What a symphony! The Prelude doesn't so much prepare you for what's to follow but lays you open - vulnerable even - to the very tough and wide-ranging symphonic discourse that is to follow. The stunningly virtuosic syncopations of the scherzo - the consistent but ever inventive sequential procedures of the trio - the Scherzo's return - nothing repetitive here. The organ throughout is integrated as an extended part of the orchestra - a extended woodwind in the Scherzo, extended Brass in the finale - and even an extended muted solo string instrument. Wait to for one of the most amusing fugues in a symphony ever! Now, what if Copland had written many more symphonies than just three??
Thanks for the link it was the same version that I queued up yesterday several times but keep playing other things. I heard it this afternoon and not surprised it would be your favorite Copeland work. Even I would recognize it as Copeland it definitely had points of interest, quite involved, quite developed, I like it having said that I don't think it will make me forget Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, hair salon Mexico Etc. Moron my nocturnal experience when next we speak.
A very beautiful symphony with organ in a rather conventional style. This symphony deserves to be known and listened to several times; So; thank you for uploading.
I'm a little surprised at some of the comments here. This is far from the most out-there piece Copland wrote. I like this; heard it first time, on RUclips (I was curious), just recently, as in general I don't like the sound of a pipe organ. But to me this in some ways pretty mellow, at least euphonious. Much spikier is Copland's piano concerto from two years later, his piano variations (too spare and austere for my taste) and his piano sonata (one of the great ones of the 20th century). Though brief, I think his "Short Symphony" is the best of his four symphonies (if you count his "Dance Symphony, based on a ballet), and even better, IMO, as reworked as a sextet. Much more austere than the latter is the piano quartet of 1950, a (loosely) dodecaphonic work that I find very beautiful and inimitably Coplandesque. Some of his later works though leave me cold, e.g. "Connotations," another dodecaphonic work. What is dislike and (mostly) like in his oeuvre has nothing to do with an aversion to dissonance or modernism; I've been a giant Bartok fan for over 60 years, since I was 14.
I love your comment, being that my favorite Copland pieces have been his abstract, austere works. Let's not forget the dodecaphonic orchestral piece "Inscape", the chamber work "Vitebsk" (which utilizes quarter tones), his serial piano masterpiece "Piano Fantasy" (a "sister" piece to his "Piano Sonata"), "Nonet for Strings", and arguably his great masterpiece of the abstract Copland, "Symphonic Ode".
Many people who disdain the pipe organ are actually admitting they hate the ecclesiastic association of the instrument. It's not an intelligent position. Some might appreciate the instrument more if they knew it once accompanied the slaughter of Christians as part of Roman entertainments. It's been around a while.@@pauljosephus697
Another interesting early piece you may want to check out is the Symphony No. 1 (Dance Symphony). The world was getting into expressionism and he modeled it loosely around the Nosferatu legend.
Copeland seems to be using the organ here as both a 'big' and a 'small' instrument. Parts of the second movement make me want to jump in a stunt plane and go zig-zagging through canyons. And I don't know how to fly a plane. The third movement makes me think of end credits music for a big-budget 1970s horror movie of the _Omen_ , _The Exorcist_ , or _The Fury_ ilk.
We used to call him "Howie." But not to his face. :) My now deceased friend Alec Wilder hung around Eastman for years without a degree and didn't much like Dr. Hansen. But I am a great admirer of him. He did a LOT for American classical music with his Mercury recordings thanks to my friend Mitchell Miller, who was in charge of classics there at the time.
A great edgy piece of music by Copland. Most people may hate it, people may shun it, but It towers far above his more popular, crowd pleasing 3rd Symphony.
She asked him to compose it for her! He was pretty much an unknown, and she had a scheduled performance with the BSO. She told him if he'd write her a piece she'd play it, and so she did!
Partiellement d'accord avec vous. Ce sont toutes deux des symphonies avec orgue, mais tandis que celle de Saint-Saens (plus ancienne, d'ailleurs) a un style "classique fin 19ème siècle", celle de Copland (plus récente) nous propose des résonnances venant tout droit de l'Amérique du Nord, ce qui ne lui enlèver rien de son charme .
