Bernard Chasan on Messiaen:

>Labelled as atonal by the onion comedians, he is surely one of the most
eclectic of modern composers.

Messiaen was a great composer, and I especially enjoy Eclairs sur l'Au-Dela
and Visions de l'Amen.  But I would say that some of Messiaen's works
from the 1960s can be considered as "atonal".  The most radical example
is Chronochromie (1960), an interesting work influenced by the music of...
Pierre Boulez!  During the peak of the European avant-garde, even Messiaen
felt obliged to learn - and apply - serial techniques.

The discussion concerning the "Onion joke" shows again that the word
"atonalism" has a pejorative meaning for many music lovers.  But the
"difficult" or "agressive" character of the 1950s avant-garde works (Le
Marteau sans Maitre, etc) hides the fact that there's some *great* atonal
music out there...  For example:  Varese's Arcana, Druckman's Viola
Concerto (New World Records), Lutoslawski's Third Symphony (Salonen -
Sony), Ligeti's=

Lontano (Wergo), Schonberg's Ode to Napoleon (Boulez - Sony), Balakauskas'
Oboe Concerto (Bis), and Penderecki's Passion of St.  Luke (Composer -
Argo).  But perhaps someone will tell me that these great works are
"purely tonal" ; -)

Daniel B