A few things you should know about Copland and "Billy the Kid":

Aaron Copland (Aaron Copland), American composer, the first to be A composer who believes that his music creation shows a distinct American flavor.

Copland was originally from Russia. Unlike some other composers who moved to the United States and later became American citizens, Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1900.

Around 1900, the United States was experiencing internal economic crises and was showing a trend of expansion externally; the year 1900 was not an auspicious number for China, because the Eight-Power Allied Forces came and the Empress Dowager Cixi ran away; in 1900, the entire United States The world has lost two great people, one is the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and the other is the writer and poet Oscar Wilde.

As Copland studied music, the influence of modernism gradually expanded. While in Paris, he was deeply influenced by composers such as Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky.

Copland's first work was the "Organ Symphony" written in 1924. After the premiere of this work, Copland was dismissed as a believer in dissonance, as if a composer wrote this Scarier than the devil. The famous conductor Walter Damrosch once said: "If you write something like this when you are only 23 years old, you will kill people in five years."

But there are people who like this kind of thing. Young people with big ideas and courage. Also a famous conductor, Sergey Koussevitzky asked Copland to write orchestral music and conducted the premiere of his works in 1927.

Who is Damrosh? Who is Koussevitzki? They are not vegetarians anyway. The premiere of Gershwin's "An American in Paris" was conducted by Damrosch in 1928 with the New York Philharmonic; Koussevitzky conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time in 1908 and began to lead the Boston Symphony in 1924. group.

Most of Copland's dance music is the result of collaboration with American female dancer Martha Graham.

Martha Graham - This is a god-like name. Her dance concept is fundamentally different from traditional ballet. She is the founder of modern dance and is known as the mother of modern dance.

Pop singer Madonna once wrote in her memoirs that Martha Graham is the embodiment of humor, wisdom and creativity, and always has a pioneering spirit and the courage to rebel against tradition.

The modern dance company founded by Martha Graham in 1910 is still active on the world stage and has performed in Beijing many times in recent years.

Copeland never gave up his pursuit of abstract musical language during his music creation process, but he also tried to get closer to the United States. In "Billy the Young Man", he used a lot of western folk songs. His ingenious use of jazz material led him to eventually label his work "American Music."

The one-act ballet "Billy the Young Man" was created in 1938. As for the plot, well, it's very grounded and down-to-earth. It's the story of a street gangster's escape after committing murder.

"...My interest has always been to connect music with my life." - Copland For many, many years, there has been a legend circulating in the vast western United States. The protagonist of the legend, Billy He is a young, bold and misbehaving vagabond. During the gold rush era in the United States, he moved westward with his parents to Mexico City, where he grew up.

I introduced music to many girls around me, because four years ago, when I was a junior in college, I was ugly, fat, and had no temperament. During a trip to Shanghai, I sat in the subway station for an hour and I felt very sad. I was disappointed, and when I saw someone walking in front of me wearing high heels, dressed exquisitely, and full of aura, floating past me like the wind, I began to ask myself, I am also a woman, how can I be so ordinary and slovenly?

So, I was eager to change and want to become beautiful. I began to improve myself from internal temperament accumulation to external fitness and dressing. At that time, I saw the author in a book saying that I often listen to classical music. It will enhance your temperament and help you become beautiful.

I remember that I specially wrote it in that little notebook and started to practice it. I first searched for and listened to the songs that were familiar to the public, and then started searching for composers one by one.

There was also a music radio app recommended by a foreign teacher. One of the frequencies in it was classical music appreciation. At that time, I started to learn on my own and learned about different types of music and composers.

I was deeply impressed by "Adagio of Spartacus", "Dance of Time", "Petrushka", "Orfeo and Eurydice", and all kinds of dance music. Personality, great.

Later I graduated and worked in a magazine. At that time, my boss gave me an opportunity to interview the pianist Mr. Lang Lang. I remember that the interview went very smoothly at the beginning, and I even tried to chat with Mr. Lang Lang. A few classical music questions.

Aaron Copland, a famous American composer, was born in Brooklyn, USA, and his ancestral home is Russia. He is known as the "Father of American Music".

Copland's dance music orchestral suite "Billy the Young Man" is one of the three major dance music pieces created by Copland.

