Born to Jewish immigrants from Lithuania in Brooklyn on November 14, 1900, Aaron Copland eventually became the most distinctive voice in American music. While many of his early compositions were in the vein of less accessible 20th-century music, Copland gradually grew concerned with this state of affairs. As he writes,
During the mid-1930s, I began to feel an increasing dissatisfaction with the relations of the music-loving public and the living composer. The old ‘special’ public of the modern music concerts had fallen away…. It seemed to me that we composers were in danger of working in a vacuum.
This aesthetic shift led to some of his most beloved compositions, including Fanfare for the Common Man.
In his autobiography, Copland explains the genesis of the composition: “Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had written to me at the end of August about an idea he wanted to put into action for the 1942-43 concert season. During World War I he had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers.” Of the ten fanfares composed, Copland’s is the only one still performed today.
Seeking fanfares that were “stirring and significant contributions to the war effort,” Goosens proposed titles like Fanfare for Soldiers. Inspired by a speech by Vice President Henry A Wallace proclaiming the “Century of the Common Man,” Copland came up with the Fanfare for the Common Man. Goosens wrote to the composer, “Its title is as original as its music, and I think it is so telling that it deserves a special occasion for its performance. If it is agreeable to you, we will premiere it 12 March 1943 at income tax time.” Copland's reply? “I [am] all for honoring the common man at income tax time.” The iconic percussion and majestic brass pay tribute to acts of extraordinary heroism and unite everyday (tax-paying) people who listen to the work and find it universally moving.
