Marvelous AMQS on an off-white 11 x 15 musically lined sheet, titled and signed at the head, "Children's Suite from The Red Pony, Morning on the Ranch, Aaron Copland (1948), and inscribed at the foot to the conductor of the Houston Symphony, "Written out for Efrem Kurtz." The impressive, boldly penned piece features four systems of a total 24 staves (including percussion), with tempo and expression markings. Affixed to a slightly larger cardstock sheet and in fine condition.
Copland's The Red Pony was prepared as a score for the 1949 film using the John Steinbeck screenplay based on the 1937 book The Red Pony. "Morning on the Ranch" is the opening piece (of six) in the work; these are the first five bars of the full orchestral score. For the film, the entire composition was played by the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and the suite was premiered in Houston in 1948 in advance of the release of the film. Efrem Kurtz, the recipient of this manuscript was the conductor of the premier as well as the music director with the Houston Symphony from 1948 to 1954, part of a long and illustrious musical career. Clearly this was presented to Kurtz in appreciation of his world premier of the Suite.
Often called 'The Dean of American Music,' Copland had musical influence on the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, and others. He donated all his personal manuscripts and correspondence to the Library of Congress. The rarity of a full-page manuscript such as this is truly an understatement.
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