 appalachian spring is a composition by aaron copland that premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. the ballet, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon commission of choreographer and dancer martha graham with funds from the coolidge foundation; it premiered on monday, october 30, 1944, at the library of congress in washington dc, with martha graham (1894â1991) dancing the lead role. the set was designed by the japanese american sculptor isamu noguchi (1904â1988). copland was awarded the 1945 pulitzer prize for music for his achievement.pulitzer winners for music category ==composition process==  in 1945, copland was commissioned by conductor artur rodzinski to rearrange the ballet work as an orchestral suite, preserving most of the music. the ballet and orchestral work were well received. the latter was credited as more important in popularizing the composer. in 1972, boosey & hawkes published a version of the suite fusing the structure of the orchestral suite with the scoring of the original ballet: double string quartet, bass, flute, clarinet, bassoon, and piano. all three versions continue to be performed in full. in 1991, hugh wolff recorded the complete ballet as first arranged with the saint paul chamber orchestra for teldec. http://www.allmusic.com/album/copland-appalachian-spring-mw0001814338 in 1954, eugene ormandy asked copland to expand the orchestration for the full score of the ballet. this version was recorded by michael tilson thomas and the san francisco symphony orchestra for rca victor in may 1999. originally, copland did not have a title for the work, referring to it simply as ballet for martha. shortly before the premiere, graham suggested appalachian spring, a phrase from a hart crane poem, "the dance" from a collection of poems in his book "the bridge." o appalachian spring! i gained the ledge; steep, inaccessible smile that eastward bends and northward reaches in that violet wedge of adirondacks! because he composed the music without the benefit of knowing what the title was going to be, copland was often amused when people told him he captured the beauty of the appalachians in his music, 
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