Beloved pianist Michael Arnowitt returns to Montpelier to present a program surveying the music of iconic Jewish composer Aaron Copland, who created what is considered today to be a distinctively American sound in classical music. His landmark compositions from the 1930’s and 1940’s used energetic jazz rhythms and folk song material from different regions of the United States and Mexico, blended into his own classical music writing style. His signature widely spaced, slow-moving chords helped depict the vast American landscape, in contrast to the crowded, densely populated countries of Europe. Michael Arnowitt will perform and discuss music from Copland’s Four Piano Blues, Piano Variations, El Salon Mexico, and Copland’s famous Appalachian Spring. Also included on the program is Conversation at the Soda Fountain, from the music Copland wrote for the film version of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.