Our Town

• In 1940, Copland completed his score for the film, Our Town, based on the play by Thornton Wilder. Interestingly, Copland was the third choice for scoring the movie behind Virgil Thomson and George Antheil. Fortunately, Copland’s music was well-received and received an Oscar nomination.¹
• Regarding his score, Copland explained the following:

“For the film… they were counting on the music to translate the transcendental aspects of the story. I tried for clean and clear sounds and in general used straight-forward harmonies and rhythms that would project the serenity and sense of security of the story.”²

• In 1944, Copland produced an orchestral suite adapted from the film score. That same year, the Boston Pops premiered the suite with Leonard Bernstein conducting. Copland dedicated the score of the suite to Bernstein.³

1. Neil Lerner, “Copland, Aaron,” Grove Music Online (2018), accessed September 27, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-3000000119.
2. Vivian Perlis, “Our Town: Version for Orchestra,” Aaron Copland (1998), accessed September 27, 2022, https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/our-town-suite/.
3. Michael Steinberg, “Copland: Music from the Film Our Town,” San Francisco Symphony (2017), accessed September 27, 2022, https://www.sfsymphony.org/Data/Event-Data/Program-Notes/C/Copland-Music-from-the-Film-Our-Town.