tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post109641321100474709..comments2024-03-24T03:14:07.639-04:00Comments on [listen]: IntroductionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-61006284658034569102007-08-13T19:34:00.000-04:002007-08-13T19:34:00.000-04:00Thanks for the comment. I listed Bolero because of...Thanks for the comment. I listed <I>Bolero</I> because of its influence and some the trends it anticipates. It's not my favorite Ravel, but I always enjoy listening to it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-50845712370187216402007-08-12T23:01:00.000-04:002007-08-12T23:01:00.000-04:00I looked at the list as I like the 20th century an...I looked at the list as I like the 20th century and music history. The only surprise that I disagree with is Ravels Bolero. Even Ravel called it " the best piece of non music I ever wrote" I've always put this below the 1812 by tch. as amusing but less then a great major work.<BR/><BR/>Bob F.Bob Forresthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05156185765663451304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-45121041235646834012007-04-21T11:16:00.000-04:002007-04-21T11:16:00.000-04:00Hi Steve,Well kudos to you for putting this out th...Hi Steve,<BR/><BR/>Well kudos to you for putting this out there. You definitely can not and will not please all of the people all of the time (nor were you trying, as I understand). I like your list and think I will start going through it as soon as I finish my move across the country.Rebecca Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356712338959918065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1149625684917825432006-06-06T16:28:00.000-04:002006-06-06T16:28:00.000-04:00I've also been criticized for having pieces on the...I've also been criticized for having pieces on the list just because they were written by women. I can assure you that I compiled the list with an eye (and ear) towards presenting a representative picture of what 20th music sounds like.<BR/><BR/>I feel confident that when similar lists are made at the end of this century they will include many more pieces by women and other under-represented groups.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1149587729959491992006-06-06T05:55:00.000-04:002006-06-06T05:55:00.000-04:00Odd, is it not, that there are only three women in...Odd, is it not, that there are only three women in the list?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1097084072137615122004-10-06T13:34:00.000-04:002004-10-06T13:34:00.000-04:00Just a few (hopefully helpful) comments:
When you...Just a few (hopefully helpful) comments:<br /><br />When you've offered more than one piece by a composer the selection is pretty good, but a few are really limited in the scope of the composer they represent. Notably, Copland's Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring - two "Americana" ballets? I'm certain your aware that his breadth as a composer is much more farreaching than these two wonderful pieces. Likewise the Hindemith works, both orchestral and both within the same style-period - your list is already orchestra-heavy, and Hindemith excelled as a chamber music composer. Also, his championing of Gebrauchsmusik was extremely influential, surely a spot on the list would be better given to one of his works in that genre than doubling up with the quite similar works you've chosen. The two Messiaen works, amazing as they are, really don't show anywhere near the range of this composers imagination. Two Puccini operas? I love him, but is there really that much difference between Butterfly and Turandot that the reader is given a more 'complete' picture of that genre? Surely one representative example would suffice, complemented by an opera by Messiaen, Ravel, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Birtwistle or Norgard. The Shostakovich choices are rather cliché and really show only one facet of this composer's voice (none of his earlier, avant-garde works, no opera, and no late work?). The Vaughan Williams choices are also quite similar.<br /><br />No late Stravinsky?<br /><br />Why pick a Xenakis piece that nobody is likely to ever hear in concert when there are other works one is likely to encounter that exhibit the same elements of his style, such as Xas (performed quite often)?<br /><br />Complete lack of any representation of the extremely fruitful and interesting range of music produced from c. 1965-1999 in Scandinavian countries (Norgard, Lindberg, Rautavaara, Ruders, Saariaho, etc. etc. etc.)<br /><br />As exciting as Corigliano's Violin Sonata is, it contains practially none of the musical rhetoric that distinguish his music (i.e., no aleatoric elements. <br /><br />Only one Lutoslawski work? His innovations as a composer are so great, and, while most are present in the 3rd symphony, which surely should be included, it doesn't contain heavy structural use of aleatoric techniques like the quartet does.