James Tobin <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>A while back, Stirling Newberry suggested that if you wanted to see
>a list of truly obscure composers, just check the Pulitzer winners
>of the last couple of decades.

I went through the list that Dave posted as a postscript to James' message.

For each decade, I list
  the number of prizes awarded that decade;
  the number of composers whose names I'm familiar with;
  the number of composers whose works I've heard (not necessarily the
  one they won for).

   40's  7  7  4
   50's  9  5  5
   60's  8  6  5
   70's 10  7  5
   80's  9  7  7
   90's 10  6  5

The conclusions I reach are

 - The obscurity level of Pulitzer winners seems to be fairly constant.

 - At least some selections are rather obscure.  I consider myself to
   be fairly well versed in contemporary music; I was surprised to
   recognize only 72% of the winners.

Here are my stats for the fiction award, for comparison:

   60's  5  3  1
   70's  7  4  2
   80's 10  9  2
   90's 10 10  3

Dan Schmidt -> [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]