GEORGE COPELAND (MASSACHUSETTS, APRIL 3,
1882 – PRINCETON, JUNE 16, 1971)
He was an
American classical pianist known primarily for his relationship with the French
composer Claude Debussy in the early 20th century and his interpretations of
modern Spanish piano works. A native of Massachusetts, George A. Copeland Jr.
began piano studies as a child with Calixa Lavallée, the composer of “O Canada”
and an important early member of the Music Teachers National Association
(MTNA). Copeland later worked at the New England Conservatory with Liszt pupil
Carl Baermann, then traveled to Europe for studies with Giuseppe Buonamici in
Florence and Teresa Carreño in Berlin. Copeland was also coached in Paris by
the British pianist Harold Bauer, concentrating on works of Schumann. Early in
the 20th century, Copeland fell in love with the works of then-unfamiliar
French composer Claude Debussy. On January 15, 1904, Copeland gave one of the
earliest-known performance of Debussy’s piano works in the United States,
playing the Deux Arabesques at Steinert Hall in Boston. Copeland was not the
first to perform Debussy in the United States; that honor went to Helen
Hopekirk, a Scottish pianist who programmed the Deux Arabesques in Boston in
1902. From 1904 until his final recital in 1964, Copeland played at least one
work of Debussy on each of his recitals. In the early 1900s, John Singer
Sargent, a fellow Bostonian, introduced Copeland to Spanish music. Copeland
became an Iberian specialist, performing works of Isaac Albéniz, Enrique
Granados, Manuel de Falla and others throughout the United States and Europe.
In 1909, he introduced three of Albéniz’s Iberia suite to the United States,
playing “Triana,” “Malaga” and “El Albaicin” in Boston. In 1911, he met Debussy
in Paris and spent four months studying with the composer, discussing and
playing all of Debussy’s piano works. This was a turning point in Copeland’s
life; until his death 60 years later, Copeland would recall his time with
Debussy with the greatest affection and reverence, both in print and in
conversation with friends. Copeland gave many U.S. premieres of Debussy’s
works, as well as several world premieres. The most important was the world
premiere of numbers X and XI of the Etudes on November 21, 1916, at Aeolian
Hall in New York City. From 1918 through 1920, Copeland toured the United
States with the Isadora Duncan Dancers, the “Isadorables”), a sextet of dancers
who were the students and adopted children of dancer Isadora
Duncan. Sponsored by the Chickering Piano Company and managed by
Loudon Charlton, Copeland and the dancers performed a shared program of dance
and piano solos including works of Schubert, Chopin, MacDowell, Debussy,
Grovlez, Albeniz, and others. In the spring of 1920, Copeland abruptly broke
his contract for unknown reasons and went to Europe. Years later, Copeland told
his student Ramon Sender that breaking his contract had fatal consequences for
his career and that when he returned to the United States in the 1930s, no
reputable manager would touch him. Living first in Italy, then on the island of
Mallorca,where he lived in the village of Genova and had a good relationship
with the neighbours becoming the godfather of Juana Maria Navarro, the daughter
of one of his better friends. Copeland returned to the United States only
periodically, giving Carnegie Hall recitals in 1925, 1928–1931 and 1933. In
1930, he performed in Philadelphia and New York City with the Philadelphia
Orchestra led by Leopold Stokowski, offering works of Debussy and De Falla.
While living in Europe, he played at the Chopin Festival of Majorca, in Vienna
with the Wiener Philharmoniker, at the Salzburg Festival, and in London. At the
outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Copeland returned to the United
States. Settling in New York City, he performed there annually at venues
including Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and Hunter College, and made regular trips
to Washington D.C. and Boston. In 1945, he toured with the soprano Maggie Teyte
in an all-Debussy duo recital that included his arrangement of Prélude à
l’après-midi d’un faune. Copeland played a Golden Jubilee Recital at Carnegie
Hall on October 27, 1957, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his New York
recital debut. In the spring of 1958, he suffered a fall at his vacation home
in Stonington, Connecticut and broke his shoulder. He was unable to play for several
years and believed his career to be over. In 1963, he made a comeback,
recording with famed engineer Peter Bartok and concertizing at schools and
smaller halls on the East Coast. On May 11, 1964, Copeland performed his final
recital at Sprague Memorial Hall, Yale University. Although he spoke in 1966 of
a return to the concert stage, he never again performed in public.Copeland died
of bone cancer in the Merwick Unit of Princeton Hospital in Princeton, New
Jersey, on June 16, 1971. His cremated remains are held at the Ewing Cemetery
in Ewing, New Jersey.
TRACKLIST
Bocetos (Granados) Ampico 62371 1923
Igualada Spanish dance (Ramon Zuera) Ampico 62113 1923
España (Chabrier) Ampico 58526 1920’s
Malaguena (Albeniz) Ampico 56043
Tango in D (Albeniz) Duo-Art 5662 1915
Danse de Puck (Debussy) Ampico 57312 1910’s
Reflets dans L’eau (Debussy) Duo-Art 61549 1919
Gnosienne no.1 (Satie) Ampico 57323 1920’s
Afternoon of a Faun (Debussy) Ampico 56027 1910’s
Seguidilla (Albeniz) Ampico 56033
Clair de Lune (Debussy) Duo-Art 5685 Oct 1915
Molly on the Shore Irish Reel (Grainger) Ampico 62933
Aragonaise (Albeniz) Ampico 71633
Dans L’aloule (In The Village) – “Esquissas Caucasiennes (Caucasian
Sketches)” (Ippolitov-Ivanov) Ampico 68793
Passepied, No. 4 (Debussy) Ampico 6147
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