An Aaron Copland Question

Yes. In 1953, Copland, along with many other prominent artists, was subpoenaed by MacCarthy as part of the imfamous paranoid hunt for communist infiltrators. Copland refused to be intimidated, and transcripts of those proceedings show that it was MacCarthy who came away shaken by the encounter. So I doubt that Copland would concern himself too much with petty PC issues.

Copland wrote this fanfare at the request of Eugene Goosens, then conductor of the Cincinatti Symphony. During World War II, Goosens wanted to begin each orchestral concert with a fanfare composed by an American composer.

Perhaps some of the questions asked above can best be answered by looking at the alternate titles that Copland considered, as demonstrated in his original sketches for the piece:

"Fanfare For A Solemn Ceremony"
"Fanfare For The Day of Victory"
"Fanfare For Our Heroes"
"Fanfare For The Rebirth of Lidice"
"Fanfare For The Birth Of Democracy"
"Fanfare For The Paratroops"
"Fanfare For Four Freedoms"

Goosens decided to premiere the piece on March 14, the income tax filing deadline at the time. Copland wrote: "I was for the common man at income tax time"