ART APPRECIATION
This landscape painting is part of the Art Nouveau (Modern) art movement. Klimt’s pointillistic technique turns individual dabs of paint into a lush, verdant apple tree.
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Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was born into a family of artists. His father was a gold engraver, and his mother was a musician. He began his career painting murals and large pieces in public buildings. He founded the Vienna Secession, a group that promoted budding artists. The group chose Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of justice, for their symbol. While he was sometimes criticized for the subjects he chose to paint, he did have a popular “Golden Phase” (c.1898-1910) where he used gold leaf in his paintings. On a postcard to a friend, he wrote,”There is nothing special about me. I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night. Who ever wants to know something about me…ought to look carefully at my pictures.”
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MUSIC APPRECIATION
| “Hoe-Down,” from Rodeo |
Rodeo is a ballet set in the American West, with a cowgirl as its main character. The dances are difficult for the men as they have to dance in groups, use ropes like cowboys, and dress in Western-style clothes which is not something they ever do in other ballets!
This piece, “Hoe-Down,” is the last section of the ballet. It uses a folk tune called “Bonyparte” as its main theme.
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Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was a composer and that his name is synonymous with works such as Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, and the “Hoedown” from Rodeo. What they perhaps do not realize is that Copland’s influence on American music extended far beyond the compositional realm. In addition to his creative output as a composer, Copland was also a teacher, lecturer, author, editor, and conductor. Because of his involvement in these different facets of artistic expression, and because he was successful in merging a distinctly American style of composition, Copland is frequently referred to as the “Dean of American Music.” 4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Music Appreciation I. I, Memoria Press.
↩︎ - “Aaron Copland, 1900-1990.” The Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200182578/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.
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Providence School of Tifton 