Your Musical Discoveries of 2011

[Lethevich]

Tonality shouldn't need to be the be and end all, though - Schoenberg and Berg's music can be as emotional as tonal music, and all manner of composers wrote music as beautiful as tonal music can be as well - even Cage.

[71 dB]

Tonality shouldn't need to be the be and end all, though - Schoenberg and Berg's music can be as emotional as tonal music, and all manner of composers wrote music as beautiful as tonal music can be as well - even Cage.

Where to start with Schoenberg and Berg? I'm sure I have heard something from these composers but obviously it hasn't got me interested enough to explore more...

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Where to start with Schoenberg and Berg?

With Schoenberg, early and middle period stuff (before he "went serial") would be the obvious place to look: Verklaerte Nacht, Gurrelieder, Pierrot Lunaire, Erwartung, the 5 Pieces for Orchestra.

With Berg, try the 3 Orchestral Pieces or the Violin Concerto (yes, the latter is "serial," but that shouldn't cause too much a problem).

[Lethevich]

What Velmir suggested, although I might suggest not trying Pierrot Lunaire first. It's accessable, but might require a little familiarity with a few other works to accept the vocal style.

Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra and Berg's Three are often coupled together, and Berg's Violin Concerto and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht might come as a pleasant surprise. All are atonal (or "pantonal", or whatever the individual may wish to call it), but with a lot of energy and beauty once the initial stylistic shock has been overcome

[prémont]

I have never bought a disc to support an economic theory.

Nor have I directly, but in my country some of the money we pay in tax is used for the support of talented artists.

[Karl Henning]

And when they die, which they will very shortly . . . .

Oh, not so shortly, I shall hope, Sarge! : )

[Karl Henning]

I'm totally unable to understand how our musical enjoyment of a specific work can be enlarged if the composer is still alive. It's beyond my comprehension... sorry. 

I'm cryin' here ; )

Semi-seriously:  I could not quantify the matter (so I suppose it is beyond my comprehension, too) but I have found that there is a special "glaze" of musical enjoyment, knowing either that the composer is in the audience with us, or that he might be.

At performances of my own music, members of the audience have given me to understand (if I may say so without immodesty) that there was an added enjoyment for them, knowing that I still walked among the living.

[Karl Henning]

The list of living composers I've gotten into is quite long. However, my only concern is quality. Whether something is "in its time" or "of its time" is not relevant.

May I suggest some Henning for this crucible? I do not break easily . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Thread Duty:

Another Discovery by Re-evaluation this year has been the Mozart violin concerti as recorded by Gidon Kremer, who illumined the pieces for me.

[springrite]

May I suggest some Henning for this crucible? I do not break easily . . . .

Karl bends occasionally but never breaks.

One more discovery is, belatedly, Loraine Hunt Lieberson.

[Karl Henning]

I emulate the willow . . . .

[71 dB]

With Schoenberg, early and middle period stuff (before he "went serial") would be the obvious place to look: Verklaerte Nacht, Gurrelieder, Pierrot Lunaire, Erwartung, the 5 Pieces for Orchestra.

With Berg, try the 3 Orchestral Pieces or the Violin Concerto (yes, the latter is "serial," but that shouldn't cause too much a problem).

What Velmir suggested, although I might suggest not trying Pierrot Lunaire first. It's accessable, but might require a little familiarity with a few other works to accept the vocal style.

Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra and Berg's Three are often coupled together, and Berg's Violin Concerto and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht might come as a pleasant surprise. All are atonal (or "pantonal", or whatever the individual may wish to call it), but with a lot of energy and beauty once the initial stylistic shock has been overcome

Thank you both! 

[Antoine Marchand]

Semi-seriously:  I could not quantify the matter (so I suppose it is beyond my comprehension, too) but I have found that there is a special "glaze" of musical enjoyment, knowing either that the composer is in the audience with us, or that he might be.

At performances of my own music, members of the audience have given me to understand (if I may say so without immodesty) that there was an added enjoyment for them, knowing that I still walked among the living.

I think this is perfectly understandable. But it's required to distinguish between live performances and recorded music.

I think it's easy to understand how the emotional aspects of a live performance may be reinforced by the presence of the Author, the Composer: somebody towards who to canalize our gratitude for the miracle of Art. I mean this is possible at a live performance which is a collective and concrete human event, unrepeatable; but discs have something abstract, like a score, to be "used" many times and, for that reason, a bit impersonal. And currently almost a 99% of listens of common people (I mean not professional musicians) are a private event, not just when we are at home with no other people around, but also when we are in public spaces surrounded by a lot of people (Ipods and other devices make this clear).   

[71 dB]

You should check out some Stockhausen, for instance  ..

• Gesang der Jünglinge (1955-56)
• Kontakte (1958-60)
• Mikrophonie I (1964)
• Solo (1965-66)
• Telemusik (1966)
• Hymnen (1966-67)
• Electronic music of Sirius (1975-77)
• Kathinkas Gesang (1982-83)
• Entführung (1986)
• Oktophonie (1990/91)
• Electronic Music with Sound Scenes from Friday (1991-94)
• Wednesday Greeting (1998) & Farewell (1996)
• Sunday Farewell (2001/2003)
• Strahlen (2002)
• Cosmic Pulses (2006-7)

(lots of good stuff)

Stockhausen might be too early (??) electronic composer for me but one to explore if possible. 

[some guy]

...once the initial stylistic shock has been overcome

The mere fact that in 2011 the music of Berg and Schoenberg has a stylistic shock to be overcome is alarming and extremely depressing.

Imagine someone in 1811 talking about the stylistic shock of Vivaldi. (Be fair, it is a shock that can be overcome....)

[Lethevich]

I don't know - surely people listening to this music is a step towards your ideal. After all, once people are listening to the delightful atonal honking (to borrowing a GMG phrase) of Schoenberg, acceptance of spectralist honking, new complexity honking, electroacoustic honking, etc will all come much more easily.

[some guy]

Are you saying I'm impatient?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

The mere fact that in 2011 the music of Berg and Schoenberg has a stylistic shock to be overcome is alarming and extremely depressing.

On the contrary, I think it's cool that music can still shock after 100 years. A testimony to the power of these composers.

[knight66]

On the contrary, I think it's cool that music can still shock after 100 years. A testimony to the power of these composers.

That is one way of looking at it: equally, it may be that the generality of listeners feel alienated from it.

Mike