Daniel Christlein:

>In my opinion, it takes more than a fancy name on the title page to
>draw a connection between a piece of music and astronomy.

It does indeed and the connection is not necessarily there.  The titles may
have totally different 'raisons d'etre'.  The main reasons for Takemitsu's
title "Orion and Pleaides" are purely structural, based on the number 3 (3
stars in Orion's belt) - three-note motifs, major and minor thirds - a
transitional 'and', then a faster, more stellar, more contrapuntal third
movement.

>They may be...  'interesting' works, even valuable in their own right,
>but this astronomer fails to hear the universe in them.

As Daniel went on to say, this is highly subjective, and I add, starting
with the composer himself.(Dutilleux' "Timbres, espaces, mouvements (La
Nuit etoilee)", for example).

I have recently been listening to Sculthorpe's deeply moving 6th string
quartet.  Falling semitone appoggiaturas are often to be heard in
Sculthorpe's work, and again here.  I was interested to learn that
Sculthorpe, on analysis, connects this seemingly spontaneous feature
to Mahler...  and to Johannes Kepler.  The music of the spheres.

   "It seems not unreasonable to assume that, without knowing it, I
   embraced in my own music many aspects of The Farewell" [Das Lied von
   der Erde - a teenage fixation].  And he speaks of Mahler's yearning
   A flat to G appoggiaturas.  Then, in the 1970s, he discovered that
   Kepler's music for the planet Earth was G to A flat then back to G.
   "These pitches have permeated almost all my music since that time.
   Many of the works are like extended songs for this earth, for the
   survival of this planet".

Whatever, his music, (not only the quartet), is quite beautiful.  Regards,

Christine Labroche