Aaron Copland Quotes

Aaron Copland was a renowned composer and conductor, particularly known for his contributions to American classical music. His compositions, including "Appalachian Spring" and "Fanfare for the Common Man," captured the essence of American landscapes and folklore, earning him widespread acclaim and recognition as one of America's greatest composers.

You compose because you want to somehow summarize in some permanent form your most basic feelings about being alive, to set down... some sort of permanent statement about the way it feels to live now, today.

Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

To stop the flow of music would be like the stoppi... -Aaron Copland

To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.

A melody is not merely something you can hum.

If a literary man puts together two words about mu... -Aaron Copland

If a literary man puts together two words about music, one of them will be wrong.

Discovering the context

This quote humorously suggests that musicians might have a more intuitive understanding of music than literary writers. Music's emotional and abstract nature can sometimes defy precise description using words alone.

The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.'

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

Aaron Copland Quotes

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