Christian Allen Not quite; that's the second movement. The excerpts used in their show are spread throughout the third movement. I think I found them all here: 16:41-16:51 18:14-18:33 21:10-21:31 24:45-25:03 25:46-end
Copland was masterful in weaving the organ and symphony melodies and counter melodies together. The intonation had to have been spot on and it was. I'm guessing that Copeland was not an organist.
When I saw the background image, I thought "oh this must be one of those subtle, almost church-like organ pieces". Now, let me just say that background images can be very misleading...
AC only had one steady job teaching music over a summer. He someone managed to subsist just composing. Howie Hanson ran the Eastman, so he could afford to write music. Alec Wilder had an endowment from the family business, so he would screw around all his life writing weird stuff and some very good stuff.
Normally I enjoy Aaron Copland's music but it won't trouble me if I never hear this cacophony again in my life. How anyone can compare it to Howard Hanson's beautiful Organ Concerto is utterly beyond me.
@@rationallogo Did you take a course to learn to be patronising and ignorant or is your talent natural? I am well aware that most of Copland's music is, as you put it, abstract, complex and austere but that does not stop me disliking this particular work intensely, as is my right. Another poster calling himself "Roger Wilco" said that the piece reminded him of Howard Hansen (sic). Maybe the next time you will have the courtesy to read all the comments and engage your brain before engaging your keyboard.
@@davidgriffiths7215 Before accusing me of being patronizing, you may want to reread your comment regarding your experience of Copland's Organ Symphony juxtaposed to another commentator's post and your difficult (though not personalized) response to me. Allow me to Explain: First, you state that this piece is "cacophony". Fine! I hope you don't think that I'm saying you have no right to feel the way about the piece that you do. If you think I am, in fact, saying or implying that you have no right to dislike it, then where in my response to your comment do I say that you have no right to experience this music as cacophony and to consequently not like it? Your phenomenological experience of this piece of music is yours and yours alone; I'm sure you know this and speak for no one else's experience of the piece but for your judgement only. I did not, and would never, offer a critique of your experience of the symphony. One person's musical cacophony is another person's perfect expression of musical universal meaning. Which brings me to my second point: You assume that I did not read the post by "Roger Wilco". Nothing could be further from the truth. That person, in their post, clearly states that the Copland piece REMINDS them of Howard Hanson: "Reminds me of Dr. Howard Hansen. He used the organ and orchestra a lot" to which you respond, "How anyone can compare it to Howard Hanson's beautiful Organ Concerto is utterly beyond me". Nowhere in Roger Wilco's comment is there a comparison of the two pieces with regards to melody, tonality, rhythm, harmony, timber, theoretical analysis, or any other aspect of music. All we can infer from the data imbedded in Wilco's response is that the Copland piece reminds Wilco of Hanson simply because a symphony orchestra and organ have been coupled by both composers. So, not only did you infer beyond the data in Wilco's comment, I think (with all due respect) you may have been pejorative in your assessment of his musical judgement when in fact no such judgement was offered. Lastly, you have personalized my previous comment to you and accused me of ignorance and taking a patronizing stance. My comment consisted of two sentences: I have explained (and explained it at great length ONLY because of your harsh response to me) the rationale for my first sentence in the aforementioned statements contained in this post. With regards to my second sentence, I'm only pointed out that much of Copland's music is difficult because you say that you "normally" enjoy his music but didn't enjoy this angular piece, which led me to deductively conclude that you were not aware of much of his abstract work. I want to reiterate and make clear one thing: This lengthy response is offered ONLY because you were tough on me (again, I don't personalize it and hold no malice towards you), and I want you to understand the reasons behind my previous response to you so that you realize that I mean no harm in what I said. So, let's both kick back and listen to Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and look forward to better days ahead. Cheers.
