American Music and Composers

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Welcome to our page on the American composers we will be studying this year. This page has a basic biography and the themes that you need to recognize. For extra credit and a trip to the treasure box, you can also read and report on one of our composer books, or look up more on your own! Click on the following composers or scroll down to read and listen.

Gershwin, Joplin, Copland, Bernstein

George Gershwin was born Jacob Gershwin on Sept. 26, 1898 in what is now Brooklyn, New York. He died in Hollywood, California on July 11, 1937. He parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. The family name had been Gershovitz in Russia, but George anglicized it when he began school. He heard jazz first when he was six, and he was exposed to other forms of music as much as possible. When he was 12, George began to study piano. Gershwin had a major impact on American music. He wrote music for several Broadway musicals, and he blended different styles of music into something that became new. Even after he was a successful composer, George continued to study with people who had a different focus on composition. In 1918, George began his professional career as a pianist for a music publishing company. Paul Whiteman, a famous band leader, was so impressed with Gershwin's work that he commissioned a symphonic opus for the Whiteman orchestra. Rhapsody in Blue, one of Gershwin's most famous works, was written in 1924. George wrote many famous songs with his brother Ira who wrote the lyrics.

Click on the two themes from Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody 1 Rhapsody 2

Scott Joplin was an American composer. He was born on November 24, 1868 in Bowie County, Texas, though there are doubts about the exact date. He was the second of six children. Scott's mother cleaned homes of white people so Scott could have a place to practice his music. By 1882 his mother had purchased a piano. 
He worked as a pianist in the Maple Leaf and Black 400 clubs, both social black clubs for gentlemen. By 1898 Joplin had sold six pieces for the piano.  In 1899, Joplin sold his most famous piece, Maple Leaf Rag  to a music publisher. Joplin received a one-cent royalty for each copy and ten free copies for his own use. This was an odd arrangement, because black composers were often the victims of white publishers taking advantage of their talent. They were often paid a flat rate ($10-$20) and never saw a penny again.It has been estimated the Joplin made $360 per year on the piece in his lifetime.  Joplin's first major composition used the rhythms of a type of music called "ragtime." Ragtime was a combination of folk tunes, African rhythms, and Creole influences. It was played by small groups in the streets of New Orleans. It was like no other music heard before. Joplin's most famous compositions are the Maple Leaf Rag, and The Entertainer, which became popular again when it was heard in the movie The Sting in the 1970s.  He died April 1, 1917. 

Click to hear the themes from The Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer

Aaron Copland was one of America's greatest composers.  He was the 5th child born into a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York. He was born on November 14, 1900. It was not until his teens that Copland began to show an interest in music. He learned to play the piano from his older sister Laurine, and after bothering his father, Copland was allowed to take formal lessons. After his first concert at age 15, Copland decided to become a composer.
When he finished high school, Copland studied harmony and counterpoint through a mail course, a very difficult way to learn music. He dreamt of studying music in France, and for the next several years, he saved his money and practiced. In 1920, went to France and studied composition there for 3 years.
Copland’s early compositions were influenced by jazz. He described this style as symphonic jazz. For a while after that, he wrote more abstract music, but in the 1930’s he started to write music that was simpler and focused on melody. He wanted to bring more music to more people.
Using ideas from American folk music, Copland wrote the ballets Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942), and Appalachian Spring (1944). He composed music for films, a piece called Lincoln Portrait (1942), and El salon Mexico, a piece based on Mexican folk music.

In Appalachian Spring, Copland used the Shaker tune for A Gift to Be Simple, or Simple Gifts.  He used the original tune almost exactly as it had been sung. It is still sung today. Click here Colpand's famous Hoedown, which has been heard in everything from commercials to movies can be heard here.

"Fanfare for the Common Man" was Copland's best known concert opener. He wrote it in response to a request for a musical tribute honoring those engaged in World War II. Click here

Copland was good friends with Leonard Bernstein, famous American conductor and composer.

No figure in 20th century American classical music brought classical music to the public than Leonard Bernstein. He was a widely recognized conductor and composer and a very flamboyant personality.

Bernstein was born in Lawrence, MA, in 1918, the son of Sam Bernstein, a Russian-born businessman. Bernstein seemed destined for a career in business until age ten, when he began playing the piano on his own and got good enough to give lessons to other children, earning enough money to pay for his own lessons when his father refused to indulge in such impractical activities.  During his teens he began staging operas, composing, and playing the piano on a radio show.  He was equally good with popular music and the classics. Bernstein's formal music training began at age 14.

 He attended Harvard, and became very well known at the university for his musical abilities -- all the while playing the piano at every opportunity and writing about music as well. If he had a role model at the time, it was the pianist/composer George Gershwin, whose work -- mixing classical and jazz influences freely – reflected  much of what Bernstein wanted to do with music.

It appeared that Bernstein was destined for a career as a concert pianist, but after seeing conductor Dimitri Mitropouos, Bernstein decided to change from a pianist to the podium.  Bernstein was hired as an assistant conductor by the New York Philharmonic. This was not a glamorous job, mostly he checked out music and had to stand by in case the scheduled conductor on a given evening was unable to appear.

Then lightening struck for Bernstein on the afternoon of November 14, 1943, when the scheduled conductor was suddenly ill, hours before he was to conduct.  As it happened, this was also a radio performance, so millions of listeners got to hear Bernstein take over the performance on only hours' notice.  Instead of following the orchestra, Bernstein added his own interpretations and gave an amazing and inspired performance.