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.
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3 comments:
Actually, according to Stravinsky's autobiography, the reason for the Rite of Spring riot might have had something to do with Nijinsky's extra-obscene gestures while he was dancing (one can only imagine). Apparently, according to Stravinsky, Nijinsky was a beautiful dancer who was a bit low on brains.
I'm a big fan of Shostakovitch, myself, but I think that the change in how "classical" music is studied and the niche it occupies in society has changed things to the degree where I'm not sure whether or not their even WILL be any "great" composers from the 20th century.
Whether we like it or not, the 20th century is Beatles, Beatles, Beatles.
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