Any thoughts today from the List on this, the centenary day of the birth
of Aaron Copland?  Favorite works, performances, observations?

As a clarinettist in my younger days, how I dreamed of playing the Clarinet
Concerto, or at the very least the solos in "El Salon Mexico".....

Sometimes I get the impression that his works in the "Americana" vein
(for want of a better term) are now viewed as naive or pollyannish in this
cynical age.  Sometimes they do seem to overshadow his many other serious
works, including the later ones that delve into the atonal.  But am I
right in sensing that there's something in the Billy the Kids, the Rodeos,
the Appalachian Springs, that seems to "connect" with many music loving
Americans who've ever considered the nature of their country's history
and heritage?

Certainly just listening to so many of Copland's works makes me feel
completely "American," even with my heritage coming from a very distant
place. And I have often wondered what impressions folks from other
countries get when they listen to this music, with their own cultures
and backgrounds coloring their views.  While I can thrill to and feel
the sense of pride that people from other lands must get from their
"national" music (Smetana's "Ma Vlast" being one of my own personal
favorites), I don't claim connect to it in the same visceral way that
Copland's music does to me as an American.

Thoughts, especially from our international List members?

Bill H.