American Musicians

Aaron Copland was born on November 14,1900 in Brooklyn New York to parents of Jewish and Eastern European descent. The youngest of five children Copland went to develop an interest in the piano. He went to study piano and composition and studying in Europe for some time. He became one of the century's foremost composers with highly influential music that had a distinctive blend of classical, folk and jazz idioms. Some of Copland's most prominent pieces included Fanfare for the Common Man, El Salon Mexico and Appalachian Spring, for which he won the Pulitzer. An Oscar-winning writer of film scores as well, Copland died on December 2, 1990.