@@rationallogo When my mentor presented me with a big organ piece by Max Reger, it was a choral fantasy and fugue, I pushed it away, saying, "I don't much like his music." He responded, "You're too young to say you don't lke anything. A more apporprtate response and attitude is, 'I don't appreciate it.'"
@@MartinSmithMFM Well, dear sir, utilizing your flawed logic, I suppose you were engaging in an ad hominem attack against Copland when you critiqued his Organ Symphony. You commented on his music, and I commented on your comment. In neither case was there an attack on any individual's character, wouldn't you agree? I just mirrored your sentiment, with the only difference between our comments being that which was critiqued. An "ad hominem" fallacy in informal logic involves an attack directed against a PERSON rather than the POSITION they are maintaining. Personalizing a comment does not equate to being attacked. Now, I would like to challenge you: What is YOUR argument substantiating your critique of this piece of music? As I am sure you are aware, there is no logic or empiricism to support your contention. Aesthetic experience is phenomenological in nature; If you dislike this piece, that is fine. However, you do not speak about the experience of this piece by any other person other than yourself. Your comment communicates a categorical imperative rather than a subjective experience. The aforementioned is both the rationale and motivation for my comment.
@@MartinSmithMFM Please see my response to you above. I am uneasy with your ex cathedra type proclamations. I am curious about your qualifications and expertise which allows you to make, quite frankly, such arrogant, overgeneralized statements? Who, my dear fellow, are you to argue that Copland has to earn ANYTHING AT ALL musically? I'm wondering if you also feel that Saint Saens has fallen short with his Organ Symphony and has failed to "find a third guise" within this genre of music by virtue of the fact that you didn't even mention his piece in your comment? Your lack of humility is startling to me.
I've just listened to the first five minutes. Very pleasant.
Great piece!!!
Wonderful combination, from abstract, slow motion to his vivid, colorful descriptive action. Great, giant Composer.
For me, the funereal prelude evokes the tragic, nocturnal dream-world of Poe and the misty, haunted countryside of a young America.👌
One of the most enjoyable pieces I’ve ever had the pleasure to perform! The rhythms are exciting and the melodies are beautiful.
What a symphony! The Prelude doesn't so much prepare you for what's to follow but lays you open - vulnerable even - to the very tough and wide-ranging symphonic discourse that is to follow. The stunningly virtuosic syncopations of the scherzo - the consistent but ever inventive sequential procedures of the trio - the Scherzo's return - nothing repetitive here. The organ throughout is integrated as an extended part of the orchestra - a extended woodwind in the Scherzo, extended Brass in the finale - and even an extended muted solo string instrument. Wait to for one of the most amusing fugues in a symphony ever! Now, what if Copland had written many more symphonies than just three??
Truly the King of Instruments here! The monarch really outdid himself here...
@@emmagottlieb9379 -- Indeed.....BRAVO from Acapulco!
I always loved this piece.....
Personally, this is my FAVORITE Copland work. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the link it was the same version that I queued up yesterday several times but keep playing other things. I heard it this afternoon and not surprised it would be your favorite Copeland work. Even I would recognize it as Copeland it definitely had points of interest, quite involved, quite developed, I like it having said that I don't think it will make me forget Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, hair salon Mexico Etc. Moron my nocturnal experience when next we speak.
LaFontaine
Stunning piece and performance. Marvelous all around.
A very beautiful symphony with organ in a rather conventional style. This symphony deserves to be known and listened to several times; So; thank you for uploading.
Great Symphony and splendid performance!!
The Dean of American Music
Always considered this piece one of his most interesting. This is an early piece and the critics called him a crazy man :-)
Fantastic music.
Cathal Twomey Senza alcun dubbio
Sad that it is so neglected. It is a side of Copland that many would love to hear.
Most American concert halls do not have pipe organs, unlike the European ones the Americans emulated.
While I may have heard this piece on the radio, this is the first time really listening to it. Pretty awesome.
This is great! I didn't expect that from Copland, but you keep reverting my opinions of so many composers!
I saw Cameron Carpenter play this on Hurricane Mama at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The third movement floored everyone.
