Quiz: Mystery scores

[lukeottevanger]

OK, so far on my first six we have:

1 - no guess yet. It is a pretty major work, btw, one of its composer's masterpieces IMO

2 - no correct guess yet

3 - Mark is correct, it is Feldman. A piece for alto flute, glockenspiel and piano...shouldn't be too hard to find the name...

4 - point to Edward, this is indeed the Khachaturian PC. The clue in my mind was the flexatone/saw carrying the melody on this page, but unfortunately its name doesn't come out clearly, so that made it harder.

5 - Yes, Larry, it's Ferneyhough. As I implied, the look of the page gives that away quite clearly I think, though some of the notation and the use of improvisation is unusual for him. A little probing and you'll have the name.

6 - And yes, Larry (again!), this is Schoenberg. The dotted lines (or the implications they carry for what sort of piece this might be) possibly give a clue as to the identity of this work.



Time for some more. Here's no 7. This one is a transitional work, but it carries many of the hallmarks of the later style - if you delve deeply you should therefore be able to identify him. There is also a clue to two features of the piece's title in the motive which is treated so exhaustively in the strings.

[greg]

has to be Stravinsky

[Mark G. Simon]

3 - Mark is correct, it is Feldman. A piece for alto flute, glockenspiel and piano...shouldn't be too hard to find the name...

Why Patterns

4 - point to Edward, this is indeed the Khachaturian PC. The clue in my mind was the flexatone/saw carrying the melody on this page, but unfortunately its name doesn't come out clearly, so that made it harder.

Hey!! That's my point!

[lukeottevanger]

Greg - what, my last one is Stravinsky? No....

Mark - correct on the Feldman. And apologies on the Khachaturian, don't know what I was reading there!! Two points to you, and Larry is most of the way there on two more.

No 8. Like the Ferneyhough and the Feldman, I think this is one where, if you can get the composer, you are most of the way to getting the piece, as the instrumentation leaves little room for error. This is a typical score of this composer in appearance (it's also one of his finest pieces)

[lukeottevanger]

No 9. This is quite a hard one, I think, but the clues are there in the instruments, the notation, the handwriting and the general 'attitude' of the music.

[greg]

lachenmann!

[lukeottevanger]

Which one, Greg? Still, no, none of them are him (I don't have any Lachenmann scores, I'm afraid)

No 10. An easy one, I think, though there may be some noses that Rinkel up at it....and if that isn't a clue, I don't know what is 

[lukeottevanger]

No 11 Again, easy I think. The famous and inimitable handwriting, and the bizarre sound sources make it quite clear...

[lukeottevanger]

No 12 Quite idealistic in its demands here, which is surprisingly quite common in this composer's work. A magnificently impressive piece, though, and stylistically unique, to the best of my knowledge.

[lukeottevanger]

No 13 I won't give any clues here, except to say - a bonus point if you can name the passage/piece on which this page is modeled (or to which it refers). And that in itself could well be a clue, because if you get the model, you may get the present piece itself...

[greg]

oh, i thought 9 was Lachenmann, he uses that 3/thing at the bottom.
now, my only thought is it might be spectral music, but Grisey and Murail's scores don't usually look like that. My guess is Saariaho, but my second guess is Ligeti?

[lukeottevanger]

Greg, that is very interesting - I can see how you could be led in that direction. Actually it isn't spectralist. If you look closely you'll see that there is a clear process going on, so Ligeti wasn't a bad guess either. This composer developed a very strong and personal process technique later, though not precisely this one.

No 14 - I think the composer is pretty obvious, but the piece might be harder to get. It is one of his most famous works, though, if that helps.

[lukeottevanger]

No 15. The composer will do here - I think it unnecessary and frankly almost impossible to name the piece itself! But the peculiarities of the score should make the composer clear, I think. And if not that, then the printer of the manuscript paper may help.

[lukeottevanger]

No 16 - my final one for now, but I'm happy to make more if people like this game. A nice easy one to finish!

[Mark G. Simon]

Porto Rican maracas?

[Larry Rinkel]

9 - Scelsi?

7 - the violin writing looks like Stockhausen, the piano arpeggios like anybody but. Berio?

[Larry Rinkel]

A very humbling experience, Luke! I know all of mine, but hardly any of yours!! 

[Mark G. Simon]

#16 -- The quote from Beethoven's 9th makes me think it might be Tippett's 3rd (but the typography doesn't look like Schott somehow)

[lukeottevanger]

Greg - sorry for confusion, I thought you meant my no 7 was like Lachenmann/spectralism - that's where all my stuff about processes came from. But I think you meant no 9. Also not Lachenmann, but that's a pretty good guess, I think.


Larry - that's funny, I know all mine but had to think hard about some of yours too!

No 9 isn't Scelsi, no, but note heavy italics!

No 7 seems to be a tricky one. If I was you I'd look away from the string writing, and concentrate on a modern composer who uses arpeggios so heavily...

Mark - Bingo on the Tippett    - it is a Schott actually, but perhaps somewhere along the line I have disfigured it somewhat.

And, yes, Porto Rican maracas. A slightly different type than Puerto Rican ones, which this composer, ever sensitive to percussive nuance, obviously knew about 

[Mark G. Simon]

#15: All the different simultaneous tempo markings! Could it be one of Nancarrow's sketches for a player piano etude?