Today in History: Aaron Copland

Today in History–November 14–the Library of Congress features composer Aaron Copland, born on this day in 1900. Copland created scores that simplified music and expressed the American experience. Learn more about this prolific artist by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more Copland treasures.

Primary sources

• The Aaron Copland Collection (selections from Copland’s music sketches, correspondence, writings, and photographs)
• Fanfare for the Common Man
• More Copland audio
• Copland musical scores
• A bill to provide for the awarding of a special gold medal to Aaron Copland
• About Billy the Kid [ballet] by Aaron Copland
• Notes on a Cowboy Ballet Aaron Copland
• Billy the Kid [musical sketches] (ballet) Aaron Copland
• Two American Music Students Qualify for “Prix de Paris” Richmond Times-Dispatch. (Richmond, Va.), 11 Dec. 1921

Secondary sources

• Aaron Copland timeline: 1900-1990
• Composer Aaron Copland Was Born in Brooklyn, New York
• Copland 75th birthday tributes from colleagues & friends
• Introduction to the Music of Aaron Copland
• Documenting Dance: The Making of Appalachian Spring Library of Congress Magazine September/October 2014 pp. 10-15

Library of Congress blog posts

• Happy Birthday, Copland! In The Muse, November 15, 2010
• Pic of the Week: Happy (Belated) Birthday, Copland! In The Muse, November 15, 2011
• Bill Stepp, Aaron Copland, and “Bonaparte’s Retreat” Folklife Today, November 25, 2013
• Copland as Good Neighbor: Cultural Diplomacy in Latin America During World War II In The Muse, October 2, 2014
• The Candidate’s a Dodger: An Electoral Folksong from Oral Tradition to Aaron Copland Folklife Today September 29, 2016
• More about “The Dodger”: New Evidence about one of Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” Folklife Today October 5, 2016