Favourite decade of the 20th Century

[Madiel]

I agree that a focus on orchestral music is not helpful. It was not a focus I chose. I talked within the parameters I was given.

[Karl Henning]

And, arguably, the rise of the symphony orchestra in the US was built upon the idea of the orchestra as a kind of museum-piece, e.g. the name Beethoven centered above the proscenium of Boston's Symphony Hall (built in 1900).

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I've always thought the 20th and 21st centuries were the most accessible.....it always seems easier to come into contact with a wide variety of classical music from the past century than any other *entire* century in the history of music. Composers from the past century are programmed more often by mainstream orchestras

After reading some guy's post about where new music is being performed and orfeo's post before that, I just want to backtrack a little to highlight that I am talking about something different. I completely understand that new music is more often performed outside of the 'mainstream' (for want of a better word) concert hall and opera house programs, where the more 'mainstream' repertoire lies. I'm not necessarily talking about new or contemporary music (and by 'contemporary' I am almost always referring to music written in the past few years), but music which actually turns up in the concert hall. Music which is deemed suitable for the general concert goers by the managers of whatever orchestra or ensemble happens to be programming it.

Here's a fact: in 2016 more than half of the pieces performed (or will be performed) by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra were composed in the past 100 years. The MSO my local orchestra and 'most mainstream' performers of classical music here. The past 100 years include most of the 20th century. We can only say that if we were to include all music composed after 1900 then that will also make up more than half of all the music performed by the MSO this year. If we were to assume that other orchestras and ensembles—the 'concert hall' performers who don't specialise in new music—program music in a similar fashion, then it does seem a little nonsensical for an audience to be unaware or relatively uninterested by the 20th century including composers of the earlier years such as Elgar, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Puccini, Holst, Strauss, Rachmaninov, Mahler, Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Berg and Ives (not to mention Stravinsky, one of the most well known composers of all time!)

If we were to take into account the market for classical music recorded on CD, DVD, LP, downloads etc. whereby a listener can essentially choose what they want to listen to more freely than the choices they have when it comes to going to a concert hall performance, then we will have a much more accurate representation of what people are most interested in. Still, since I've been on classical music oriented forums since 2011 (wow! Nearly five years!) I can't help but notice that so many people listen to music composed in the 20th century anyway regardless of whether it falls into the late romantic aesthetic, any avant garde aesthetic or whatever else happened in that century.

This is probably why I've always believed that the 20th century is probably the 'most accessible' century in music composition ever. People have a greater chance of finding music they enjoy or are at least familiar with from that century more than any other century in history.

[Madiel]

Sorry to insist, but where can I find a proper list of what the MSO is playing that backs up this claim? I remain slightly skeptical, because the list of highlights I could find included heck of a lot of works more than 100 years old.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Sorry to insist, but where can I find a proper list of what the MSO is playing that backs up this claim? I remain slightly skeptical, because the list of highlights I could find included heck of a lot of works more than 100 years old.

I don't know if they have published a full list of composers and works on their website, but I consulted their 2016 season booklet which includes said list on the last pages.