Listening notes of "Young Man Billy" based on the background of audio and text introduction:

At the beginning, the music is as bright as the moon tonight, as bright as snow. The moonlight shines softly on the earth, and the breeze from the window caresses this face, tender and quiet!

In the soothing melody, Billy and a group of friends are wandering and playing in the streets of the emerging United States. They are proud of the spring breeze. What appears in the picture is part of the scene in "Once Upon a Time in America"; after getting into trouble, it is a bit blunt. , stood around for a while, some partners were discussing countermeasures, you said something to me.

Then, the music becomes provocative and playful, like small animals looking for food or playing hide and seek under the moonlight, sometimes happily, sometimes looking at each other lovingly! Moreover, this warm scene was broken by several fierce and nervous roars of timpani, maybe it was a kind of chase!

It seemed that Billy was a little nonchalant, but his triumphant energy was gone, and the music gradually faded away. As he hid and thought about something, the big drum sounded and the xylophone (?) started playing. Run quickly, you can’t run away, " "Cops and robbers" chase and fight with each other...

It seems to hear a bit of Little Peter in "Billy the Young Man", the clarinet simulates the timbre of the reed flute, and the theme appears at about 4 minutes, 5 minutes and 50 seconds The left and right themes reminded me of Little Peter in a few places, but not after that.

The oboe was ticking like a suona~ After listening to three pieces, I thought it was the young man dreaming, but later I thought it was the process of growing up. When the timpani came out, it scared the baby to death and couldn't stand it. If it was the sound of cannons, It's too big. Shooting in the crowd? The author is too heavy-handed.

The trumpet melody at the back is indeed American, and it uses too many elements. One such piece of music is enough for a lifetime. Finished too hard. I just got home after drinking and was ready to go to sleep after listening to it. I didn't expect that the music was so exciting.

For listeners like me, I want to know when to listen. I recommended it to work a few days ago and it was very comfortable. Enjoyed it too. The sound of the cannon was too loud~

The trumpet melody that follows is very beautiful, the theme of the gun battle and the more humorous rhythm that follows are very interesting and make people laugh. The orchestration of the whole work is rich in color, melody and rhythm. It’s all unforgettable once heard.

Why is there such a funny and humorous meaning in the music that follows? Does it mean that Billy ran away? In the end, he still didn't escape.

As a result, the music became soothing and the quiet scene reappeared. Yes, today's music is really "drunk to death"! People can't help but think of the poem "People have joys and sorrows, separation and reunion, the moon waxes and wanes, and it is difficult to restore the past at this time"! .

When I listened to it, I felt ups and downs, including happiness, calmness, tension, and a little bit of sadness. What I pictured in my mind was a ship sailing from the upper reaches to the estuary, but at the end, I realized that this is a story of a street gangster on the run. This is the so-called beauty of music! Give everyone space to imagine, connect people from different time and space regions, and create a buzz.

Can you hear a trace of helplessness and regret? A little nostalgia for freedom? However, everything was a foregone conclusion, and the drums and drums started to sound and stopped.

At that time, I was reading literary works about Mu Xin. Mu Xin talked about Orpheus, the musical genius in Greek mythology, falling in love with Eurydice, Orpheus singing, and Eurydice singing. Dick's accompaniment. When Eurydice was bitten by a poisonous snake, Orpheus went to hell to rescue Eurydice, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Orpheus was alone and no longer played the lyre. He was later killed by a drunkard and thrown into a pool. He calls his wife with his mouth, but leaves his harp on the shore. Mu Xin said that Mozart is the happy, peaceful, auspicious and bright side of Orpheus, while Chopin is the sad, self-love, longing and nostalgic side.

When reading literary works and appreciating classical music complement each other, it is the most wonderful enjoyment!

Of course, my level is very limited, but I still received friendly encouragement from Mr. Lang Lang, and the manuscript was written smoothly. It was a very unforgettable experience in my life.

I still have to learn too much, and understand more types of music, composers, performers, and musical instruments. There is a lot of professional knowledge, which is indeed very difficult for me without any knowledge of music theory, but I I will still work hard. I think as long as I open music every day, I will say hi to a better life.

Classical music has indeed given me a temperament and made me more beautiful. Many people around me call me a goddess. Yesterday There was also a niche custom-made jewelry company that invited me to be their model for a series of videos.

In addition, I also passed on the method of becoming beautiful without going under the knife to the female friends around me, and told them the magical power of classical music.