Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site astrovax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!genrad!grkermit!masscomp!clyde!floyd!harpo!ulysses!princeton!astrovax!tss From: tss@astrovax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.music Subject: Twentieth Century Classical Music Primer Message-ID: <215@astrovax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-Feb-84 13:28:17 EST Article-I.D.: astrovax.215 Posted: Tue Feb 7 13:28:17 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 22:23:05 EST Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics Lines: 32 Congratulations to Oscar on his excellent article. I have a few additions and comments... Stravinsky: is best known for the three great ballets, "The Rite of Spring", "Petrushka", and "Firebird", but these represent only 5 years very early in his career. The amazing thing about Stravinsky is not that he was so influential with these works, but that he managed to remain influential for another 50 years. During this time, he tried his hand at virtually every new technique to emerge, and in fact became one of the leaders of the neoclassical movement of the '30s. So after you've grown accustomed to "Rite of Spring", try the Symphony in C and "Apollon Musagette". Can you convince yourself that they were all written by the same person? And if you're feeling adventurous, have a listen to the "Ebony Concerto"; it's what happened when Stravinsky tried to write jazz. Bartok: The 'much else worth investigating' that Oscar mentioned includes six String Quartets (of which the 5th is my favorite), the "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta", and probably his best work, the Concerto for Orchestra. On my list the latter ranks as one of the top three works of the 20th c. Hindemith: got only a passing mention in Oscar's article. I've never heard a piece by Hindemith that I didn't like, so it's tough to pick the best of the lot, but the first one I fell in love with was the Symphony "Mathis de Maler", extracted from the opera of the same name. If you want to hear some truly amazing counterpoint, try the Symphony in Bb for Concert Band. (This is one of the most difficult, complex, and exciting pieces in the band literature, and proves that you don't need strings to make good music.) More to come....