p. 94). Indeed, throughout chapters 3 and 4, Murchison builds a strong, convincing argument regarding the critical role of jazz in Copland’s compositions, revealing that Copland did not abandon the idiom upon his movement to a more accessible style, but rather adapted the rhythmic elements to fit within his changing aesthetics. Copland’s return to the United States in 1924 marked the beginning of his American career, and chapters 5 and 6 investigate his compositional style of the mid-to-late 1920s. Chapter 5, “Back in the United States: Popular Music, Jazz and the New American Music,” investigates Copland’s overt use of jazz idioms in his early large-scale works. Providing a layered investigation of Copland’s Music for the Theatre—a particularly noteworthy and comprehensive analysis—Murchison reveals not only Copland’s direct borrowing of jazz idioms, including melody, orchestration, and rhythm, but also his continued modernist influences from Stravinsky and French neoclassicism. Further, she presents the composition as “a portrait of Copland’s . . . race, ethnicity and sexuality” (p. 113). This connection to Copland’s life proves highly convincing, as Murchison builds upon the studies of Julia Smith and Howard Pollack, while investigating Copland’s personal connection to the tune The Sidewalks of New York, which he incorporates within the composition. ( Julia Smith, Aaron Copland: His Works and Contributions to American Music [New York: E. P. Sutton, 1955]; Howard Pollack, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. [Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999]). By combining both technical and historical analytic approaches, Murchison’s multi-level investigation of Music for the Theatre offers a sound, detailed explanation of Copland’s five-movement work. While studying in Paris, Copland spent the summers of 1922 and 1923 visiting different music meccas in Eastern Europe, learning the various compositional techniques of composers including Bartók, 134 Schoenberg, Webern, and Hába. Not surprisingly, Copland learned much from his travels, which Murchison discusses in chapter 6, “European Influence beyond Stravinsky and Les Six: Hába and Schoenberg.” She investigates Copland’s incorporation of Eastern European influences with his Jewish heritage in his composition Vitebsk, arguing that his inspiration did not necessarily come from an expression of faith, but rather as an imitation of these modernist composers who similarly integrated folk songs into their compositions. Indeed, Vitebsk is Copland’s only explicitly “Jewish” work, and his borrowing of folk tunes, Murchison explains, “was like working with jazz, and later, cowboy songs and AngloAmerican ballads and hymns . . . the world’s folk music traditions were his musical oysters” (p. 147). By understanding Copland’s use of Jewish folk tunes as a medium to explore modernist techniques, one further appreciates the composer’s commitment to creating a modern American sound. Chapters 7 through 10 reveal Copland’s move toward an accessible musical style influenced largely by the Great Depression, leftist politics, and fellow politically active artists. Murchison stresses that despite Copland’s shift to composing for a wider audience, he nevertheless maintained the modern musical techniques of Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Debussy, only presented in a simplified form. In chapter 7, “Toward a New National Music during the 1930s: Copland’s Populism, Accessible Style and Folk and Popular Music,” Murchison notes a shift in Copland’s audience; his ultramodern sounds of the 1920s were rendered too demanding for the listeners of the 1930s. Finding inspiration in Hindemith’s Gebrauchsmusik, Copland responded to this change by composing works for the amateur musician, as seen in the choral work What Do We Plant? and the piano pieces “Sunday Afternoon Music” and “The Young Pioneers.” Chapter 8, “Copland’s Journey Left,” provides a necessary look into Copland’s involvement with the leftist ideals of the 1930s. Labeling Copland a “fellow traveller” in leftist politics, Murchison explains how his newly accessible music aligned closely with the Left’s social function for music. Through a compelling analysis of Notes, September 2013 “Into the Streets May First,” Copland’s workers song for The Composers’ Collective, Murchison explains how Copland combined “simplicity of melody with a mildly adventurous modulation” resulting in an accessible modern mass song (p. 180). As the 1930s progressed, however, the Left grew interested in American folk music due to its accessibility to the working man. As Murchison explains, Copland too began using such “folk music to create his version of populist music that sprouted from the aesthetic ideology shaped by his engagement with the cultural politics of the Popular Front” (p. 189). Indeed, while involved with The Composers’ Collective, Copland quickly discovered the value of American folk tunes in creating an accessible art music, a concept that he maintained for much of his remaining compositional career. Closely investigating Copland’s use of folk tunes in both El Salón México and Billy the Kid (chaps. 