The Inauguration: The Part That May Have Reminded You Of Your High School Band
Although Williams chose to use the Copland material because President Obama counts that composer among his classical favorites, there’s another significant point here. In 1953, a pre-inaugural concert by the National Symphony Orchestra at Constitution Hall, a concert attended by then president-elect Eisenhower, was to have included a performance of one of Copland’s most popular works, A Lincoln Portrait. But a Republican congressman (from Illinois, by the way) objected, suggesting that Copland was too liberal and maybe even Communist-friendly, so the piece was pulled from the concert. Inserting the touch of Copland into the Obama inauguration, Williams told Variety last week, offers “a completed circle of events that is nice to think about.”
Awesome. Although it’s kind of a bummer that they couldn’t figure out a way to fit Weezer in.
Yo-Yo Ma And Itzak Perlman Perform At The Inauguration [YouTube] Inaugural premiere resonates with Copland [Clef Notes] Weezer – MTV Artist Of The Week – Greatest Man [YouTube]