''Letter from Home'' is a 1944 orchestral composition by Aaron Copland. The piece was commissioned as a patriotic work by Paul Whiteman for his

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Orchestra, and suggests the emotions of a soldier reading a letter from home. The music has been described as Copland's "most sentimental" and reflects his own homesickness in Mexico. It is scored for flute, oboe, four saxophones, French horn, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, guitar, piano, harp, percussion, and strings.Howard Pollack Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man 1999 - Page 387 "Copland scored Letter from Home for flute, oboe, four saxophones, French horn, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, guitar, piano, harp, percussion, and strings. Whiteman premiered this original version (since lost) on 7 October 1944" The 1964 orchestral version is scored for two flutes, two oboes (oboe II is optional), two clarinets, optional bass clarinet, two bassoons (bassoon II is optional), two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, percussion (bells, suspended cymbal, triangle, bass drum), optional harp, optional piano, and strings.

References

1944 compositions Orchestral compositions by Aaron Copland Music commissioned by Paul Whiteman {{classical-composition-stub