El Salón México

El Salón México is a symphonic composition in one movement by Aaron Copland, which uses Mexican folk music extensively. The work is a musical depiction of an eponymous dance hall in Mexico City and even carries the subtitle, "A Popular Type Dance Hall in Mexico City." Copland began the work in 1932 and completed it in 1936. The Mexico Symphony Orchestra gave the first performance under the direction of Carlos Chávez (1937). The piece was premiered in the U.S. in 1938. Although Copland visited Mexico early in the 1930s, he based this tone poem not on songs he heard there, but rather on written sheet music for at least four Mexican folk songs that he had obtained: "El Palo Verde," "La Jesusita," "El Mosco," and "El Malacate." The powerful refrain that appears in the piece three times stems from "El Palo Verde." Critics have variously described the piece as containing two, three, or four parts, but many listeners find that it moves seamlessly from one theme to another with no clear internal boundaries.

At least two arrangements of the piece exist in addition to the orchestral score. Copland adapted the work for the 1947 musical film "Fiesta", directed by Richard Thorpe for MGM. Leonard Bernstein created arrangements for solo piano and for two pianos, four-hands very shortly after the premiere.

References

*Berger, A. (1990). "Aaron Copland". New York: Da Capo Press.
*Pollock, H. (2000). "Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man". Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
*Smith, J. (1955). "Aaron Copland, his work and contribution to American music". New York: Dutton.