Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Some post-1945 music to pay attention to

Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, John Adams.

This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.
This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.

“It sounded like a bunch of random sounds.” This was the answer my 18-year-old daughter gave when I asked her what she thought of the new piece of music performed by the San Diego Symphony at their concert on Friday, June 25. My 15-year-old son concurred. I agreed.

Over the years of their childhood and adolescence, I have selected concerts for them to attend so that they can have a good classical music experience. So far, the operas they’ve attended have been more successful than the symphonic concerts.

Video:

Gorecki – Symphonia No 3,

Beth Gibbons & Polish National Radio Symphony

Beth Gibbons & Polish National Radio Symphony

There is a simple reason for this. The opera you choose to see is the opera you see and that’s it. Nothing is shoe-horned in, except by the production. However, the music is the music.

With a symphonic concert, you might want to hear Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 but you are often forced to hear a new piece of music you’ve never heard of and therefore don’t care about. In my experience, the new pieces of music I’ve heard, save two, have gone from something I’ve never heard of and don’t care about to something I’m disappointed in.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

John Adams' "Short Ride in a Fast Machine"

San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco Symphony

This has been going on since about 1945. If asked to choose a favorite post-WWII composer, the average concertgoer will have an answer. John Williams. If movie music is removed as a category, the average audience member will be at a loss. An erudite classical music lover will be able to answer with a composer such as Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, or perhaps John Adams.

The defining characteristic of those three composers is that their most popular music makes sense. It agrees with itself. Nothing is perceived as, “a bunch of random sounds.”

Video:

Harmonielehre composer:john adams

conductor:Edo de Waart

conductor:Edo de Waart

Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 sat in obscurity until a recording was released in 1992. The recording sold over a million copies. That was unheard of for the classical music recording industry. This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.

The symphony makes sense to audiences while the rest of Górecki’s music does not. I happen to enjoy his Beatus Vir even though the opening is indicative of his Symphony No. 2 which I don’t enjoy.

John Adams’s most popular pieces of music, Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Harmonielehre make sense. There is a clear structure to the music and it moves forward in harmony with itself.

Unfortunately, these pieces are rare exceptions in the graveyard of modern compositions. For a piece of music to work for an audience, it needs to have a discernible structure that takes the audience from point A to point B.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.
This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.

“It sounded like a bunch of random sounds.” This was the answer my 18-year-old daughter gave when I asked her what she thought of the new piece of music performed by the San Diego Symphony at their concert on Friday, June 25. My 15-year-old son concurred. I agreed.

Over the years of their childhood and adolescence, I have selected concerts for them to attend so that they can have a good classical music experience. So far, the operas they’ve attended have been more successful than the symphonic concerts.

Video:

Gorecki – Symphonia No 3,

Beth Gibbons & Polish National Radio Symphony

Beth Gibbons & Polish National Radio Symphony

There is a simple reason for this. The opera you choose to see is the opera you see and that’s it. Nothing is shoe-horned in, except by the production. However, the music is the music.

With a symphonic concert, you might want to hear Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 but you are often forced to hear a new piece of music you’ve never heard of and therefore don’t care about. In my experience, the new pieces of music I’ve heard, save two, have gone from something I’ve never heard of and don’t care about to something I’m disappointed in.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

John Adams' "Short Ride in a Fast Machine"

San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco Symphony

This has been going on since about 1945. If asked to choose a favorite post-WWII composer, the average concertgoer will have an answer. John Williams. If movie music is removed as a category, the average audience member will be at a loss. An erudite classical music lover will be able to answer with a composer such as Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, or perhaps John Adams.

The defining characteristic of those three composers is that their most popular music makes sense. It agrees with itself. Nothing is perceived as, “a bunch of random sounds.”

Video:

Harmonielehre composer:john adams

conductor:Edo de Waart

conductor:Edo de Waart

Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 sat in obscurity until a recording was released in 1992. The recording sold over a million copies. That was unheard of for the classical music recording industry. This third symphony has become loved by audiences around the globe but the rest of Górecki’s music is largely ignored.

The symphony makes sense to audiences while the rest of Górecki’s music does not. I happen to enjoy his Beatus Vir even though the opening is indicative of his Symphony No. 2 which I don’t enjoy.

John Adams’s most popular pieces of music, Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Harmonielehre make sense. There is a clear structure to the music and it moves forward in harmony with itself.

Unfortunately, these pieces are rare exceptions in the graveyard of modern compositions. For a piece of music to work for an audience, it needs to have a discernible structure that takes the audience from point A to point B.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Next Article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
July 15, 2022
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader