Jim Tobin thought that:

>...the notion that one is "obliged" to get to know ALL (presumably) of
>the RC before venturing beyond it is troubling in more ways than one.

It also provokes further argument.  The most frequently heard Mozart piano
concertos are, perhaps we can agree, Nos 19-27.  There are listers who
have disparaged #26, for example, and might not regard it as part of the
received canon.  There are others who regard #9 very highly, as do I, but
it is not thought of as "mature" Mozart, and may thus be seen as being less
worthy than its later companions.  And what of the other piano concertos?
Are they part of the RC because they're by Mozart? Is *anything* by Mozart
part of it, even trifles such as his scatological songs, for example? Does
this not ultimately support the view that each individual has his/her own
RC?

If we can't agree on someone like Mozart, then what of those composers on
the fringe? Are we more likely to include Schumann because he continued the
symphony tradition, but omit, say, Weber, whose symphonies are not part of
the RC? On the other hand, someone whose main interest is opera would
probably regard Weber as in, but Schumann would not be.

And the canon has its little divisions.  Take, for example, American CM.
To whom do we award the gold, silver and bronze? Carter for longevity, even
though many find much of his work "difficult"? Piston or Schuman because
they wrote a body of symphonies? And how do you rate someone like Shapero,
whose wonderful Symphony for Classical Orchestra clamours for a place in
the canon? Apart from the symphony and his Nine Minute Overture, I know
nothing else by him.  How do we see people like Barber and Hanson these
days? A bit passe compared with more recent composers? Do we exclude anyone
born after, say, 1960?

Trying to define the undefinable and put music into compartments does not
help us.  Which pigeonhole fits Granville Bantock? British composer? Late
Romantic? Minor writer of rarely played music (code for second-rate)? I
don't care - I love his stuff.  Today I read that next month Hyperion is
releasing a CD containing his symphonic poem Thalaba the Destroyer which
has not been performed for 100 years.  The chances are high that I'll like
it.  It doesn't need labels.

Richard Pennycuick
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