[log in to unmask] writes: >HB is not an atonal composer in the conventional sense of the word. >His use of dissonance is nothing to frighten a hardcore Metallica fan >(or Searle, if you prefer a marginally more reputable eg) Whoa! Wait a minute. I'm very much a classical music addict, and a serious classical pianist, but I must protest at the reference to Metallica as being "atonal". There is a hideous surplus of "heavy metal" that lacks tonality (or is essentially tonal, but doesn't sound that way because of techniques such as distortion etc.), and/or betray a general lack of performing and composing ability. Metallica's music is neither. The basic harmonic foundation of their music is a bared fifth, although that's just the starting point, and a hypersimplified one at that...some of it is relatively harmonically complex. But I can't think of any song that could really be described as atonal. Additionally, their music is full of arresting rhythms, and their songs, like many other rock groups', often have what is missing from modern classical concerto performances: an improvised solo which showcases the performer's abilities and is based on previously stated thematic material. Sounds awfully like a cadenza, doesn't it? (That's not a criticism of modern music, rather it's partially a comment on the lamentable fact that in the concert one rarely ever hears improvised cadenzas in, say, Mozart concertos. I think that's partially because for various reasons the whole art of performance of "old" music has become more technical, clinical even, and less spontaneous. But that's another thread entirely.) For you Chicagoans on the list (I'm assuming there are at least a few), our beloved Rachel Barton has met Metallica; the weekend of the grand re-opening of "Symphony Center" in October 97 (does anyone else besides me cling to referring to it as Orchestra Hall?), she presented a string trio arrangement of one of their songs; the title escapes me. A woman in a row behind me leaned to her companion and commented that is sounded like Bartok, which brought a smile to my face. I like Metallica... but maybe I'm just unsophisticated. Michael Cooper [log in to unmask]