There are six official Aaron Copland ballets including his seminal works Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Billy the Kid. Other Copland ballets are much less well known. These include the vampire ballet Grohg (a student work completed in 1925 that has never been performed as a dance), Hear Ye Hear Ye (a court room drama from 1934) and Dance Panels (a piece originally composed for Jerome Robbins in 1959, that was never fully conceived).
Many other Copland works have been choreographed including the Piano Variations, the Clarinet Concerto and Quiet City.
Recently, Justin Peck of the New York City Ballet rechoreographed Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Billy the Kid into a new hour long work called Copland Dance Episodes.
A Nightingale sings but Copland doesn’t dance – Barbara Hannigan in Copenhagen
Barbara Hannigan is a superstar of classical music and a one off. A generational talent who sings and conducts at the same time – seemingly using every fibre of her being to communicate the...
Appalachian Spring MUSA Edition – a long overdue review
Once in a while a book is published that completely fills a void. That is certainly the case with Appalachian Spring Original Ballet Version produced by Music of the United States of America (MUSA)...
Copland Dance Episodes – A New Ballet by Justin Peck – Review
At the beginning of Copland Dance Episodes, the “new” ballet choreographed by Justin Peck of New York City Ballet, the entire company is on stage stood statuesque whilst individually clothed in a fleece mesh....
Soto/Scholz/Schröder – Copland’s Clarinet Concerto – Ballet Premiere – Review
It was with a great deal of anticipation and just a little bit of trepidation that I travelled to Leipzig last weekend to see a new ballet version of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. The well-loved...
“Quiet City” as an artistic response to the COVID-19 pandemic
If you have ever been moved by the Copland’s 1940 master work Quiet City you will be absolutely blown away by this wonderful collaborative response to Covid-19 between Winston-Salem Symphony, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance,...
Jon James of the Bristol Ensemble on Appalachian Spring
Jon James (presenter and creative workshop leader) of the Bristol Ensemble shares his love of Appalachian Spring during the Covid-19 Lockdown. There is lots of great insight here especially the bit at the start...
Happy 75th Birthday Appalachian Spring! Allan Schiller plays Simple Gifts
To mark the 75th anniversary of the premiere of Appalachian Spring – this monumental achievement of music and dance, Allan Schiller plays the Simple Gifts variations. To find out more about Allan Schiller and...
Is the 75th Birthday of Appalachian Spring going to pass unnoticed? Not on my watch!
Appalachian Spring is a pivotal work of 20th century music. In a collaboration that was made in heaven, it brought together two giants of composition and choreography, Aaron Copland and Martha Graham just at...
Dance Panels – A Copland Greatest Hits Collection
Dance Panels is virtually a Copland Greatest Hits collection! It comprises seven short contrasting pieces that showcase the many different facets of Copland’s composition style. It was originally intended to be a ballet, commissioned...
Is this the best version of Appalachian Spring? It is for me
When it comes to Copland, for me, more means more! This goes against Copland’s own view – he wanted to make every note count and was quite reductionist in his approach to composing. Many...
