The curse of the modern composer

Just a couple bros. Hanging out. Having a smoke. Ushering in the complete destruction of the tonal system of music.

Alex Ross had an interesting piece in The Guardian this week called simply, “Why do we hate modern classical music?” In it, he explores the myriad explanations for why contemporary classical music continues to be unpopular.  Contemporary is a bit of a misnomer, as there are references to the Second Viennese School, Britten, Ligeti, etc., but it’s better than saying “the music that no one wants to hear” and I respect that.

“An artist is never ahead of his time but most people are far behind theirs.”

Serious Composer is Serious.

It’s funny how different things speak to different people differently.  I recently finished reading Alex Ross’ insanely brilliant history of the 20th century The Rest Is Noise, and it has gotten me listening to some pretty interesting stuff lately.  Frankly, going from Salome to The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany to Porgy & Bess to Notations to anything by Lamonte Young has me on the verge of psychosis, but I’ve kept my sanity long enough to make the following broad generalization: of all the composers in the 20th century who wrote the music that no one likes to actually listen to, Edgard Varese wrote the best and coolest stuff.