Synopsis

By the mid-1940s, famous American bandleader Paul Whiteman was not as popular as he once was during the 20s and 30s. Even so, his name and orchestra were still a draw, and Whiteman was ever hopeful of introducing new pieces that might prove as popular as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite — both commissioned by Whiteman in those earlier decades.

In 1944, Whiteman commissioned a number of short chamber orchestra works, or “symphonettes” as he dubbed them, for his new radio show Music out of the Blue, which aired at midnight.

“So if the pieces are too bad, few people will know it,” Whiteman explained to his radio bosses.

And so it was on today’s date in 1944 that one of these new pieces, commissioned from Aaron Copland, had its radio premiere. Its title was A Letter from Home.

In the context of an America still at war in Europe, this title had a special resonance for those with loved ones serving abroad. Copland himself had a brother in the army, and wrote the work while living in Mexico, where he, too, received letters from his sister back home.

Music Played in Today's Program

Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Letter from Home; St. Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, conductor; EMI 49766