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George Copeland (April 3, 1882 – June 16, 1971)〔David Dubal, ''The Art of the Piano'' (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 2005), 78.〕 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. ==Career== 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).〔Untitled manuscript, George Copeland Papers (1910–1967), Box 2/17, NYPL〕 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then traveled to Europe for studies with Giuseppe Buonamici in Florence and Teresa Carreño in Berlin.〔George Copeland, Unpublished manuscript, "Music, My Life." George Copeland Papers, 1910–1967. NYPL, New York.〕 Copeland also coached in Paris with the British pianist Harold Bauer, concentrating on works of Schumann.〔Peter Knapp, "George Copeland is Impressive in Stonington Theatre Recital." ''The Day'' (New London, CT: July 17, 1954).〕 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 the earliest-known performance of Debussy's piano works in the United States, playing the ''Deux Arabesques'' at Steinert Hall in Boston.〔Charles Timbrell. "Performances of Debussy's Piano Music in the United States (1904–1918). ''Debussy Cahiers'' no. 21 (Paris, France: 1997), 63.〕 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.〔Frederic Bradlee. "George Copeland, Inimitable and Alone." George Copeland Papers, 1910–1967. NYPL, New York.〕 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.〔"Musical Events in Boston." ''Christian Science Monitor.'' November 3, 1909: 10.〕 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. In 1913, Copeland gave the following account of their discussions:〔Archie Bell. "Copeland and Debussy," ''The Cleveland Plain-Dealer'', January 15, 1913.〕 "I have never heard anyone play the piano in my life who understood the tone of every note as you do," remarked Debussy. Come again tomorrow." This seemed praise indeed and I did go tomorrow. I found him much more genial than on my first visit, and then I went time after time, until finally I was with him about twice a week for three months. I bought new copies of his works, which he marked for me; I played his works and he criticised my work and showed me what to do and how to do it. In the end, he admitted that I played him just as he wanted to be played and represented to the people. By 1955, Copeland had modified his account to have Debussy say: "I never dreamed that I would hear my music played like that in my lifetime.〔George Copeland. "Debussy, the Man I Knew" ''The Atlantic Monthly'' (January, 1955), 34–38.〕 In this later version, Copeland claimed that their meetings were daily, for four months, including periods of playing as well as long walks in the countryside. 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.〔James R. Briscoe, ''Debussy in Performance'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000), 113.〕 The anonymous critic for ''Musical Courier'' was not particularly impressed with the ''Études'', writing "These (), in themselves, are not so absorbing as some of the composer's more familiar pieces, but as played by Mr. Copeland they acquired a delicate tone and glowing imagery that were surpassingly beautiful."〔Anonymous, ''Musical Courier'', December 14, 1916.〕 Other U.S. premieres of Debussy included the ''Berceuse héroïque'' and ''La Boîte à joujoux''. The latter, played on March 24, 1914 at the Copley-Plaza Hotel in Boston, may have been the world premiere of the work.〔Anonymous. "Copley Plaza: Mr. Copeland," ''Boston Transcript'', March 25, 1914.〕 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.〔Merle Armitage, ''Accent on America'' (NY: E. Weyhe, 1944), 185.〕 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.〔(Program examples can be found at the NYPL Website )〕 The reviews of Copeland were overwhelmingly positive, though many reviewers were less enthusiastic about the dancers〔F.D., "Sunday’s Sounds in the Music Halls," ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' May 5, 1919: 23.〕 Annoyed at Copeland's success, the girls ordered Loudon Charlton to put Copeland in his place. The program covers were accordingly changed to read in large font "THE ISADORA DUNCAN DANCERS," with Copeland's name appearing in a smaller font beneath. Copeland saw this and refused to go onstage until all of the offending program covers in the audience had been removed.〔Armitage, ''Accent on America'', 185.〕 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.〔Ramon Sender, "George Copeland," E-mail to the author. June 25, 2009.〕 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.〔Carnegie Hall Archives, George Copeland Performance List, received via email, 2/3/2010.〕 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''.〔Recital Program, "Debussy Gala," (Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA: October 23, 1945), author's collection.〕 Copeland played a Golden Jubilee Recital at Carnegie Hall on October 27, 1957, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his New York recital debut. The ''New York Times'' reviewer described his performance as "magical," calling Copeland's work "playing that stays in the memory."〔E.D. "Copeland Heard in Piano Recital." ''New York Times.'' October 28, 1957: 30.〕 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.〔"Pianist Sues for $100,000." ''Charleston Gazette.'' January 26, 1959: 10.〕 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.〔Mary Watkins Cushing. "Impressionist: Pianist George Copeland recalls his lifetime in music." ''Opera News'' (November, 1966), 7.〕 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.〔Death Certificate for George Copeland, June 16, 1971, State File No. 31141, New Jersey Department of Health. Photocopy in possession of author.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Copeland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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