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I planted several geniuses in various wives, but none became composers.
Well, Bach didn't seem to have a shortage of "geniuses" as five of his 21-odd children went on to establish successful careers as musicians. I guess you could say he had no stops on his organ.
Speaking to the OP--what are the requirements for it to be "classical" music and not "pop music"? If the piece includes a full orchestra, or is written for one, is it then classical? Mike Post seemed to be the top TV theme composer at one point about twenty years ago.
Early musicians that were called genuses have contributed something ground breaking to the development of western music. By the 20th century Western music had been developed or exploited to the point were no development could be considered groundbreaking in comparison to what came before it. IMO Since Stravinsky and tonal exploration or exploitation of Western music, the work of early electronic composers and Duke Ellington would compare.
Speaking to the OP--what are the requirements for it to be "classical" music and not "pop music"? If the piece includes a full orchestra, or is written for one, is it then classical? Mike Post seemed to be the top TV theme composer at one point about twenty years ago.
The only requirement I think of is that the work gets successive plays in concert halls around the world. The example I cited John Adam's "City Noir" was played once at its premier and then forgotten, best as I can tell. Contrast that with a "Pathetique Symphony" which, if written today, would make the composer an instant sensation.
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Early musicians that were called genuses have contributed something ground breaking to the development of western music. By the 20th century Western music had been developed or exploited to the point were no development could be considered groundbreaking in comparison to what came before it. IMO Since Stravinsky and tonal exploration or exploitation of Western music, the work of early electronic composers and Duke Ellington would compare.
This is another valid argument--that tonal music has said all that there is to say, but I disagree. There will always be innumerable ways to arrange the palette of sounds in such a way as to create anything from a simple Bach Invention to another Choral Symphony". We just lack the musical geniuses to do so.
Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland might be as recent as you get for some really widely played at concert halls. Still this could just reflect the conservatism, in a non-political sense, of concert halls.
I think at least some of Dave Brubeck's works have become standards so are likely performed a great deal. I know he's jazz, but he's done some classical/classic-related work as well. Keith Jarrett does both classical and jazz composition. Arvo Part and Henryk Górecki I think are played some.
Sometimes notes can be arranged in such a way that they do not create a melody, but cacophony. You can say that notes can be arranged in innumerable ways, but not all of them produce music. I have to agree that there is nothing new under the sun in terms of music.
I have to wonder if most conductors of major--and minor--orchestras are musical snobs. Would they play such recognizable tunes as the theme to Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Magnum P.I., etc? I heard these all performed one year by the Marine band, back in '87 or '88.
Sometimes notes can be arranged in such a way that they do not create a melody, but cacophony. You can say that notes can be arranged in innumerable ways, but not all of them produce music. I have to agree that there is nothing new under the sun in terms of music.
I have to wonder if most conductors of major--and minor--orchestras are musical snobs. Would they play such recognizable tunes as the theme to Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Magnum P.I., etc? I heard these all performed one year by the Marine band, back in '87 or '88.
There are "pops " concerts were a conductor will conduct these tunes. Most seasoned players want to be challenged to higher degree than what popular music is intended to do. If you want the best players (over 100 musicians) and want them to show up to rehearsals, they have to think they are going to get better just by playing this music.
Just writing good music doesn't make some one a great musician. There had to be hundreds of good musicians in Mozart's day. Conservatories are pumping them out by the hundreds as we write. Some composers can't read or write music. A musician has to do some thing with music, that transcends music it self to be great. When Beethoven wrote twenty or more minutes of music with "dada-dada" people flipped out. How do you write a symphony with out a melody?
Last edited by thriftylefty; 01-07-2010 at 03:45 PM..
Well, that's the question, isn't it Thriftylefty? I can put notes on a staff randomly--but that doesn't mean it's going to come out sounding good. If I played guitar, and stuck with just three chords, that doesn't mean that anything approaching "music" is going to come out of it. I know how to READ music--but I don't know how to write it. I can also play the notes on a sheet of music, but I lack the creative spark to improvise and create my own music.
I heard that Terry Kath didn't know how to read or write music, but he knew how to play guitar. Same could probably be said of artists like John Lee Hooker or Howling Wolf.
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"La Bamba" - Los Lonely Boys & Carlos Santana
