PostClassical: More than Music
“Aaron Copland – American Populist”
PCE’s latest More than Music film explores the odyssey of Aaron Copland, who began as a modernist composer, then turned himself into a populist during the Depression. In the process, Copland migrated to the far left politically – only to be trapped by the Red Scare in the 1950s. Our film features extensive excerpts from the PCE/Naxos DVD “The City” – the classic 1939 documentary, with Copland’s score (his best for film) newly recorded by PCE led by Angel Gil-Ordonez. There is also a re-enactment of Copland’s grilling by Senator Joseph McCarthy (played by Edward Gero).
Join us for a related ZOOM Chat “AARON COPLAND: One Red to Another”
Feb 15, 2021 at 6:30-7:30pm PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Participants will include historians Joseph McCartin and Beth Levy, and actor Ed Gero (who plays Senator Joseph McCarthy in our re-enactment of Copland’s 1953 interrogation by McCarthy and Roy Cohn). Our host is Charles Krause
This event is free. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the link to join the meeting.
Our past projects:
April 19:“Deep River: The Art of the Spiritual” with Kevin Deas
A related blog by Joe: “Harry Burleigh and ‘Cultural Appropriation'”
May 3: “Shostakovich and the State” with Solomon Volkov
A related blog by Joe: “Why Did Shostakovich Join the Party?”
May 10: “Shostakovich in Time of War” produced by Behrouz Jamali
A related blog by Joe: “Music in Wartime”
May 31: “The Russian Gershwin,” produced by Behrouz Jamali”
A related blog by Joe: “Porgy Takes a Knee: Porgy and Bess and the American Experience of Race”
June: “FDR’s New Deal and the Arts: The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River — What can they teach us today?”
A related blog by Joe: “The New Deal, the Arts, and Race”
August: “Redes Lives!”
A related blog by Joe: “The Artist and the State”
September: “Dvorak’s New World Symphony – A Lens on the American Experience of Race”
A related blog by Joe: “Dvorak and the American Experience of Race – An Antidote to ‘Checkbox Diversity'”
January: “Beyond Psycho – The Musical Genius of Bernard Herrmann”
A related blog by Joe: “Copland and Populism”
At a moment when America’s performing arts institutions are challenged not merely to continue to function, but to function in new ways, PCE undertakes a series of films linked to zoom chats – “PostClassical: More than Music” — exploring the role of music in society.
This initiative comes easily to us, as our programming typically focuses on music as an instrument for mutual understanding and human betterment.
Our two most recent projects, before the virus changed everything, were An Armenian Odyssey, at the Washington National Cathedral, and Furtwangler in Wartime, via WWFM. The former explored the power of music to forge inspirational cultural synergies. The latter explored the power of music to “bear witness” during World War II.
We began our new “More than Music” films with Deep River: The Art of the Spiritual, in which we were joined by PCE Resident Artist Kevin Deas.
Future programs in this series will include “Dvorak and America,” for which we will be partnered by Howard University. The topics at hand are “What is the role of culture in a nation’s life?” and “Who is an American?”
We look forward to seeing you again. In the meantime, please be well.
Joe and Ángel
PostClassical: More than Music
Produced by PostClassical Ensemble
in collaboration with David Osenberg for WWFM the Classical Network
Hosted by Bill McGlaughlin
With Joe Horowitz, Ángel Gil-Ordoñez, and special guests
Studio engineer: Bill Siegmund
Film and visual presentations: Behrouz Jamali
