Symphony No. 3 (Copland)

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Symphony No. 3 was Aaron Copland's third and final symphony.

It was written at the end of World War II. It is known as the essential American symphony that fuses his distinct "Americana" style of the ballets (Rodeo, etc.) with the form of the symphony, which has generally been a European-dominated musical form. The work can be seen as a pastiche of Copland's various compositional styles: the simple, pastoral lyricism of "Appalachian Spring", the boldness and liveliness of "Rodeo" and "Billy the Kid", the Latin American vigor of "El Salon Mexico". (Because of this, however, the work has been criticized as somewhat incoherent.) The Fanfare for the Common Man is used as a theme in the fourth movement. Various fragments from Fanfare are also used for primary thematic material in the first three movements.

The first movement (Molto moderato) opens with a simple theme on the woodwinds, which is echoed warmly throughout the orchestra before quickly heightening into a brassy fanfare (in which we get our first hints of the "Fanfare for the Common Man" theme.) The movement ends as peacefully as it started, but we are quickly snapped out of the reverie with the thunderous timpani thump that launches the lively scherzo into action. The whirling second movement (Allegro molto) features a dashing, boisterous theme, settling into gentler, pastoral segment but ending exurberently. The third movement (Andantino quasi allegretto) opens slowly and contemplatively, featuring Copland's typically sparse and almost ambiguous harmonies. It digresses into a frisky dance-like passage, vaguely Latin American in tone, before transitioning uninterrupted into the finale (Molto deliberator - Allegro risoluto), where we hear the Fanfare for the Common Man (having appeared subtly throughout the work) in its full glory. The duration of this movement is spent primarily with the development and recapulation of the Fanfare melody: Copland gives it a dazzling contrapuntal treatment while at the same time managing to introduce an entirely new theme. The symphony closes majestically with a final reprise of both the Fanfare and the symphony's opening motif.

The overall tone of the work is one of heroism and dignity, and it leaves an appropriately stirring impression.