Aaron Copland

Richard Kostelanetz has edited over 40 collections of essays on American culture, ranging in subject matter from avant-garde fiction to collections of critical writings on John Cage and Frank Zappa. He is also a published critic, writer, and artist.

"These aren't just two superb source books about cornerstone figures in American music, they are, themselves, indelible contributions to the very idea of American culture and how it got that way." -- Buffalo News

• PrefaceEditor's IntroductionComposer from BrooklynI: The Life of MusicA Note on Young ComposersMusic Between the WarsAmerican Music Since 1930Influence of Jazz on Modern MusicOpera and Music DramaMusic in the MoviesMusic and the TheaterThe Composer and ConductorASCAP and the Symphonic ComposerA Tribute to Nadia BoulangerII. Composers and PerformersThe Ives CaseThe Younger Generation of American Composers 1926-1959George AntheilLeonard BernsteinIn Memory of Marc BlitzsteinStephan WolpeRosza and HermannIII. Guggenheim RecommendationsEssays written in support of Guggenheim applicants in musicIV. His Own WorksAppalachian SpringBilly the KidCompositional PhasesComposing for Something WildJazz and Folk Influences, 1947-63Oedipus RexPiano FantasyV. His Journals and DiariesFrom a Composer's NotebookFrom a Composer's JournalPreviously Unpublished Diaries