@Nick said:
...suppose wth some pieces by Ligeti I kind of dismiss without really thinking why, like the piece for 100 metronomes, Volumina (sp) and those later Hungarin chorale studies, the name of which I forget. You've got me thinking now...Nick
I wouldn't dismiss Poeme Electonique (the metronome piece) or Volumina. Poeme Electronic is one of those pieces like Cages 4'33" which just had to be written and if they hadn't somebody else would have. I have seen PE performed at the Union Chapel in Islington during the sadly lamented Almeida Festivals in the 80s and 90s. It was a fascinating (and enjoyable) aural and visual experience. What is a joke is Ligeti releasing an extract (about 5 minutes of the usual 20 minutes) as part of the recent CD collections??
Volumina does things to an organ that you wouldn't want your mother-in-law to hear but is enormous fun - at least I think so. Oddly it seems to me that pre Horn Trio Ligeti was vital and full of the excitement of youth but post Horn Trio he's become too full of his own importance and concerned with his comercial success and consequently lost that vitality and relevance. But don't quote me on that.
Guy
I don't know the Kagel you mention and have only experienced a couple of his pieces including playing his "Tuba Mirum" for solo tuba where as well as fairly freeky playing technique the player is required to sing/shout/scream the Latin Tuba Mirrum and do some theatrics with the positioning of the tuba and walking off stage. Again though, it is a fun piece and not to be taken too seriously.
For me much of the best avant garde music (and art) is intended to be fun. it is the pretentious that gives it a bad name.
Dave TK
