lean texture
English composer
Definition
Copland's aesthetic of using fewer notes than a Romantic composer would, leaving space in the harmony and trusting the listener to fill it.
Interpretive Guidance
Lean texture means resist doubling, resist filling every beat, resist ornament. In the Sonata and Variations, the piano must speak in single lines and spare chords. The silence between gestures is part of the composition. Count the rests.