Re: [microsound] Classical music is booming, contrary to the pessimism of most inthe business

[macrosound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I knew that one was gonna raise some eyebrows.  To be more specific,
everything after stravinsky with a few exceptions: cage, reich, xenakis,
et al.

When I say 'most' I mean most.  You have listed quite a few composers but
really it is a small list compared how many modern composers there are.

I believe that not only is most modern classical boring, trite and lazy
but most music is as well.

Boring:  People make the same things over and over again and they are
hollow which makes them boring to listen to.  How often does someone come
along with a piece of music that is inspiring or moving? Originality of
form is not a requirement for me but a composer must bring to it their own
spirit which is, by nature, unique.

Trite:  For similar reasons as above.  Why be a skilled musician if you do
not delve into yourself and present it to an audience?  That is art. 
Anything else is just entertainment which, dont get me wrong, is something
we all need, but it's just not powerful expression to me.

Lazy:  Again, same reasons as boring.  We are scared, spoiled brats,
myself included, and simply have trouble gathering the focus and energy
needed to create works with integrity that expose us.  So, instead  we
copy others or rely on our technique when the only thing that will pull
weight is genuine vulnerability.

Please do not take offense.  I have a broad taste, but it seems I am a bit
of a perfectionist.  So much music is created out of a desire to portray a
particular image of oneself.  Just look at pop.  In other genres it is
less obvious but to me, equally distasteful.

Just my opinion.  It changes with the tides (literally) and I am always
open.  On more than one occasion, a conversation has completely altered my
view of an artist or a genre so I welcome you to explain the purpose of
someone meticouslously crafting a score that sounds like an orangutan
playing the piano.  Don't think my irony betrays my sincerity.

Guillaume Grenier wrote:
> On 01/06/03 16:19, macrosound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx said in living color:
>
>> I love classical music.  Always have.  It was the first music that I
>> sought out on my own.  The first time I heard a modern composition I was
>> very disapointed.  I wasn't honest with myself for awhile, probably a
>> fear
>> of being unsophisticated but now I can honestly say that most modern
>> classical is boring, trite and lazy.  Nice to see that's changing.
>
> "Most modern classical"... What (whom) are you referring to?
>
> Eotvos, Ferneyhough, Glass, Gubaidulina, Knussen, Lachenmann, Lindberg,
> Murail, Reich, Rihm, Rzewski, Saarihao, Sciarrino?
>
> Berio, Boulez, Britten, Cage, Carter, Crumb, Feldman, Henry, Kagel,
> Ligeti,
> Lutoslawski, Messiaen, Nono, Parmegiani, Penderecki, Scelsi, Schnittke,
> Stockhausen, Xenakis?
>
> Are you going further back? Bartok, Berg, Hindemith, Ives, Poulenc,
> Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Satie, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Stravinsky,
> Varese,
> Webern?
>
> Even further? Debussy, Faure, Janacek, Mahler, Martinu, Ravel, Sibelius,
> Scriabine, Strauss, Szymanowski, Zemlinsky?
>
>
> When did it start to be "boring, trite and lazy"?
>
> And since I listen to music composed by all those mentioned above, I
> suppose
> I have wasted countless hours of my life... Damn, if only someone would
> have
> told me like it is before...
>
> g.
>
> --
> Guillaume Grenier - grenier.g@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> in space there is no north  in space there is no south
> in space there is no east   in space there is no west
>
>
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