Aaron Copland is a unique twentieth-century composer and a great American personality.

Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Copland began early to show his interest in and love for music, and Catherine Owens Peare gives us illuminating glimpses of his first meeting with his harmony and composition teacher; the thrill of attending his first concerts; his growing conviction that music must be his life. We follow Mr. Copland to Europe, where he studied composition with the renowned Nadia Boulanger. We share his exciting associations with the New School of Social Research; the Henry Street Settlement where he composed operas to be performed by children; Tanglewood; Yaddo Saratoga Springs; Woodstock. In addition to creating famous ballets, concertos symphonies, and other compositions he has always encouraged young composers and conductors like Benjamin Britten and Leonard Bernstein.

Catherine Owens Peare writes with warmth and humor, and her carefully researched biography, showing the dedication and effort that go into the making of a great artist, makes fascinating reading.

From the dust jacket