A 24 year old composed this. Incredible.
I’d like to think I know a lot about American composers, but goddam wow!
Yes. Just yes.
Belíssima...
I'm a little surprised at some of the comments here. This is far from the most out-there piece Copland wrote. I like this; heard it first time, on RUclips (I was curious), just recently, as in general I don't like the sound of a pipe organ. But to me this in some ways pretty mellow, at least euphonious. Much spikier is Copland's piano concerto from two years later, his piano variations (too spare and austere for my taste) and his piano sonata (one of the great ones of the 20th century). Though brief, I think his "Short Symphony" is the best of his four symphonies (if you count his "Dance Symphony, based on a ballet), and even better, IMO, as reworked as a sextet. Much more austere than the latter is the piano quartet of 1950, a (loosely) dodecaphonic work that I find very beautiful and inimitably Coplandesque. Some of his later works though leave me cold, e.g. "Connotations," another dodecaphonic work. What is dislike and (mostly) like in his oeuvre has nothing to do with an aversion to dissonance or modernism; I've been a giant Bartok fan for over 60 years, since I was 14.
I love your comment, being that my favorite Copland pieces have been his abstract, austere works. Let's not forget the dodecaphonic orchestral piece "Inscape", the chamber work "Vitebsk" (which utilizes quarter tones), his serial piano masterpiece "Piano Fantasy" (a "sister" piece to his "Piano Sonata"), "Nonet for Strings", and arguably his great masterpiece of the abstract Copland, "Symphonic Ode".
@@rationallogo Thanks. Don't think I've heard all the works you mention; I'll have to check them out.
What sound of the organ don't you like? There are many sounds to the organ.
@RichardASalisbury1 -- Well-reasoned.....Cheers from Acapulco!
Many people who disdain the pipe organ are actually admitting they hate the ecclesiastic association of the instrument. It's not an intelligent position. Some might appreciate the instrument more if they knew it once accompanied the slaughter of Christians as part of Roman entertainments. It's been around a while.@@pauljosephus697
Another interesting early piece you may want to check out is the Symphony No. 1 (Dance Symphony). The world was getting into expressionism and he modeled it loosely around the Nosferatu legend.
Copeland seems to be using the organ here as both a 'big' and a 'small' instrument.
Parts of the second movement make me want to jump in a stunt plane and go zig-zagging through canyons. And I don't know how to fly a plane.
The third movement makes me think of end credits music for a big-budget 1970s horror movie of the _Omen_ , _The Exorcist_ , or _The Fury_ ilk.
Bela sinfonia. Gostei tanto que adquiri o cd com a mesma gravação, com a mesma orquestra, o mesmo regente e o mesmo solista
You need an ad blocker. I have no ads ever during a performance like that. Never.
An ad at less than 60s to go in such a Finale---seriously???!!!!!! In a live performance no less. Please take the ads off this video.
increible buena para viajar mentalmente
wakeupamericans2012 I agree
Reminds me of Dr. Howard Hansen. He used the organ and orchestra a lot.
We used to call him "Howie." But not to his face. :) My now deceased friend Alec Wilder hung around Eastman for years without a degree and didn't much like Dr. Hansen. But I am a great admirer of him. He did a LOT for American classical music with his Mercury recordings thanks to my friend Mitchell Miller, who was in charge of classics there at the time.
It's Hanson fellas, not Hansen.
A great edgy piece of music by Copland. Most people may hate it, people may shun it, but It towers far above his more popular, crowd pleasing 3rd Symphony.
I get a very "pink elephants on parade" vibe when I listen to this
For people only familiar with Copland's middle period music, this work can be a rude surprise.
He dedicated to his teacher in Paris Nadia Boulanger and she did play organ.
Depends on what you mean by organ. heh
I wonder how many organs she played with.
She asked him to compose it for her! He was pretty much an unknown, and she had a scheduled performance with the BSO. She told him if he'd write her a piece she'd play it, and so she did!