<br /><br />Maw's Odyssey? You're kidding, right? How does this piece offer any perspective on 20th century concert music? <br /><br />Pärt Tabula Rasa? Why not chose a vocal work and ditch the Tavener?<br /><br />I love Pacific 231, but seriously, this is far from Honegger's strongest or most influential work.<br /><br />Bravo on the inclusion of Judith Weir.<br /><br />Best of luck with your project!<br /><br />Marcus Maroney (http://www.geocities.com/marcus.maroney & marcus.maroney@aya.yale.edu)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1097083939723097862004-10-06T13:32:00.000-04:002004-10-06T13:32:00.000-04:00Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I'm going to p...Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I'm going to post on the selection criteria at some point, but I want to say a couple of things here.<br /><br />I put a somewhat artificial limit of two pieces per composer, in order to include more composers. The reason I say it is only "somewhat" artificial is that the list is intended to represent, when taken as a whole, what is essential in 20th century concert music. As opposed to the best or most-popular or most influential pieces.<br /><br />With that in mind, I can only think of a handful of pieces that absolutely must be on the list. The others can all be substituted for, with a piece by the same composer or by another composer.<br /><br />Again, thanks for the comment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096838988261008632004-10-03T17:29:00.000-04:002004-10-03T17:29:00.000-04:00Greetings, and welcome, from a reader in west-cent...Greetings, and welcome, from a reader in west-central Virginia. This weekend the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra performed Bernstein's "Symphonic Dances from <I>West Side Story</I>" and Vaughan Williams's "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis." If I'd known about this blog sooner, I'd have alerted you in time.<br /><br />Good choices, BTW. I look forward to reading your defense.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12608889417356450181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096745586167089652004-10-02T15:33:00.000-04:002004-10-02T15:33:00.000-04:00I didn't include "Pelleas" because most of the mus...I didn't include "Pelleas" because most of the music was written between 1893 and 1895. It is certainly a beautiful work, and far reaching in its influence.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096688081650587072004-10-01T23:34:00.000-04:002004-10-01T23:34:00.000-04:00Hi Steven,
I saw 'La Mer' on your list but not De...Hi Steven,<br /><br />I saw 'La Mer' on your list but not Debussy's operatic masterpiece, 'Pelleas et Melisande', the first 20th century opera. Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second. Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither. Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano and orchestral works) has no imitators. However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.<br /><br />It is an immensely sophisticated work, full of emotional substance, subtlety, eloquence, exquisite beauty and genius.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096648214385045652004-10-01T12:30:00.000-04:002004-10-01T12:30:00.000-04:00I thought about including the Gorecki 3, but I'm n...I thought about including the Gorecki 3, but I'm not convinced it is as good an exemplar of its style as the Part Tabula Rasa and the Tavener choral work Thunder Entered Her.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096635498565500712004-10-01T08:58:00.000-04:002004-10-01T08:58:00.000-04:00Hello Steven,
I noticed that Gorecki's Third Symp...Hello Steven,<br /><br />I noticed that Gorecki's Third Symphony, 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' didn't make the list. Why?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096462322218670452004-09-29T08:52:00.000-04:002004-09-29T08:52:00.000-04:00I am not always aware of all the live performances...I am not always aware of all the live performances in my area, but I've printed the list for future reference.Jennifer Van Amburgh Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731818425549440764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096461455704821342004-09-29T08:37:00.000-04:002004-09-29T08:37:00.000-04:00JVM--
I'll post about recordings vs. performance ...JVM--<br /><br />I'll post about recordings vs. performance later, but let me know if you hear of any 101 performances in your area.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-1096460983391003652004-09-29T08:29:00.000-04:002004-09-29T08:29:00.000-04:00It will be interesting to see if I can find all th...It will be interesting to see if I can find all these recordings at the public or university's library. I'm all ears...Jennifer Van Amburgh Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731818425549440764noreply@blogger.com