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Jasonw560 wrote:For who likes "Fanfare for he Common Man", Aaron Copland was a self-avowed communist...

He surrounded himself with those of the progressive ilk.

It is what it is.

To everyone, I wish a very happy and safe 4th of July!

Jasonw560 wrote:For who likes "Fanfare for he Common Man", Aaron Copland was a self-avowed communist.

And goodness knows, despite Copland’s sworn testimony before Congress in 1953 that he was not, and had never been, a communist, he should be labeled as such always...even described as “self-avowed.”

Thousands of Americans were labeled as communists post-war through the late ’50s, including the likes of Nelson Algren, Charlie Chaplin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ruth Gordon, Dashiell Hammett, Lena Horne, Burgess Meredith, Arthur Miller, Dr. Linus Pauling, Edward G. Robinson, Pete Seeger, and Irwin Shaw.

It’s called “McCarthyism,” and it’s been recognized and done with for more than 50 years.

I won’t derail this thread...and I’m certainly no Copland apologist (don’t like much of his stuff, actually). I simply like good music, and have more classical in my collection than anything else.

But there are reasons many consider him to be the composer of archetypal, 20th-century American classical music. “Fanfare” was written in 1942 at the request of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for a patriotic theme in response to the entry of the U.S. into WWII, and was inspired by a famous speech by the then-current Vice President of the United States.

As someone whose people got to these shores shortly after 1735, and have fought in every war this country has ever waged, I’ll stand by my contention that “Fanfare for the Common Man” is an inspirational classic of U.S. patriotism. Find a quality recording, put on the headphones, sit back, and tell me that you don’t hear the resolve, the bravery, the self-sufficiency, and the heart-and-soul commitment that it took to establish and defend this country.

Now back to your regularly scheduled topic...

If spoken-word recordings are permitted:

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And Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," but I can't find a decent YouTube post for it.