James Tobin wrote:

>In response to Janos' main question, "modernism" is probably going to
>take a long rest, as an ongoing movement, because no new style is going
>to shock or startle informed audiences for a while.  What the 20th Century
>has shown is, not that everything has been tried, but that everything is
>possible, "all is permitted" in the arts.  The challenge for composers now
>is to produce work that is new and fresh to the ears of the audience for
>it, whatever that takes.

I get a sense, from the miniscule sample of contemporary music that
reaches my ears, anyway, that we are getting into a rather complex period
in which, on the one hand, some composer/musicians are still exploring
every practical way of making sound just to see what turns up, and on the
other hand, composers who want to actually have an audience are trying to
write music that, rather than being "pure, absolute" music, connects with
listeners in a personal way.  Corigliano's AIDS symphony strikes me as a
good example.  Some may sniff at this kind of thing as "message" music, but
Bach and Beethoven delivered plenty of messages too, and no one accused
them of working for Western Union.

In any case, I don't see any reason for the art of composing to come to a
halt in the foreseeable future.

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]