Cortlandt Manor, NY, October 11, 2008 – On the eve of its 10th Anniversary season, Copland House is proud to announce that Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has declared the restored, longtime New York home of iconic American composer Aaron Copland a National Historic Landmark. This highly-coveted designation is reserved only for properties deemed to be “nationally significant and possessing exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.” Fewer than 2,500 places across the country bear this national distinction, and Copland House is the only site so honored in America associated with a classical music figure. A public ceremony commemorating the designation will take place at Copland House later this year.
“Aaron Copland was among the most beloved and profoundly influential musical figures in American history,” said Copland House Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin. “Beyond being one of our greatest composers, as well as a formidable pianist, conductor, author, lecturer, mentor, and institution builder, Copland’s historic importance rests on his essential role in helping to define and give voice to the sound and spirit of what he called ‘a recognizably American musical idiom’ in concert, ballet, opera, and film. His home and the many programs originating there embody his peerless, lifelong advocacy of American composers and their work. Few honors during our 10th Anniversary season will be more meaningful than this landmark designation.”
COPLAND HOUSE
As the American Record Guide noted in 2002, “Copland’s generosity, gentleness, and a sense of measure live on at Copland House.” The hilltop, prairie-style 1940s home was Copland’s residence for the last thirty years of his life, from 1960 until his death in 1990. Also known as Rock Hill, it is surrounded by three acres of woodland near the Hudson River, and located one hour north of New York City in the Town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County. Copland lived there longer by far than anywhere else, calling it, in an 80th birthday interview in The New York Times, “my hideaway, my solitude.” While there, he worked on his last major compositions (including Connotations for the Lincoln Center Inauguration, Inscape, the score for the film Something Wild, Emblems for wind ensemble, and the Duo for flute and piano), and authored his two-volume memoirs and many articles. From Rock Hill, he traveled the globe as a guest conductor of leading symphony orchestras and revered elder statesman of American music. The house was a destination for two generations of composers, who ventured there for Copland’s advice, support, and friendship, as well as countless scholars, journalists, musicians, dignitaries, and others.
The successful effort to preserve Copland’s home and honor his extraordinary musical and personal legacies began soon after his death with a grassroots coalition of local citizens and Town of Cortlandt officials. The house became operational as a creative center for American music 10 years ago. Copland House is the only composer’s home in the U.S. devoted to nurturing and renewing America’s rich musical heritage through a broad range of musical, educational, public, informational, and electronic-media programs. These include a coveted composer residency program; an acclaimed, touring resident chamber ensemble called Music from Copland House; in-school activities for students from 2nd grade through college; recordings, broadcasts, and Internet projects; and lectures, master classes, workshops, exhibits, film screenings, and other presentations. A 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization, all programs are supported by the nationwide Friends of Copland House. Copland House is open to the public by appointment only.
AARON COPLAND
Aaron Copland was one of the 20th century’s most honored artists. He received three of America’s highest civilian awards (the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, and National Medal of Arts), a Pulitzer Prize, the first Kennedy Center Honors, the Academy Award for Best Original Musical Score (1950, for The Heiress), and dozens of other prizes, foreign decorations, and honorary doctorates. In addition to composing emblematic works that have become deeply embedded in the American consciousness, including Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Lincoln Portrait, he also wrote such modern-day classics as the Short Symphony and Third Symphony, Piano Variations, Piano Fantasy, Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, and Clarinet Concerto, as well as music for film, the stage, and children. He guest conducted major orchestras and appeared as piano soloist all over the world, was an active recording artist, wrote five books and dozens of articles and essays, was the chairman of the composition faculty at the Tanglewood Music Festival for 25 years, represented the United States at numerous international music festivals and forums, and lectured at Harvard University, the New School for Social Research, and elsewhere. As a peerless mentor and champion of American composers, he was also either a founder or a pivotal early supporter of Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center, the American Music Center, American Composers Alliance, Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, League of Composers, and many other organizations that have since become fixtures on the U. S. musical scene.
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS
The National Historic Landmarks program is administered by the National Parks Service. Many of the most renowned historic properties in the nation, such as Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, the Apollo Mission Control Center, Alcatraz, and the Martin Luther King Birthplace are landmarks, illustrating important contributions to the nation’s historical development. National Historic Landmarks are exceptional places. They form a common bond between all Americans. While there are many historic places across the nation, only a small number have meaning to all Americans, and these are officially declared National Historic Landmarks. National Historic Landmarks are buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that have been determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be nationally significant in American history and culture.
Additional information is at www.coplandhouse.org