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 contempo...