Copland and Twain on Broadway
Chelsea Music Festival
By: Susan HAll - Jun 28, 2026
Copland and Twain was a highlight of the Chelsea Music Festival 2026. For the first time, the adventurous group that produces this festival mounted a work in a Broadway venue. To make a 250th anniversary statement for our country, they chose to mix the music of Aaron Copland, often called the Dean of American Music, with the words of Mark Twain, our liveliest chronicler.
In the 19th century, Twain wrested New World language from its European roots, daring to combine the vernacular with colloquial phrases and wild wit. In the 20th century, Copland introduced American jazz and folk songs into classical forms.
Bill Barclay, a frequent contributor to the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood, worked with Melinda Lee and Ken-David Masur to create a dramatic piece that was both humorous and moving. The back of the stage featured a screen displaying images of the rolling plains, the Midwestern countryside, and the Mississippi River—landscapes that both Twain’s words and Copland’s music beautifully evoke.
Mr. Masur is a first-rate conductor who has spent the last seven years with the Milwaukee Symphony and will now freelance across the globe. The orchestra was excellent, featuring a variety of percussion beats that drove the brass and strings. A solo trumpet heralded the show.
In front of the orchestra, five actors delivered monologues and mini-dramas. Robert Walsh recounted America's exceptionalism, noting how we, of all the citizens of the world, demand ice water in restaurants—a case made uproariously again and again. Carson Elrod, sporting a full Southern drawl, told how he used an accordion to answer the musical tones of his less-talented neighbors.
Twain wrote The Diaries of Adam and Eve after the death of his beloved wife, viewing life then as no Eden. Caleb Mayo’s Adam was a bit dim, but Eve was in her full glory, as Chloe McFarlane exhibited sharp intelligence even before taking a bite of the apple. Copland’s music was perfectly selected to underline and bracket Twain's words, together celebrating the American experience while refusing to shy away from our darker side.
It was an evening full of laughter, but sadness too, reflecting the moment in which we are now living and our failure thus far to fully deal with our racist history.
Ultimately, it is hard to imagine a better or more enjoyable tribute to our country.