Gershwin & Copland Program Notes

George Gershwin’s An American in Paris

World Premiere December 13, 1928; New York, New York
16 Minutes

George Gershwin’s father immigrated from Russian in 1890, changing his name from Gershovitz.
Gershwin dropped out of school at age 15 to play Tin Pan Alley piano.
Largely self-taught, Gershwin was a brilliant improviser at the piano.

George Gershwin’s An American in Paris is best known as part of the soundtrack to Vincente Minnelli’s 1951 eponymous film. But Gershwin composed it decades earlier in 1928. His score captures the naïveté of the innocent abroad and the joie de vivre of the world’s most romantic city, right down to the din of its traffic.

The music makes it easy to imagine the heady atmosphere of France in the roaring ’20s. Blues and the Charleston were almost as popular in the French capital as they were in the States. In this spirited tone poem, Paris comes alive, allowing us to experience with the composer the curiosity of an eager tourist, the cacophony of honking taxicabs and the surprisingly prevalent influence of American jazz.

Carlos Simon’s Zodiac (World Premiere)

World Premiere June 6, 2025; Jacksonville, FL
20 minutes

Composer notes from Carlos Simon:

I have always been interested in the zodiac signs, and how they correlate to personality traits based on what date you were born. For centuries, these signs have been used to identify the character traits, motivations and life approaches of a person. There are twelve different signs that are grouped into four separate zodiac elements. I have decided to compose an orchestral study on each of the zodiac elements—Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

I. Fire (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius)
These signs are said to be passionate, dynamic and temperamental. They are also known for being bold enthusiastic, and creative. I have written music that is rhythmically syncopated with fast moving gestures in each of the orchestral families. The music changes suddenly in mood to express the capricious character of the fire sign.

II. Water (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces)
Emotional, intuitive and nurturing are all characteristics of these signs. They are known for being deeply in touch with the subconscious, and having a strong sense of empathy and emotional depth. The music imitates the motion of water (much like a barcarole) with slow moving arpeggios in the strings with lyrical motion in the woodwinds.

III. Air (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius)
These signs are said to the intellectual, communicative and social. They are also known for being analytical thinkers and strong communicators. The texture of the music is floaty and ethereal with fast moving passages in the woodwinds. The strings soaring in the high registers to represent these three air signs.

IV. Earth (Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo)
Signs associated with earth are known for being grounded, practical and reliable. They can also be stubborn and unyielding. For this movement I have composed warm consonant harmonies played in the lower strings and swells in the brass to represent the grounding nature of these signs.

Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3

World Premiere October 18, 1946; Boston, Massachusetts
43 Minutes

Like Gershwin, Copland was the child of Russian, Jewish immigrants.
Copland’s music epitomized the American spirit of “mom and apple pie.”
He studied in France with Nadia Boulanger, but his music remained distinctly American.
Several of his wartime compositions were intended to boost morale.
Copland became a mentor to dozens of young American composers.

Copland’s Third Symphony was his largest orchestral work. Starting in the late 1930s, Copland composed the ballets on which his reputation principally rests: Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring (1943-44). With this symphony, he returned to absolute music, bringing with him the lyric spirit of the ballets and their intense flavor of Americana.

Emotionally, the core of the work is its finale, which takes as its starting point Copland’s 1942 Fanfare for the Common Man. The last movement is the only one of the four in sonata form. An atmosphere of prelude permeates the first three movements, heightening the dramatic tension and the psychological impact of the entire symphony.

Copland disclaimed any direct use of folk or popular music in a program note he provided for the 1946 premiere of the symphony: “Any reference to jazz or folk material in this work is purely unconscious.” Still, Latin American rhythms, cowboy prairie songs and New England hymns all left their sympathetic echo in the Copland’s symphony, however unconsciously.

The Symphony opens with a predominantly slow, hymn-like character, a sort of Americanized Mahler style. Copland thought of this movement as an arch. Copland imprints his individuality on it with a thematic kinship to his Fanfare and to certain pastoral sections of Appalachian Spring.

The second movement is more traditional, a tripartite scherzo that relies heavily on the brasses. A march-like theme introduces the military element. Copland’s expanded orchestral palette blossoms with colorful solos for celesta, xylophone and piano.

He emphasizes the idea of extended introduction to the all-important finale by connecting his last two movements, which are played without pause. Brasses are noticeably absent from the slow movement; only solo horn and trumpet make an appearance. A subtle transition leads to the familiar Fanfare music with unexpected tranquility. Flutes and clarinets begin before proud trumpets, horns and timpani proclaim their salute. Copland’s fanfare honors not the hero of battle but the shared efforts of a nation strapped by wartime hardship. Pastoral and military elements settle their differences in the conclusion, moderated by another hymn. Virgil Thomson called this finale “a triumphal affirmation of faith in the pastoral virtues.”

An American in Paris

George Gershwin

Born September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York · Died July 11, 1937, in Beverly Hills, California

Vincente Minnelli’s film An American in Paris, which starred Gene Kelly and introduced Leslie Caron, won the Academy Award® for best picture in 1951. Gershwin’s music provided the basis for its vibrant soundtrack, including such time-honored classics as “Embraceable You,” “By Strauss,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Our Love is Here to Stay.”

The ballet toward the film’s conclusion, danced by Kelly and Caron as a dream sequence, provides the film’s excuse for the 18 minutes of uninterrupted music we know as An American in Paris. Gershwin’s score captures the naïveté of the innocent abroad and the joie de vivre of the world’s most romantic city, right down to the din of its traffic.

