NPR’s 1980 Interview with Aaron Copland

January 7, 2010

Airing Aaron Copland’s ballet score for Appalachian Spring this morning jogged my memory about this audio piece and I wanted to share it with you: November 12, 2004 – In 1980, iconic American composer Aaron Copland sat down with the late NPR producer and host Fred Calland for a wide-ranging interview. Copland spoke about his music and life, which spanned much of the 20th century. He described the inspirations for his symphonies and other works and spoke of his desire to conduct in addition to composing. Click here to visit this page and chose your preferred way to listen. Three more segments from a 1977 interview with the composer are available through American Public Media’s American Maverick’s project. Click here for their interview listings. You’ll find the interviews with Copland about half-way down the page.