9 and 10, respectively), Murchison reveals how Copland largely adapted his earlier compositional techniques such as ostinatos, pedals, polyrhythmic complexities, and bitonality into a more accessible idiom, while simultaneously pulling from Stravinsky’s use of segmented folk tunes. This approach, Murchison argues, results in a sort of “deception,” for while the folk melodies suggest simplicity, the underlying structural ideas remain highly sophisticated. Within her analysis of El Salón México in chapter 9, “ ‘Folk’ Music and the Popular Front,” Murchison reveals a further connection between the composition and leftist politics, as “Mexican society was seen as harmonious, in contrast to life in the modern United States” (p. 193). With the onset of World War II, however, many artists shifted their concentration to the war effort, and as Murchison makes clear in her analysis of Billy the Kid, Copland similarly moved away from the strong political left. Within her analysis Murchison identifies several important connections between these two folkinspired compositions, through Copland’s combination of modernist aesthetics with traditional folk tunes. Indeed, with “Billy the Kid Copland had now moved beyond appropriating folk songs of another culture to appropriating that of his own America,” all within an accessible modern style (p. 229). Book Reviews Occasionally one may find the analysis of Copland’s sociocultural background repetitive within Murchison’s text, as many of the ideas (for example nationalism and the desire to create an American music) permeate much of Copland’s career. This is not necessarily a fault, however, as it reinforces the importance of Copland’s cultural surroundings to his compositional approach. The only drawback of The American Stravinsky is that Murchison stops at 1938; her new take on Copland studies is both compelling and successful, and one eagerly awaits her analysis of Copland’s later musical works as well. From interlocking polyrhythms and bitonal poles to New Left ideals and Copland’s homosexuality, Murchison’s thorough analysis of Aaron Copland’s early life and works offers a new perspective on this “Composer from Brooklyn.” Ultimately providing a fresh approach to understanding Copland’s music, Murchison offers a timely study that opens many doors for further investigation of Copland’s compositions. Paula Musegades Brandeis University Henry Cowell: A Man Made of Music. By Joel Sachs. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. [xvii, 600 p. ISBN 9780195108958. $45.] Illustrations, bibliography, index. Joel Sachs’s long-awaited book on one of America’s most notable musical mavericks offers a rich discourse not only on the life of Henry Cowell (1897–1965), but also a commentary on the many prolific figures close to him. As such, it charts a history of American music in the early twentieth century and reflects on several interconnected areas of musical life, including the publication and reception of new music, advances in ethnomusicology, the community of composers, and the reach of American music beyond its geographical borders. That this book was long in coming can hardly be any surprise, as it becomes clear from the outset that Sachs was faced with an extraordinary array of resources from figures who were exceptionally wellintentioned but not always fully acquainted with specific details, among them Cowell himself. However, through extensive cross- 135 referencing, Sachs has developed a cogent narrative that is brimming with new factual details, written across sixty-one chapters, and enveloped in six parts. Of the many figures, familial, social, and collegial, with whom Cowell interacts, his relationships with three women come to the fore: Clara/Clarissa Dixon Cowell (his mother), Olive Thompson Cowell (his second stepmother), and Sidney Robertson Cowell (his wife) (p. 3). Sidney Cowell was alive until shortly before the book’s publication and much of the material is crossreferenced through her notes. However, she too could also be a fruitful source of both reliable information and misremembered and embroidered memory. Although it would be tempting to consider everything about Cowell’s personal life in tandem with his relationship with his mother, Sachs presents the information on both his home schooling, his mother’s attitudes to relationships and religion— including standing in church at seventeen and renouncing her membership (p. 12)— in such a fashion that readers will draw their own conclusions. One can see obvious resemblances to his mother, such as a tremendous independence of spirit that manifested itself in Cowell’s being significantly self-taught, reading “Stainer on harmony, Mason on orchestration, and Prout on musical form” (p. 33) at a young age. Clarissa’s tenacity in her own career is a further point of reference as she scraped by to make ends meet as a writer. While Cowell was a teenager, she became ill and he became the sole provider, working as an assistant janitor for a school and cleaning out a neighbor’s chicken house (p. 35). However, in 1910 Cowell’s horizons were broadened through his work with the Stanford professor Lewis M. Terman, who began to meet with him three times a week to conduct intelligence tests (p. 37). Terman later noted that what impressed him most was Cowell’s intellectual versatility (p. 43). Through Stanford connections the young Cowell developed a coterie of supporters that increased in number throughout his life, including the English professor Samuel S. Seward, who helped organize a fund that would allow him to be free of the financial burden of caring for his mother while providing resources for lessons (pp. 55–59). Cowell eventually Copyright of Notes is the property of Music Library Association Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.