Quiet City
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

THE STORY

In a 1939 letter to music critic and fellow composer Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland wrote of his challenges writing music for theatrical productions, noting, “my career in theater has been a flop—through no fault of my own I hasten to add.” Copland’s incidental music for Quiet City, an experimental play by Irwin Shaw planned for Broadway, was just one of the works Copland had in mind when he wrote his letter to Thomson.

Through a confusing mix of fantasy and realism, Shaw’s play told the story of two brothers: one who had renounced his Jewish heritage to pursue materialism and social status, and the second, a nervous and frustrated man who sought to reawaken his brother’s conscience through his trumpet playing. As Copland remembers, the play consisted of the first brother imagining “the night thoughts of many different people in the city” interspersed with recollections of his brother’s trumpet. While the first brother ultimately chooses to remain in his state of estrangement, the trumpet remains a symbol—as Copland insists, “wonderfully clear, wonderfully promising, wonderfully triumphant.”

The play foundered upon its opening; the producers cut their losses early, allowing only two performances of the work before it was pulled on account of poor reception. Despite the play’s failure, Copland decided to rework his incidental music into a short suite for English horn, trumpet, and string orchestra, giving the work a life of its own independent of its failed dramatic context.

LISTEN FOR

• The grandiose trumpet flourishes of the initial section, almost recitative-like in their fluidity of declamation
• The wistful English horn melodies in the second section—such plaintive expression is not often associated with Copland, but nevertheless produces quite a memorable effect
• The expanding range of the string section as the climax is approached—the lower registers gradually descend further and further in pitch, while the violins soar to ever-increasing heights

INSTRUMENTATION

English horn, trumpet, strings