Final or Recital?

I am taking organ lessons at the college this semester. At the beginning of the class, Dr. Carlson, my instructor, informed me that at the end of the school year I would have to give a final in front of a couple of the keyboard faculty. But today, she told me that if I would perform on a mixed student recital, I would be exempt from having to give a final. In other words, I could:

Play five or more scales and two pieces before a two keyboard instructors for a grade or,

Play one piece in front of the instructors and attending music students at a recital for a grade.

The latter option sounds very appealing to me. I have been learning Prelude in a minor by Benedetto Marcello. Played with a full organ sound, it begins with a fast, cascading waterfall of 16th and 32nd notes. The introduction leads into a short hymn that contains some very strong dissonances, e.g. a chord containing c-sharp, e-sharp, g-sharp, b, and d. It is a very impressive piece. I cannot wait to perform it on the school's recital organ.

Brahms's Philosophies

I made a mention about where Brahms believed inspiration came from. There is a nice site that has compiled a number of his insights.

Brahms' Rules to Musical Composition

A great link to check out.

And In The Next 400 Years...

Baroque: J.S. Bach, G. F. Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Telemann
Classical: Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven
Romantic: Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Richard Strauss, The Lieder Kings (I'm a vocalist, OK)
20-Century: ??????????
(Add nationalists at your own discretion)

OK, my point is this, who will be considered the composers of the masterworks for this last era? Will it be Bartok? Rachmaninoff? Is it Stravinsky? Phillip Glass? Possibly Schoenberg (I hope not)? Worse yet, where is music going now?

One of my favorite stories about how the public view's music is Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. At the debut in 1020's Paris, the ballet was quite a shock with its harsh chords, unusual rhythms, and its burlesque choreography. A brawl followed afterwards to whether it was music or trash. The police were called for. Today Rite of Spring is part of the standard repertoire.

I believe the deciding factor in the end will be genius and inspiration. Brahms's strongly believed that the inspiration for the lasting works came from the divine, although the general character of Wagner could be used to disprove that claim :).

There is something about Bach's chorales, Beethoven's symphonies, Mozart's sonatas, and Strauss's tone poems that make them enduring. No one really knows what it is. We can only sit back, listen, and enjoy.

Feel free to comment on who your pulling for in the 20-Century.