Satoshi Akima, in a gracious reply to me, writes:

>It was an attack on those who feel music ended with the conclusion of the
>19th century

And herein lies my problem with much of this discussion.  "Attacks" are
not necessary or appropriate; well-reasoned argument is.

Secondly, there seems to be a tendency to leap to conclusions; if one
does not care for serialism, one also does not care for loosened bounds
on tonality, or for atonality, or for pantonality; and ultimately, that
one does not care for *any* music written in the 20th century.

This is obviously codswallop (love that word, have no idea what it really
means).

Musically, the 20th century didn't really begin until roughly the middle
of the 2nd decade of the calendar 20th century.  And it's clearly the case
that "19th century music" was being written well into the 20th century, and
I suspect many people feel it's still be written even now!  So this isn't
about when the music was written, it's about how it's written.

I cannot defend the positions of those who argue that certain schools
or styles of composition are "not music", that they are "universally
rejected", are largely responsible for the admittedly widespread
disaffection with "modern music", etc..

Nor can I accept the implication that when somebody tries something and
doesn't like it, if they do not continue forcing themself to "get it"
they are closeminded, intolerant, etc..

I do not like coffee.  I will never like coffee.  This is not about
being open or close minded.  I am sure I am really missing something, but
I absolutely detest the taste of coffee.  I love chocolate, but the least
hint of mocha makes me want to hurl.  I do not believe that people who
like coffee are deluding themselves.  On the other hand, I like sushi.
I love sushi.  I know people for whom even the thought of eating raw
fish is revolting.  I think they're missing something wonderful.  I have
"converted" a few disbelievers into afficianados, but overall, I respect
the doubters' personal tastes.

This is about taste.  There are no objective absolutes in music.  Much as
I would like there to be, after decades of searching, the Grail remains
just as elusive.  I have read everything I could get my hands on about
musical aesthetics, about the neurophysiology of musical perception, about
how we learn, etc.  And it's still a mystery.

But that doesn't stop me from enjoying it, though it has stopped me from
believing I can hector anyone else into enjoying the same things I do.  I
offer them the opportunity to experience it, but it's up to them to enjoy
it.

len.