ABSTRACT
Along with Julia Smith’s monograph, Arthur Berger’s book constituted the bulk of research on Copland until scholarly interest in the composer reemerged around the American bicentennial. Approximately one-third of Berger’s text focuses on Copland’s biography, while the remainder focuses on compositional issues. As a composer, Berger took a more theoretical approach than Smith in his discussion of Copland’s compositions through the beginning of the 1950s. Berger gives an in-depth analysis of the Third Symphony and supports compositional issues-techniques of chord-building, variations, and declamatory style-with musical examples. Includes three appendices: Musical Works, Recordings, and Chronological List of Copland’s Critical Works.
