Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Quartet for Piano and Strings (1950)

Aaron Copland encountered the music of Schoenberg in the 1920s and experimented briefly with the 12-tone method in “Poet’s Song,” a setting of an e.e. cummings text, which he composed in 1927. He did not go any further in this direction, however, and during the 30s and 40s he seems to have regarded 12-tone music as a particularly “German” style and thus not very promising for an American composer. After Germany’s defeat in World War II Copland took another, longer look at the possibilities of serialism. Jennifer DeLapp argues that, as Copland came under increasing politcal pressure, serialism, a style vigorously condemned by the Communist party and the Soviet regime, offered Copland a way to distance himself from his Communist associations and associates of the 1930s and 40s, without naming any names or abandoning his left-wing beliefs.

Copland said that the piano quartet, composed in 1950, was his first 12-tone piece. And indeed it opens with a 12-tone row on which all three movements are based. The row, however, is quite different from anything Schoenberg ever used.

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It begins with a descending whole-tone scale, breaks off after 5 notes, embarks on another whole-tone scale, this time ascending, The last two intervals are fourths and fifths, and at the end, instead of the 12^th chromatic pitch, Copland ends by repeating the opening note. The row doesn’t reach the 12^th pitch until the end of the movement. This is a row with familiar scales and strong triadic possibilities.

For the most part Copland employs his row melodically. Inversions, retrogrades and transpositions are freely used; but because the whole tone scales occur in all forms and are strikingly audible, the row remains in the foreground as a melody. Row forms remain within single voices and are treated in strict and very audible counterpoint. As the movement becomes more agitated (m.60 ff) Copland begins to use only 6 notes of the row, producing a sort of stretto effect.

Copland is at no pains to avoid consonances or triads; indeed he often contrives to end phrases with what amount to cadences on triads: e.g. m. 13, c-minor; m.17, C-major; m.29, F-major. Not surprisingly, then, the Piano Quartet sounds a good deal like Copland’s previous non-serial music.

Here is a magic square for the Piano quartet. Remember that the 12^th note isn’t heard until the end, so retrogrades begin on pitch #11.

I₀

I₁₀

I₈

I₆

I₄

I₁

I₃

I₅

I₇

I₂

I₉

I₁₁

P₀

R₀

P₂

R₂

P₄

R₄

P₆

R₆

P₈

R₈

P₁₁

R₁₁

P₉

R₉

P₇

R₇

P₅

R₅

P₁₀

R₁₀

P₃

R₃

P₁

R₁

RI₀

RI₁₀

RI₈

RI₆

RI₄

RI₁

RI₃

RI₅

RI₇

RI₂

RI₉

RI₁₁