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Aaron Copland, the seminal 20th century composer whose work, including "

," helped define the sound of American orchestral music, calmly ordered his omelette without onions and a salad with French dressing at a Minnesota diner in 1973. He was in Minnesota to conduct the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. 

The demeanor of his interviewer — Minnesota Public Radio reporter 

"Listen," she told Copland, "I'll feel better if I tell you the truth: I'm really nervous about this interview."

"Why? Why should you be nervous?" he asked.

Goldman had been studying Copland's career before their chat. Something about his decades of composing, conducting, scoring films, writing and teaching left her in a bit of awe. 

"It's just awesome to sit here at lunch with the 'Dean of American Composers,'" Goldman said.

"That's just a name that somebody pinned up," Copland said. "It doesn't mean a thing."

Nicknames are meaningless, said Copland, who died in 1990. But his New York Times 

"Do you hate it?" Goldman asked over that Minneapolis lunch. 

"I'm not fond of it ... it tends to, what shall I say, categorize you," Copland said. "You're stuck on a shelf and it tends to finish you off. There's no place to go."

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He was known as the Dean of American Composers. "That's just a name that somebody pinned up," Copland said. "It doesn't mean a thing."

From the archives: Connie Goldman interviews Aaron Copland in a diner

To mark our 50th anniversary this year we've been exploring the Minnesota Public Radio archives. And today we're going to hear an interview with the man who wrote this famous fanfare for the common man: Aaron Copland. It was 1973 and the renowned composer was in the Twin Cities to conduct the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Before the performance, while eating at a diner, he spoke with MPR reporter Connie Goldman. One of the topics they discussed was the early part of Copland's career when he was scoring films.

Aaron Copland didn't like his famous nickname

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