The Principled Brand Strategist

This chapter examines the Cold War experience of composer Aaron Copland. It argues that after suffering at the hands of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his cronies in the early 1950s, Copland reoriented himself. He not only turned away from musical Americanism as a composer but also took advantage of op...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Sound of a Superpower
Main Author Ansari, Emily Abrams
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Oxford University Press 26.07.2018
Subjects
Cold War
cultural exchange
Joseph McCarthy
cultural diplomacy
Aaron Copland
Old Left
State Department
musical Americanism
serialism
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Summary:This chapter examines the Cold War experience of composer Aaron Copland. It argues that after suffering at the hands of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his cronies in the early 1950s, Copland reoriented himself. He not only turned away from musical Americanism as a composer but also took advantage of opportunities to tour overseas for the State Department, both to remove the taint of leftism from his image and to politically neutralize the Americanist style. Yet Copland’s Cold War choices were not simply a strategic response to a radically altered political landscape. Both his work with government and his musical works from this period show his enduring commitment to a set of strong personal principles that shaped his compositions, his writings, and his cultural diplomacy work across his long career. Copland’s ability to stay true to what he believed in ensured he never succumbed to cynicism, as did many other members of the Old Left.
ISBN:9780190649692
0190649690
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190649692.003.0005