November Composer Birthdays

This month we celebrate two highly influential composers of the first half of the 20th century: Aaron Copland (b. 11.14.1900) and Benjamin Britten (b. 11.22.1913). Both paved the way for creating sonorities that were later considered characteristic of their cultures (American and British, respectively). In addition, both of these composers wrote music that was accessible to the amateur music listener as well as the intellectual musician.

Aaron Copland was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He studied with famous French teacher and composer Nadia Boulanger, as did many of his contemporaries. Boulanger in fact said that Copland was her best student! Copland’s works vary from the eclectic twelve-tone system of music to the definitive “American” sound he created. Check out his symphonic works Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man for this culturally American flavor:

Many of our own Center Stage teachers are graduates of the Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens, NY!

Benjamin Britten was a British composer known for his range of orchestral, choral, operatic and solo works. His music can seem odd at first, but with a second listening, one finds that it is deep and at times either very playful or very dark. His work Rejoice in the Lamb is a choral staple among high school and college choirs. His War Requiem and opera Peter Grimes are both ranked as some of the best works in their genres, respectively. In addition, his orchestral piece Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a wonderful introduction to learning about the instruments of a symphonic orchestra: