Placing music within a historical context illuminates some of the variables that characterize a piece like "Rite of Spring." Understanding the cultural, political, and military events taking place during the composer's lifetime is essential to understanding the music. Although analyzing classical pieces can prove difficult because of shifting time signatures, counterpoint, and layering of sounds, I am now much more able to distinguish between different styles and composers. The course content has awoken my mind and my ears to rhythms and melodies and I look forward to exploring Western classical music more in-depth. For example, pieces like "Rite of Spring" have made their way into movies and therefore continue...
(2008). "Getting Hooked on the 'Rite' Sound." NPR MUSIC. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9041627
Kelly, T. (1999). "Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." NPR Online. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 from Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring"
Revolutions in Music: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring." (2006). PBS.org. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.pbs.org/keepingscore/topicfeature2.html
Thomas, M.T. (2006). "Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring." San Francisco Symphony. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.keepingscore.org/flash/stravinsky/index.html
References
Alsop, M. (2008). "Getting Hooked on the 'Rite' Sound." NPR MUSIC. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9041627
Kelly, T. (1999). "Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." NPR Online. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 from Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring"
Revolutions in Music: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring." (2006). PBS.org. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.pbs.org/keepingscore/topicfeature2.html
Thomas, M.T. (2006). "Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring." San Francisco Symphony. Retrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.keepingscore.org/flash/stravinsky/index.html
Besides other awards, he was given a special Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in 1986-87. Copland left an endowment from his estate to a Fund for Composers, which gives $600,000/annum to promote new compositions and performances (Congressional Gold Medial Receipients; Trudeau; Pollack, 548; Rockwell). Musical Examples Copland was an active composer of numerous genres from 1925 to the mid-1960s. His works expressed a new semblance of Americana so