Aaron Copland Quotes

1900–1990 United States

Aaron Copland (November 14 1900 – December 2 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. Instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, he was widely known as “the dean of American composers.”

United States
Composers
Educators

Also known as: Copland, Aaron

Random Aaron Copland quote

8 quotes

I hope my recordings of my own works won't inhibit other people's performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn't always get the exact tempo one wants, although one improves with experience.

The melody is generally what the piece is about.

So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it.

Music as an Aspect of the Human Spirit (1954)

If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles.

The composer who is frightened of losing his artistic integrity through contact with a mass audience is no longer aware of the meaning of the word art.

I adore extravagance but I abhor waste.

I don't compose. I assemble materials.

For me, the most important thing is the element of chance that is built into a live performance. The very great drawback of recorded sound is the fact that it is always the same. No matter how wonderful a recording is, I know that I couldn't live with it--even of my own music--with the same nuances forever.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Aaron Copland (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.