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Noon Edition

Copland: Our Town

Aaron Copland's successful score to the 1939 documentary The City inspired him to compose five feature-length Hollywood film scores, of which four earned nominations for the Academy Award. One of these films was Our Town, the 1940 screen adaptation of Thornton Wilder's classic American stage play. The film was a big success and was nominated for two Academy Awards, one to Martha Scott for Best Actress for her role as Emily Webb and another nod to Copland for Best Original Score. However, Copland lost the 1941 Oscar to Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, and Ned Washington's score for Pinocchio. Copland eventually won an Academy Award in 1949 for his score to the film The Heiress. This beautiful work also happens to be the theme song for WFIU's Hometown with Tom Roznowski.

Music Heard On This Episode

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