A chronological conundrum

Gershwin died in 1937. How then could he compose a film score for a movie that came out in 1951? In this case, the music came first. Gershwin traveled to Paris in 1928 in order to acquire more formal training in composition. He himself was thus the American of the title. Even though he was already a great popular success on New York’s Broadway stage, he wished to develop a command of traditional, classical techniques. To that end, he sought out the French master Maurice Ravel for advice and lessons. Recognizing the originality of Gershwin’s musical voice, Ravel declared that he could teach the young American nothing.

Jazz and taxi horns in the roaring twenties

An American in Paris, which dates from 1928, is a valentine of sorts. After returning to the States, Gershwin told an interviewer:

This new piece, really a rhapsodic ballet, is written very freely … My purpose here is to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere.

Gershwin’s music makes it easy to imagine the heady atmosphere of France in the roaring ’20s. Blues and the Charleston were almost as popular in the French capital as they were in the States. In this spirited tone poem, Paris comes alive, allowing us to experience with the composer the curiosity of an eager tourist, the cacophony of honking taxicabs and the surprisingly prevalent influence of American jazz.

Instrumentation: Three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba; alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; snare drum, wood block, cymbals, bass drum, triangle, two tom toms, four auto horns, xylophone, glockenspiel, timpani, celesta and strings.

Zodiac (World Premiere)

Carlos Simon

Born April 13, 1986, in Washington, D.C.

Composer notes from Carlos Simon:

I. Fire (Aires, Leo and Sagittarius)
These signs are said to be passionate, dynamic and temperamental. They are also known for being bold enthusiastic, and creative. I have written music that is rhythmically syncopated with fast moving gestures in each of the orchestral families. The music changes suddenly in mood to express the capricious character of the fire sign.

Symphony No. 3

Aaron Copland

Born November 14, 1900, in Brooklyn, New York · Died December 2, 1990, in Tarrytown, New York

No European composer could have written Copland’s Third Symphony. It is as American as apple pie, as patriotic as the flag, suffused with the spirit and strength of America’s heartland. Often cited as a prime example of Copland’s so-called “patriotic” period, the Third Symphony manages to retain its dignity without slipping into the histrionics and chauvinism of, say, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

The Third Symphony is Copland’s largest orchestral work. His previous efforts for orchestra included the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra (1924), a Dance Symphony (1925) and the Short Symphony (1931-33). Starting in the late 1930s, Copland composed the series of ballets on which his reputation principally rests: Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring (1943-44). Though these scores were all written for orchestra, the collaborative presence of narrative dance governs their spirit. With the Third Symphony, Copland returned to absolute music. But he brought with him the lyric spirit of the ballets and the intense flavor of Americana that so uniquely stamps each one.

Emotionally, the core of the work is its finale, which takes as its starting point Copland’s 1942 Fanfare for the Common Man. The last movement is the only one of the four in sonata form and is the most traditional in other ways. An atmosphere of prelude permeates the first three movements, heightening the dramatic tension and the psychological impact of the entire symphony. In a 1978 interview with Philip Ramey, Copland observed:

Before the Third Symphony, my so-called grand-manner music was what might be termed lean-grand. The Symphony tends more toward the fat-grand side: I’m thinking now of the orchestration, the longer-lined melody, the duration. This may have come as a surprise to those who were familiar with my previous work.

Copland disclaimed any direct use of folk or popular music in a program note he provided for the 1946 premiere of the symphony: “Any reference to jazz or folk material in this work is purely unconscious.” But Latin American rhythms, cowboy prairie songs and New England hymns have all left their sympathetic echo in the Copland’s symphony, however unconsciously.

The Symphony opens in E-major with a predominantly slow, hymn-like character, a sort of Americanized Mahler style. Copland thought of this movement as an arch. This type of first movement has distinguished precedent in earlier American works by Charles Ives, Virgil Thomson and Roy Harris. Copland imprints his individuality on it with a thematic kinship to his Fanfare and to certain pastoral sections of Appalachian Spring.

The second movement is more traditional, a tripartite scherzo that relies heavily on the brasses. A march-like theme introduces the military element. Copland’s expanded orchestral palette blossoms in this Allegro molto, with colorful solos for celesta, xylophone and piano.

He emphasizes the idea of extended introduction to the all-important finale by connecting his last two movements, which are played without pause. In contrast to the second movement, brasses are noticeably absent from the slow movement. Only solo horn and trumpet make an appearance. A subtle transition leads to the familiar Fanfare music, with unexpected tranquility. Flutes and clarinets begin, before the proud trumpets, horns and timpani proclaim their salute. Copland’s fanfare honors not the hero of battle but the shared efforts of a nation strapped by wartime hardship. Pastoral and military elements settle their differences in the conclusion, moderated by another hymn. Virgil Thomson called this finale, “a triumphal affirmation of faith in the pastoral virtues.”

The Koussevitzky Music Foundation commissioned Copland’s Third Symphony, which bears a dedication to the memory of Natalie Koussevitzky. The work was premiered by the Boston Symphony under the direction of Serge Koussevitzky in November of 1947 and won the New York Music Critics Circle Award that year.

Instrumentation: The Third Symphony is scored for piccolo, three flutes, two oboes, English horn, E-flat clarinet, two B-flat clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, a large battery of percussion requiring four players (they share responsibility on bass drum, tam tam, cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, tenor drum, wood block, snare drum, triangle, slapstick, ratchet, anvil, claves and tubular bells); two harps, celesta, piano and strings.