UI Press | Howard Pollack | Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man

Aaron Copland

The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man

Awards and Recognition:

Winner of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.

The first time in paperback, this is the best full-length biography of Aaron Copland, his life and his music

One of America's most beloved and accomplished composers, Aaron Copland played a crucial role in the coming of age of American music. This substantial biography is the first full-length scholarly study of Copland's life and work.

A conductor, music critic, and teacher who wrote clearly and accessibly about music, Copland composed some of the twentieth century's most familiar works--Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man--in addition to a wealth of music for opera, ballet, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, band, radio, and film. Howard Pollack's expansive and detailed biography examines Copland's musical development, his political sympathies, his personal life, and his tireless encouragement of younger composers, presenting a balanced and skillfully wrought portrait of an American original.

"Now is the time for a comprehensive, insightful biography of Aaron Copland, and Howard Pollack has answered the call. . . . This is a professional, open-minded and understanding look at a composer and a man who epitomized those qualities himself. . . . A book as sober, respectful, and finely nuanced as this is just what [Copland's] legacy deserves."--John Rockwell, New York Times Book Review

"Taut and clear. . . . Not only a success in its own right, but a valuable model of what biography can and probably should be."--Kirkus Reviews

Howard Pollack, a professor of music history and literature at the University of Houston, is the author of Skyscraper Lullaby: The Life and Music of John Alden Carpenter and other books.

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