Return to search

The Whole as a Result of Its Parts: Assembly in Aaron Copland's Score for The Red Pony

Aaron Copland's music for The Red Pony (1948-49), based on John Steinbeck's story collection, is probably the best known of his film scores. The effectiveness of The Red Pony score stems from Copland's belief that film music should be subordinate to the film it accompanies. Copland composed The Red Pony score using his self-described method of "assembly," augmenting this process with devices to synchronize the music with the picture. Examination of archival sources shows how the score reflects the acknowledged influence of Igor Stravinsky, the needs of the film medium, and the plot of The Red Pony specifically. Despite Copland's modern style characteristics, the music functions much like a conventional Hollywood film score.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc4195
Date05 1900
CreatorsMcGinney, William Lawrence
ContributorsCooper, J. Michael, Illari, Bernardo, McKnight, Mark, 1951-, Notley, Margaret Anne
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Copyright, McGinney, William Lawrence, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Page generated in 0.0018 seconds