Aaron Copland - Piano Fantasy

Aaron Copland’s Piano Fantasy is one of his first extensively serial works and is his most ambitious for piano. It was composed over a period between 1951 and 1957. In his own words, Copland described his Fantasy as “a spontaneous and unpremeditated sequence of ‘events’ that would carry the listener irresistibly (if possible) from first note to last, while at the same time exemplifying clear if somewhat unconventional structural principles.” Although the Fantasy incorporates twelve-tone technique, some areas dip in and out of tonality, while other sections exude traces of jazz.

Similarly to the Piano Variations (1930) and Piano Sonata (1941), the Piano Fantasy is a piece of absolute music conceived in a different manner than the populist and folk-inspired Americana from the time of the New Deal for which Copland is most known and appreciated. The piece was originally commissioned as a solo piano composition for the young pianist William Kapell to perform. Meanwhile, William Schuman, on behalf of Juilliard School, also commissioned a work for the school’s fiftieth anniversary. In response to the Juilliard commission, Copland began work on a cantata. Kapell’s sudden death in a plane crash and the failure of the cantata to materialize led to Copland redirecting the solo piano piece to complete the commission. The Piano Fantasy was completed one year too late for the anniversary, and premiered in 1957.

At half an hour long and packaged in a single movement without pause, it is perhaps Copland’s most challenging work for the genre. Even Copland, who premiered most of his own piano works, claimed that the Fantasy was beyond his abilities.
Date: 1957
Dedicatee: William Kapell
Performer: Peter Vinograde on piano

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Видео Aaron Copland - Piano Fantasy канала Le Sheet Music Boi