Belle symphonie avec orgue, digne de succéder à celle de Saint-Saens
je confirme
+Daniele Chany Je l'ai entendue hier dans la nouvelle salle de la Philharmonie de Paris, un bon moment passé avec une bonne accoustique !
tellement beau que je partage une fois de plus ;) merci à Bernard pour le partage
Partiellement d'accord avec vous. Ce sont toutes deux des symphonies avec orgue, mais tandis que celle de Saint-Saens (plus ancienne, d'ailleurs) a un style "classique fin 19ème siècle", celle de Copland (plus récente) nous propose des résonnances venant tout droit de l'Amérique du Nord, ce qui ne lui enlèver rien de son charme .
Some comments below are junk, unworthy of this composer.
nice!
12:09 reverse shark attack?
The Jaw backing up! lol
The contrabassoon at 26:00 is so lit
Love the piece. Hate the ads. Can someone please, please, remove them?
Subscribe.
Beginning and Finale
9:01 Favorite part
Sound like ravel la valse
@@andrewnguyen1890 No accident. He was a protege of Nadia.
This is spooky: I’m hearing some Lili Boulanger in the prelude.
Carolina Crown 2015! Starts at 12:25...I think.
Christian Allen Not quite; that's the second movement. The excerpts used in their show are spread throughout the third movement. I think I found them all here:
16:41-16:51
18:14-18:33
21:10-21:31
24:45-25:03
25:46-end
7:12 II. Scherzo
Copland was masterful in weaving the organ and symphony melodies and counter melodies together. The intonation had to have been spot on and it was. I'm guessing that Copeland was not an organist.
luigi pasquali I saw a video of him playing the organ and he was quite masterful
He was an organist
@@WelshHomo87 Nadia Boulanger was the organist in the premiere.
One of the few Copland pieces I can tolerate.
Cool fucking harmonies.
Very clever, Seth Allen, not.
Your language certainly sucks.
I just wish that Woody Allen had kept on making those funny movies like he used to.
I wish he would never have started having sex with his daughter.
When I saw the background image, I thought "oh this must be one of those subtle, almost church-like organ pieces". Now, let me just say that background images can be very misleading...
Santa Clara Vanguard 2002!
I am involved in an emotional affair with Aaron Copland at present. Sigh.
You're not the only one. Aaah...
Carolina Crown
IndigrowNation the Naperville Central Marching RedHawks
Somebody had been listening to Ives
Not even close.
26:04
Blooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
Mello Phone wat
+Jeff Coates I know right what the fuck
+Mello Phone Crowwwwnnnn?
Oh please, Dave Paul, grow up.
AC only had one steady job teaching music over a summer. He someone managed to subsist just composing. Howie Hanson ran the Eastman, so he could afford to write music. Alec Wilder had an endowment from the family business, so he would screw around all his life writing weird stuff and some very good stuff.
I don't understand your comments. Did you know Aaron?
Normally I enjoy Aaron Copland's music but it won't trouble me if I never hear this cacophony again in my life. How anyone can compare it to Howard Hanson's beautiful Organ Concerto is utterly beyond me.
What?
Nobody is comparing it to Hanson's Organ Concerto. And for your edification, much, if not most, of Copland's work is abstract, complex, and austere.
@@rationallogo Did you take a course to learn to be patronising and ignorant or is your talent natural? I am well aware that most of Copland's music is, as you put it, abstract, complex and austere but that does not stop me disliking this particular work intensely, as is my right. Another poster calling himself "Roger Wilco" said that the piece reminded him of Howard Hansen (sic). Maybe the next time you will have the courtesy to read all the comments and engage your brain before engaging your keyboard.
