Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait in Cincinnati

28 July 2023

As part of writing a program note for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s October 2023 performances of Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait (1942) with narration by George Takei, I’ve been tracing performances in and around the city, especially with the CSO. The array of people who have declaimed the spoken portion of the piece is an important part of the piece’s longer and wider story, and Cincinnati’s performances give us a good idea of who has done this. In Cincinnati, some very prominent names show up (Maya Angelou, Neil Armstrong, Katherine Hepburn), but there is also a significant local presence–regional media personalities and politicians, as well as amateur performers, like those who presented for youth and high school concerts. The list gives us a sense of how bridges are built within local communities, and how music is one especially vital connector. Aside from the amateur performances, the American Bicentennial year of 1976 stands out to me with numerous performances, including one conducted by Copland.

This list was compiled from the Cincinnati Symphony’s archival records of performances–thanks to CSO director of publications, Tyler Secor, and the CSO’s librarians for this information–with supplemental information drawn from digital holdings found at newspapers.com.

“CSO” may indicate either subscription or pops concerts.

Other performances have taken place in Cincinnati and its vicinity, as well. A notable one included Nick Clooney, father of actor George Clooney, with the Blue Ash Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Stanbery (who conducted it multiple times).