“Many years ago, Samuel Barber introduced me to Aaron Copland.” On the eve of a mini-Corigliano festival presented by Music from Copland House, John Corigliano reflects on that fateful meeting. “When I met him, I was not a young composer just starting out. He knew my music and treated me as a colleague. He was very complimentary. Afterwards, I visited with him several times and we would talk about many things.”
He continues, “Copland was a kind man with a sweet tone and he influenced me and many other composers. I was particularly taken with his philosophy on composition as it was and is my own — music should say something, in a clear manner not masked by complexity, but stated simply to connect and share with the listener.” As a testament to Copland, Corigliano proudly sits on the Board of the Copland Fund.
The all-Corigliano weekend runs 2-4 December. Corigliano and the Music from Copland House ensemble travel to Princeton on the 2nd and 3rd with the portrait series “Snapshots and Legacies: The Music of John Corigliano,” followed on the 4th by Copland House’s “Composers Hour” at the Paramount Theater in Peekskill, NY. Pianist and Copland House artistic/executive director Michael Boriskin enthuses, “John’s music vividly evokes the joys, sorrows, mysteries, and magic of our lives and the world around us. And it’s great fun to play! Those are two reasons why his work connects so strongly with both listeners and performers.”
