The Great American Symphony: Music, the Depression, and War

The years of the Great Depression, World War II, and their aftermath brought a sea change in American music. This period of economic, social, and political adversity can truly be considered a musical golden age. In the realm of classical music, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson, Virgil Thompson, and Leonard Bernstein—among others—produced symphonic works of great power and lasting beauty during these troubled years. It was during this critical decade and a half that contemporary w...