Happy 4th!

Wishing everyone a happy Fourth of July 2008! In honor of our country's birthday, I have included some Aaron Copland music here on the blog. This piece is called Quiet City. I thought it was still appropriate for the holiday, although it is in more of a reflective vein. Copland, along with Charles Ives and Leonard Bernstein, are considered the greatest American composers. There is just something about Copland's music that is undoubtedly "American." He uses intervals of open 4ths and 5ths that seem to evoke, for me at least, the frontier of the American West and all the hope and promise that this symbolized. My first memories of Aaron Copland's music are watching the Philadelphia Orchestra with Riccardo Muti perform his Lincoln Portrait on TV as a kid. Quiet City features a lone trumpeter, which on this recording is played by my Dad's longtime friend Phil Smith, who plays for the New York Philharmonic. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a picture of them together. On this recording, the piece is conducted by Leonard Bernstein. So it's one great American composer conducting another's work. The piece is about ten minutes long.

Personally, I am saddened by the direction our nation seems to be going. However, we are still lucky to live, in the words of a radio talk show personality: in "the greatest nation on God's green earth." And we still have many reasons to celebrate Independence Day this year. So, enjoy your cookouts, parades, and fireworks tomorrow!