Bob Draper wrote:

>The best of a minor composer
>(eg Reicha) is better the worst of a major composer (eg haydn).

To which Baris Kilicbay responded:
>
>I think it is a little bit unfair to say that Reicha is a *minor*
>composer.
>It is true that he is underestimated and partly forgotten but this fact
>doesn't mean that he is a minor composer.

Pierre Boulez once said that the minor works of a major composer can teach
us a great deal, but the major works of a minor composer never can.....

I don't listen to or conduct music entirely to "learn" from it, but in a
restricted sense Boulez was right.

However, in many instances major works of a minor composer can move
us and/or give us great pleasure (I decline to give examples; there are
plenty from 1600-1999) whereas the other sort often come close to making
us laugh (Beethoven's "Wellington" Symphony, for instance, although it is
an excellent exemplar of Beethoven's "heroic decade" style)

Personally I recommend the paradoxical approach and maintain that all
generalizations are intrinsically false, including, of course, the
preceding.

Joel Lazar
Conductor, Bethesda MD
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