Classical/contemporary piano music by the very well-known American composer of Appalachian Spring

17 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary



Details:
Joan Singer Spicknall became instantly intrigued with composer, Aaron Copland's piano music after a performance of his PIANO SONATA while an undergraduate student at the Peabody Conservatory of Music (Johns Hopkins University). Although she rushed out to buy a copy of that work to have the composer autograph it at an upcoming Peabody Festival Concert, it was not until many years later that she embarked on what has become an ongoing in-depth study of his life and music. As a student, she was asked by her Pinao Professor, M. Daniel Ericourt, to turn pages during that concert, and did not know until much later that her Professor gave the premiere performance of Copland's "Passacaglia" in Paris, in January of 1923. As her interest in the composer's piano music grew, she eventually decided to make this the subject of her doctoral study at the University of Maryland under the watchful eye of her Piano Professor and Advisor, Dr. Stewart Gordon. His encouragement and support of this project, sowed the seeds for a life-long passionate dedication to it. As she initiated her doctoral work, Joan began corresponding with Mr. Copland and informed him of her intent to research [at the Library of Congress, "Copland Collection"], study, document, and perform all of his original piano music, to date. He was pleased with the project and offered his assistance in its [accurate and "authentic"] implementation, even agreeing to coach her at his home [now known as "Copland House" in Cortland Manor, New York]. She later gave the first complete performance of this music at Carnegie Recital Hall in March, 1975, and made a subsequent 2-LP album of the same [even pre-dating the work performed and recorded by his long-time pianist-composer friend, Leo Smit]. After extensive concerts of this music in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, and Washington, DC, she took a musical "respit" from it. She became newly inspired at the Copland centennial celebrations in 2000 to start again from the beginning, with passionate and dedicated intentions to research, study, learn, perform, record, and write about THE PIANO MUSIC OF AARON COPLAND.