Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site vaxine.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!vaxine!chb From: chb@vaxine.UUCP (Kool Klezmer) Newsgroups: net.music Subject: Re: 20th Century Music Message-ID: <186@vaxine.UUCP> Date: Thu, 9-Feb-84 12:50:03 EST Article-I.D.: vaxine.186 Posted: Thu Feb 9 12:50:03 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Feb-84 07:41:16 EST Organization: Automatix Inc., Billerica, MA Lines: 42 [] The recent flurry of interesting, well-informed articles on 20th century music have been so much fun that I decided I have to add my own 2 cents. Vaughn-Williams Although usually too pastoral for my tastes, one should check out his (I believe) his Fifth Symphony. This piece was wriiten in the late thirties and is considered V-W's statement on which particular abyss he thought the world was headed for (how right he was!). For V-W, this piece is particularly violent and dissonant. Also a lot of fun to play. Our conductor related the story that while in the rehearsals for the premier of the piece, V-W (who was conducting) purportedly laid down his baton at one point and said to the orchestra: "Ladies and gentlemen, if this is modern music, you may have it". Ives I also like his Second Symphony most of all. It's a little subtler than the later ones. But there is little doubt that he is one of the greats in modern-music: he independently invented serialism and polyphony without ever having heard what was going on in Europe at the time! His father was also probably andother great "outside" composer - the idea of the 2 bands approaching each other from opposite ends of the street was actually done by Ives Sr. For a little "light" reading check out Ives' book "On the Sonata". No one has mentioned one of my favorite 20th century composers - Geo. Rochberg. His Quartets are great neo-classical works, like hearing Beethoven as if he had played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. And finally, (no flames, please) I would like to nominate Edward Kennedy Ellington as one of the great American 20th century composers. My treatise on him is forthcoming... It don't mean a thing, If it aint got that swing... Charlie Berg