Not trying to be arrogant here, but who listens to this?

[mhardy6647]

I was imprinted on this at a young age and continue to love it but, imho, it is hard to regard it as modern these days.

Well, heck, we were in the Postmodern era when I was in college... which is getting to be a while ago, now. I grew up reading Thomas Pynchon.

 

[Robin L]

Heh. Mine either. He also made some remarks after 9/11 that were…unwelcome.

There are some modern music aficionados on this site. I expect they will chime in. (@Robin L ?)

Recording Messiaen's "Eclairs Sur L'Au-Dela"---Illuminations of the Beyond---West Coast premiere (Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Kent Nagano) was my greatest experience as a recording engineer. Messiaen's tonal language is difficult until it isn't. It's not atonal, rather it's polytonal. It's dense stuff, but it is very spiritual and intense. I don't listen to his music all that much, but am fascinated with his obsession with birdsong. Like this movement from Eclairs Sur L'Au-Dela:

 

[Robin L]

Well, heck, we were in the Postmodern era when I was in college... which is getting to be a while ago, now. I grew up reading Thomas Pynchon.

That stuff will rot your brain.

 

[Multicore]

Sorry for my ignorance, but does all contemporary classical music sound like this?

Not at all.

Btw, this is neither contemporary nor classical. I'd call it modern composition for piano. But above all it's Messiaen, a composer I've loved since I was a teenager in the 80s. What's not to like about it?

Des Canyons aux Étoiles is relatively easy listening compared to some other piano pieces from the period. Compare it with Xenakis Mists or Evryali, both personal favorites of mine. Or compare it with something that has nothing rewarding for the listener, Boulez 12 Notations pour piano.

If you are unused to listening to music that's not rooted to familiar tonalities it might take some getting used to but by no means does it all sound the same.

 

[Multicore]

Thanks. Just took a listen to Stockhausen Kreuzspiel - not my cup of tea.

Stockhausen was all over the place but he wrote a superb piece for two pianos called Mantra. I really love it. I got to see a live performance of it at WGBH in Boston some years ago. Wonderful.

 

[Prana Ferox]

Recording Messiaen's "Eclairs Sur L'Au-Dela"---Illuminations of the Beyond---West Coast premiere (Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Kent Nagano) was my greatest experience as a recording engineer. Messiaen's tonal language is difficult until it isn't. It's not atonal, rather it's polytonal. It's dense stuff, but it is very spiritual and intense. I don't listen to his music all that much, but am fascinated with his obsession with birdsong. Like this movement from Eclairs Sur L'Au-Dela:

See, to me this sounds like the background music to a particularly high-brow Tom & Jerry cartoon - which isn't meant to impugn this work at all, and speaks more to the talent involved in making those cartoons, and their translation of contemporary composition into such a mainstream product

 

[JaMaSt]

See, to me this sounds like the background music to a particularly high-brow Tom & Jerry cartoon - which isn't meant to impugn this work at all, and speaks more to the talent involved in making those cartoons, and their translation of contemporary composition into such a mainstream product

You're pretty much correct in that a lot of contemporary (orchestral) movie soundtracks (in the last 50 years or so) have incorporated such things as bi- and polytonality, dissonance and even atonality - so much so that you don't even recognize it as such, unless you pay attention to it. It just sounds like a "normal" soundtrack.

 

[kemmler3D]

while we tend to see this as a modern thing, I suspect it's gone back through the ages, but those sorts of works are a lot less likely to be preserved.

I was in full agreement with your post until this bit... there's always been abstract visual art and discordant music, but I think intentionally "ugly" paintings or discordant music wouldn't have been accepted as "fine art" until the early 20th century.

FWIW I listen to Reich pretty regularly because I like it, but your stockhausens and messiaens don't show up in my playlists too often.

 

[JaMaSt]

I was in full agreement with your post until this bit... there's always been abstract visual art and discordant music, but I think intentionally "ugly" paintings or discordant music wouldn't have been accepted as "fine art" until the early 20th century.

I took from my first reading of Parana's quote that a lot of not-very-good-music had been written in the past - and that it wasn't preserved. In this sense, there is/was a lot of not-very-good "modern" music from the early 20th century - but there is some good music - and it has lasted. And pretty much all of it (good and bad) has been preserved due to modern recording capabilities.

 

[JaMaSt]

One of the regional hifi gurus happened to share this link today. it was new to me, and I found it hysterical. YMMV, though, of course.

 

[Robin L]

And a one and a two . . .

See also:

 

[Chrispy]

My secondary thought would be why would this be on your playlist to begin with?

 

[ahofer]

I knew it was going to be that when I saw the link in the email. Have played it.

 

[restorer-john]

where I mentioned that so much modern 'classical' music sounds like somebody throwing a piano down the stairs. No melody, no tune, just plink plonk crash.

I agree.

The piece linked above is just horrible.

 

[kemmler3D]

I took from my first reading of Parana's quote that a lot of not-very-good-music had been written in the past - and that it wasn't preserved. In this sense, there is/was a lot of not-very-good "modern" music from the early 20th century - but there is some good music - and it has lasted. And pretty much all of it (good and bad) has been preserved due to modern recording capabilities.

Indeed, actually I think this survivorship bias is why everyone always thinks "music today is terrible". Music today is always terrible - compared to the music people still listen to from past eras.

Most music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s etc was equally deplorable compared to what's coming out today, if not worse, but we don't listen to or think about the losers, so it seems like everything from "the old days" was better. It wasn't, but the bad stuff just doesn't stick around.

 

[JaMaSt]

The piece linked above is just horrible.

Luciano Berio: Hold my beer!

 

[Robin L]

Luciano Berio: Hold my beer!

Berio was an instructor to Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. This movement from Berio's Sinfonia borrows [steals?] heavily from the third movement of Mahler's 2nd symphony.

 

[Axo1989]

Luciano Berio: Hold my beer!

NIce. I'm going to check his music out now.

 

[JaMaSt]

Music today is always terrible

As hard as it is to believe, there's actually more good Classical (i.e. orchestral) music being written today then in the past. And it's enjoyed by - literally - millions, both young and old.

It's in video games....

 

[Axo1989]

Topic for attention

One of the main reasons I got into Roon was music discovery. Both genres I listen to already, but also new genres/artists. I fell over this music (on the radio but still) one day, and I’m presumable just not smart or sophisticated enough to understand the music. It sounds like some random guy sitting down just hammering aimless away on the piano

Are any of you listening to this kind of music (what (sub)genre is it?), and what exactly are you enjoying in the music? I’m serious and don’t want to put anyone down, I’m just very curious, as I don’t understand it and want to learn how and why other people listen to this kind of music.

Thanks!

Direct link to YouTube video

The OP's embedded video was 'unavailable' for me so read the thread without it. Just tried the inline link and there you go. Sounds like a good piano piece to me, so I can't explain the negative reaction. But for context, I do like Stockhausen, Cage and their contemporaries so there's no particular unpleasant surprise with that Messiaen.