copland-corr0376 Letter from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein, 1947/06/04: a machine-readable transcription. The Aaron Copland Collection Selected and converted. American Memory, Library of Congress.

Washington, DC, 2000.

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 Aaron Copland Music Division, Library of Congress. Used by permission of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., copyright owner. Contact: James M. Kendrick, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., 120 West 45th Street, New York, NY, 10036.

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 2000/10/06

Mexico D.F.June 4 '47

Young charmer!Just received your forwarded Paris letter and I'm dashing a hasty reply on the chance that it will reach you in Holland. It was fun to read the various reactions to the Symph -- including your own. I've decided that it is a tough job to write an almost 40 min. piece which is perfect throughout. Thats about all I'll concede for the moment! You were an angel to struggle with rehearsals at the tail-end of a Festival. The part of your letter I liked best, of course, was your saying you'd like to do it zum States.

Didn't I tell you I was coming to Mexico to conduct the Symph myself? I've had 3 rehearsals already and the concert is still 2 weeks away. My main trouble is: giving cues for entrances. Well anyhow its very good experience and I'm getting a kick out of it. (Kouss said to me before I left "If you ruin MY Symphony I vil keel you.")

All my N.Y. news is probably stale for you by now. Virgil's opera was original-looking on the stage -- noone has ever seen anything quite like it. But I thought there was more music in Four Saints. Its as if a new musical idea hadn't occurred to him in 10 years. The prosody, as per usual, is superb -- but then its easy to have good prosody if you have nothing else on your mind. (I'm quoting myself.)

D[avid] D[iamond?] looked much improved when last I saw him. I suppose Helen Kates told you of our financial crisis which was solved until August.

Bob Shaw did a bee-utiful job with my new chorus. Most people seemed to like it, but the press was only mildly interested. I can't imagine how you'll react to it. Any ho you won't have to conduct it -- since theres nothing but voices. (I decided that Bob's conducting technique derives from the football cheer leader. Or did you say that already?)

I was in Cuba the night you played the Symph. in Prague. Mexico seems so naively serious by comparison. I see Jeremiah on display here in the record shops. Chavez spoke of asking you to come to conduct a week in August. Did he wire you? And just before getting your letter I was talking about you -- (I seem to be always talking about you!) -- with de Spirito and Carrington at lunch. You'll be glad to hear that San Juan de Letran[??] still thrives and that I live one block away.

I'll be at the Stadium concerts. And thank Gawd for Tanglewood so's we can talk -- finally. I've lectures all prepared for you about your City Center programs -- completely disinterested, since I leave for Brazil on Aug. 14. Your ex-mentor sends you an abrazo muy fuerte --

A