Contact: Sunny Mindel/Brenda Pérez (212) 788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today kicked-off Copland 2000, a series of national and international events celebrating the life and works of legendary composer Aaron Copland. Widely considered one of America's greatest composers, Aaron Copeland, a native New Yorker, would have turned 100 in November 2000. The global celebration of Copland's life will showcase his pioneering achievements in developing and refining a distinctive American style captured in such groundbreaking works as Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid.
Joining the Mayor for the kick-off were: Schuyler Chapin, Commissioner of Cultural Affairs; Kurt Masur, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic; and Linda Golding, President of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., the music publishing firm responsible for organizing Copland 2000.
"Aaron Copland's contribution in shaping the American musical landscape can be felt not just in the instantly recognizable masterpieces and classics he composed, but in the artists he inspired to develop their own distinctive American style," the Mayor said. "New York City is a fitting place to launch Copland 2000, as Aaron Copland was as much a New Yorker as he was the embodiment of the American Dream. I urge all New Yorkers to explore Copland's work by partaking in the numerous events that will take place throughout the City celebrating his legacy as part of Copland 2000."
Cultural Affairs Commissioner Schuyler Chapin said, "Today, we celebrate Aaron Copland, whose life spans this, the American century, and whose name is synonymous with American music."
Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn on November 14, 1900, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He became one of the most celebrated cultural figures in United States history, recognized with such high honors as the Pulitzer Prize for Appalachian Spring, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center Award, among many other awards. He was also president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Society of Arts in England and helped found the American Composers Alliance. He was the first American composer to serve as Norton Professor of Poetics at Harvard and, for twenty-five years, was a leading faculty member at the Berkshire Music Center. In 1982, Queens College of the City University of New York established the Aaron Copland School of Music in his honor. Aaron Copland received over 40 honorary doctorates from colleges and universities. He died in North Tarrytown, New York on December 2, 1990.
For more information about upcoming Copland 2000 events, contact Boosey & Hawkes at 212-358-5300.