Bob Dubois <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>If there are any Belgian music fans, I must remain all of them to the
>biggest festival for contemporary music in Belgium: Ars Musica.  The
>opening concert yesterday has been such a big success that some people
>say it might be possible that all the rest of the festival won't be able
>to score better.

There are dozen of streams in contemporary music: serial, spectral,
neo-tonal, neo-romantic, neo-classic,..., minimalist, post-Stravinskian or
post-Chostakovitchian and so on ...  Unfortunately, Ars Musica is
continously mostly illustrating the first two ones.  I admire Mr Boulez
both as a great conductor and a known specialist in musical theory.  But
for what regards his componist activities I am less enthusiast!  I never
wake up urging in listening to Respons or Le marteau sans maitre nor I
listen to his works putting them repeteadly on my cd reader.  May be one
day...  but I lack time because of Part, Gorecki, Tuur, Silvestrov,
Rautavaraa, Vasks, Tormis, Norgard, Tavener, Mac Millan, Ince, Torke,
Tsontakis, Adams, Reich, Rzewski, ...  and even, when I am very tired, the
best of Glass and horror!  Nyman.  Darmstadt has killed Germany.  This
country has dominated music during three centuries.  Where is Germany now
in music? And italy and France? Russia resists because it dominateded the
XXth century thanks to Stravinsky and Chostakovitch.  The balt states are
a good illustration of that.  However the most living music is now written
in England and America.  Poor continental Europe: wake up!

A.H.