Don Satz:

>Speaking of obscure, I also recently bought a Marco Polo disc of Poot
>symphonic works and a CPO disc of Toch symphonies.  So far, I don't find
>much merit in either composer.  Could list members confirm my impressions
>or comment on what they like about either composer?

I'm not all that big on Poot, but I really do like Toch.  I can't speak
about the CPO performances, however.  I will, however, be ordering the
disc.  What I like in general about Toch is the vigorous counterpoint and
the rather grim chromaticism.  He's also an excellent chamber composer.
I recommend his string quartets and his piano quintet.

Toch was also known for a jeu d'esprit called The Geographical Fugue, from
a larger work written entirely for speaking voices.  It's a rhythmic tour
de force and a very fine fugue ("Trinidad!  And the big Mississippi and the
town Honolulu.  The Popcateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico,
Mexico").

Toch learned to compose entirely on his own.  He even taught himself to
read music, secretly, since his parents were opposed to a musical career.
His self-imposed curriculum is one of the strangest in the history of
music.  He bought out of his allowance a collection of Ten Famous String
Quartets by Mozart.  He wasn't so sure about Mozart, but the word "famous"
convinced him to drop the cash.  He began by copying out the parts.  He
then copied out the opening (or, as he later learned, the "exposition") and
then tried to compose the next 32 bars.  He compared his results to what
Mozart had actually written and, in his own words, sank into despair.
Nevertheless, he continued with this method, always using Mozart to
"correct" him.  He then wrote a string quartet entirely on his own.  This
went on for a number of years, until he decided to submit one of his works
to a competition.  He won first prize, which included a year of formal
composition study.  He arrived at the professor's house, all excited at the
prospect of his first real lesson.  It turns out that the professor asked
to study with him.  At this point, Toch was able to convince his family
that he should be a musician after all.

He was considered one of the leading Austro-German composers of the
Twenties, and his works appeared at a number of important festivals.  The
AnschluB forced Toch, who was Jewish, to emigrate.  He wound up briefly in
London (where he wrote a delightful "Big Ben Variations) and finally in
southern California, where he taught generations of film composers their
business.  He continued to compose, gained a reputation as a symphonist,
and won the Pulitzer Prize at least once.  I'm very happy that cpo's
decided to take a chance.

Steve Schwartz