The Forgotten Avant-Garde

[froghawk]

When I look at how few composers are remembered today, I inevitably wonder about all of the composers that have been forgotten.  I'm sure most of the composers that have been forgotten were awful, but I'm sure there are some forgotten gems in there, as well as some who were simply too progressive or avant-garde for their time.  Composers like Charles Ives, who were misunderstood and had to write for the drawer.  Ives was lucky enough to have his most astringent music be discovered and celebrated posthumously, but I'm sure many were not so lucky.

I wonder - are any of you aware of any composers from the 17th-19th centuries that were so experimental or ahead of their time that they were simply ignored?  Has any of those music been preserved?  I can think of many examples from the 20th century, and even some from before the 17th century - the Ars Subtilior, for instance - but I don't know of any music that fits that description in those 3 centuries!  I know of no composer who completely broke out of tonal harmony or square rhythmic structures, but there must be one, right?  These ideas aren't so radical that no one thought of them until the 20th century - they were present in other cultures.  SOMEONE in Western society must have done one of these things at some point!

[Ten thumbs]

This is by no means a futile search. Many such composers have already been rediscovered. As an amateur pianist, I came across some of these early and am gratified to see them reinstated, although it seems unlikely they will enter the public consciousness. I can for instance name Satie, Scriabin and Medtner here. Another composer who deserved the same resurrection as Satie is Rebikov. Two nineteenth century composers who wrote principally for the piano and followed their own lonely paths were Heller and Kirchner. Both had to earn a living and are now known only for their pieces for students. I will also mention Backer-Grøndahl here whose music has a quality that really should not be ignored. She was a Norwegian contemporary of Grieg who ventured later into impressionism.

[The new erato]

That was Agathe Backer-Grøndahl (she married the piano producer Grøndahl). More significantly her sister Harriet Backer was one of Norway's greatest painters:

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Antonin Reicha may deserve a mention. Although his chamber music that I've heard sounds quite conventional, apparently he engaged in some wild experiments elsewhere. Beethoven described Reicha's fugues as the craziest music he had ever heard. He also experimented with things like removing bar lines in his scores.

[Ten thumbs]

That was Agathe Backer-Grøndahl (she married the piano producer Grøndahl). More significantly her sister Harriet Backer was one of Norway's greatest painters:

Thanks for the paintings. Harriet also moved into Impressionism.

I forgot Alkan, another who has been restored already. I remember hearing his Festin d'Aesop on Radio Three years and years ago when they ran a series of programmes containing works anonymously.

[Ten thumbs]

Thanks for the paintings. Harriet also moved into Impressionism. Agathe was hardly avante garde but neither was she a copyist and she spoke with her own Northern voice.

I forgot Alkan, another who has been restored already. I remember hearing his Festin d'Aesop on Radio Three years and years ago when they ran a series of programmes containing works anonymously.