@@davidgriffiths7215 Before accusing me of being patronizing, you may want to reread your comment regarding your experience of Copland's Organ Symphony juxtaposed to another commentator's post and your difficult (though not personalized) response to me. Allow me to Explain: First, you state that this piece is "cacophony". Fine! I hope you don't think that I'm saying you have no right to feel the way about the piece that you do. If you think I am, in fact, saying or implying that you have no right to dislike it, then where in my response to your comment do I say that you have no right to experience this music as cacophony and to consequently not like it? Your phenomenological experience of this piece of music is yours and yours alone; I'm sure you know this and speak for no one else's experience of the piece but for your judgement only. I did not, and would never, offer a critique of your experience of the symphony. One person's musical cacophony is another person's perfect expression of musical universal meaning. Which brings me to my second point: You assume that I did not read the post by "Roger Wilco". Nothing could be further from the truth. That person, in their post, clearly states that the Copland piece REMINDS them of Howard Hanson: "Reminds me of Dr. Howard Hansen. He used the organ and orchestra a lot" to which you respond, "How anyone can compare it to Howard Hanson's beautiful Organ Concerto is utterly beyond me". Nowhere in Roger Wilco's comment is there a comparison of the two pieces with regards to melody, tonality, rhythm, harmony, timber, theoretical analysis, or any other aspect of music. All we can infer from the data imbedded in Wilco's response is that the Copland piece reminds Wilco of Hanson simply because a symphony orchestra and organ have been coupled by both composers. So, not only did you infer beyond the data in Wilco's comment, I think (with all due respect) you may have been pejorative in your assessment of his musical judgement when in fact no such judgement was offered. Lastly, you have personalized my previous comment to you and accused me of ignorance and taking a patronizing stance. My comment consisted of two sentences: I have explained (and explained it at great length ONLY because of your harsh response to me) the rationale for my first sentence in the aforementioned statements contained in this post. With regards to my second sentence, I'm only pointed out that much of Copland's music is difficult because you say that you "normally" enjoy his music but didn't enjoy this angular piece, which led me to deductively conclude that you were not aware of much of his abstract work. I want to reiterate and make clear one thing: This lengthy response is offered ONLY because you were tough on me (again, I don't personalize it and hold no malice towards you), and I want you to understand the reasons behind my previous response to you so that you realize that I mean no harm in what I said. So, let's both kick back and listen to Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and look forward to better days ahead. Cheers.
@@rationallogo When my mentor presented me with a big organ piece by Max Reger, it was a choral fantasy and fugue, I pushed it away, saying, "I don't much like his music." He responded, "You're too young to say you don't lke anything. A more apporprtate response and attitude is, 'I don't appreciate it.'"
So did he commit a murder at 28?
Really, compared to Poulenc, very feeble.
Your comment, compared to any other comment, is very feeble.
@@rationallogo Well check. Don't just taunt and make add hominem remarks. Present an argument.
An organ concerto has two guises - that of Handel and that of Poulenc. If Copland wants to find a thrid way he has to earn it.
@@MartinSmithMFM Well, dear sir, utilizing your flawed logic, I suppose you were engaging in an ad hominem attack against Copland when you critiqued his Organ Symphony. You commented on his music, and I commented on your comment. In neither case was there an attack on any individual's character, wouldn't you agree? I just mirrored your sentiment, with the only difference between our comments being that which was critiqued. An "ad hominem" fallacy in informal logic involves an attack directed against a PERSON rather than the POSITION they are maintaining. Personalizing a comment does not equate to being attacked. Now, I would like to challenge you: What is YOUR argument substantiating your critique of this piece of music? As I am sure you are aware, there is no logic or empiricism to support your contention. Aesthetic experience is phenomenological in nature; If you dislike this piece, that is fine. However, you do not speak about the experience of this piece by any other person other than yourself. Your comment communicates a categorical imperative rather than a subjective experience. The aforementioned is both the rationale and motivation for my comment.
@@MartinSmithMFM Please see my response to you above. I am uneasy with your ex cathedra type proclamations. I am curious about your qualifications and expertise which allows you to make, quite frankly, such arrogant, overgeneralized statements? Who, my dear fellow, are you to argue that Copland has to earn ANYTHING AT ALL musically? I'm wondering if you also feel that Saint Saens has fallen short with his Organ Symphony and has failed to "find a third guise" within this genre of music by virtue of the fact that you didn't even mention his piece in your comment? Your lack of humility is startling to me.