tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post116342965647376514..comments2023-11-03T09:05:31.265-04:00Comments on Soho the Dog: Are we there yet?Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936327293692397100noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-1163440768891440602006-11-13T12:59:00.000-05:002006-11-13T12:59:00.000-05:00I almost limited the opening gambit to pre-WWI, bu...I almost limited the opening gambit to pre-WWI, but I decided to chance it; but you're both right, 20th-century composers don't fit the paradigm as neatly as their older counterparts. Gorecki, Part and Penderecki <I>are</I> exceptions (although Penderecki's early music never sounded that complicated to me, just more <I>outre</I>), but I <I>do</I> think the rest have gotten more complex in a lot of ways. I hear Ligeti's etudes as more complex than his big soundscapes, and Glass's harmony was veering well into Wagnerian/Impressionistic harmonies in the last few pieces I've heard. Boulez and Stockhausen became, to my ear, much less schematic and more idiosyncratic, which to me is always less simple. I guess this probably says a lot more about how I personally listen to music—most people would probably say that Carter's later music is more simple than, say, the 3rd quartet, but because there's so much less technical apparatus to get in the way, the result sounds to my ear <I>more</I> complex and searching; kind of like late Liszt. Whereas Reich's more stripped-down music sounds to me as if it's just focused on a single idea. (Not that that's bad—the point being, that something like <I>The Cave</I> is a long way from <I>Clapping Music</I>.)<BR/><BR/>I like Tim's idea about rock bands—it's odd, thinking about it, I tend to really like the album a band releases just <I>before</I> the one that alienates their hardcore fans. There must be something about being on the verge of selling out that appeals to me.<BR/><BR/>I need to check back and make sure I qualified my overgeneralization in the original post! (OK, I'm safe.) I've been burned enough that I'm usually more careful. (And thanks for reading, and contributing—everyone should go visit Steve and Tim, if you haven't already.)Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10936327293692397100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-1163433713187563892006-11-13T11:01:00.000-05:002006-11-13T11:01:00.000-05:00I've always though that Mr. Reich's career takes a...I've always though that Mr. Reich's career takes a reverse course from the composers you list as fitting that paradigm.<BR/><BR/>His music hasn't gotten less complicated, but I do think if you go backwards through his catalog you eventually get to the early works, that seems kind of stripped down to the essential expressive elements in pieces like <I>Piano Phase</I> and <I>Come Out</I>.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, this continues to be a great blog.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.com