COMPOSITE COMPOSER

In response to Frank Conroy’s review of “Copland Since 1943” (Book Review, Jan. 21):

Conroy does not note that this is Volume 2 of a two-volume work. Since the two volumes really do constitute a single work, each complementing and completing each other, the review is unfair.

Conroy says Copland “reveals nothing of importance,” and that the reader is left “without knowing who he was or is.” From these statements, I can only assume that Conroy’s review is based on a very superficial reading of the work, for although Copland does not resort to brow- or breast-beating and (co-author) Vivian Perlis does not stoop to the sort of trashy expose common to what currently passes for biographical work, the two volumes reveal an enormous amount about America’s most beloved composer, on both a personal and professional level.

In addition, I believe that Perlis and Copland have very nearly created a new genre, which Conroy dismisses as “a mess, 427 pages of stuff . . . trying to be a book.” This documentary approach--which combines personal reminiscences, narrative and a variety of documents--offers the reader the opportunity to compare and contrast the musings of the subject with the memories of friends and colleagues in the context of the historical setting.

Of course, this assumes a little work on the reader’s part, at the very least a willingness to pay attention.

MARK SUMMA

VENTURA