Dave Lampson wrote:

>One of the biggest surprises I had when I got on the net more than a
>decade ago was that there were educated, erudite, perceptive people who
>actually listened to the works of Stockhausen, Xenakis, Ligeti, Berio,
>Boulez, etc. as music.  Remarkable, and utterly baffling for a time.

A lot of these types of composers are very elitist.  Their music can be
boring and dreadful to listen to but very interesting from a structural or
theoretical standpoint.  When I first started studying music, the prof used
Stockhausen's Stimmung as an example of harmonics and overtones and we used
a lot of Steve Reich and other "minimalists" for rhythmic exercises.  These
types of experiences helped me appreciate this stuff more.

The piece by Ligeti used in the movie "2001" -either a requiem or choral
work of some kind- is fascinating.

Sam Pawlett

 [As I've noted before, the over use of Ligeti's music in 2001 has just
 about destronyed certain parts of that movie for me.  -Dave]