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Full-Text Articles in Political History
Copland And Communism: Mystery And Mayhem, Emilie Schulze
Copland And Communism: Mystery And Mayhem, Emilie Schulze
Musical Offerings
In the midst of the second Red Scare, Aaron Copland, an American composer, came under fire for his communist tendencies. Between the 1930s and 1950s, he joined the left-leaning populist Popular Front, composed a protest song, wrote Lincoln Portrait and Fanfare for the Common Man, traveled to South America, spoke at the Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace, and donated to communist leaning organizations such as the American-Soviet Musical Society. Due to Copland’s personal communist leanings, Eisenhower’s Inaugural Concert Committee censored a performance of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait in 1953. HUAC (The House Committee on Un-American Activities) brought Copland to …
A Somewhat Silent Protest: How Dmitri Shostakovich Used His Music, Not His Words, To Rebel Against The Soviet Government, Michael J. Wood
A Somewhat Silent Protest: How Dmitri Shostakovich Used His Music, Not His Words, To Rebel Against The Soviet Government, Michael J. Wood
The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)
Dmitri Shostakovich composed in an environment which was extremely hostile toward artists—especially those that were innovative. Shostakovich was denounced by the Soviet government and had to be cautious with his compositions. If the government disapproved of his work, they could have killed him, as they did other artists. Shostakovich obviously had to keep his opinions to himself for fear of being killed. Although he had to keep his unfavorable views of the Soviet government private, he found ways to make bold, rebellious statements through his music. This paper will seek to show several pieces in which Shostakovich demonstrated his disapproval …