Copland
Aaron Copland (1900–1990) was an American composer who created a distinctly American orchestral sound through works like Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Rodeo.
In Depth
Copland studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and returned to the United States determined to forge a national musical identity. His "populist" works of the late 1930s and 1940s — the ballets Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring — used open harmonies, wide intervals, and folk-like melodies that came to define the sound of the American West in music.
His earlier and later works are considerably more austere, including the Piano Variations and the twelve-tone Connotations. He was also an influential teacher, author, and advocate for American music. His Fanfare for the Common Man, written during World War II, remains one of the most recognized pieces of American concert music.
Copland's open fifths and spare textures became so synonymous with the American frontier that film composers still imitate his style whenever a Western landscape appears on screen.