THE YADDO MUSIC FESTIVALS, 1932–52
“I have come to the conclusion that a Music Conference must include music. That is to say, musicians are not literary people and would not understand a coming together for the sake of talking about music. A certain amount of music-making therefore seems to me to be necessary.” —Aaron Copland to Elizabeth Ames, July 10, 1931
In the midst of a 1930 visit to Yaddo—during which he finished his “Piano Variations”—composer Aaron Copland conceived of a festival of contemporary American music to be held at Yaddo. In the two years that followed, Copland worked closely with Yaddo’s board and director to realize his vision: a festival where American classical music would take center stage. By the spring of 1932, the first Yaddo Music Festival was a reality. Between 1932 and 1952 there would be nine music festivals (renamed the Music Period in 1936) that would showcase the work of composers such as Marc Blitzstein, Paul Frederick Bowles, Ross Lee Finney, Charles Ives, Otto Luening, Roger Sessions, Richard Donovan, Quincy Porter, and Ulysses Kay. After providing the leadership that launched the first two Yaddo music festivals, Copland stepped aside to allow a committee of American composers to guide the festivals through 1952.