Tim Mahon recommended to me:

>Then listen to the second horn concerto, the four last songs, Tod
>und Verklarung or the central section of Eine Alpensinfonie.  If
>these don't change your mind, nothing will!

I state that I could not consider Strauss the composer of the century, and
folks assume I have not listened to many of his works.  But, if I was not
familiar with most of the works, I wouldn't have made the statement.
Reasonable?

Using the Four Last Songs as an example, I love those pieces.  They are
late-romantic to the core, and that musical period is one of my favorites.
But, from my view, I can't designate masterful late-romantic works as being
a contributing factor for selecting Strauss as THE composer of the 20th
century.  The composer receiving that designation from me would have to
have written works like nothing that had come before, in addition to
writing masterful compositions.

Bernard Chasan indicated that this selection business is arbitrary.  Sure,
any selection process is arbitrary, but it can be very meaningful for the
person making it (just as it means something to Bernard that he'd pick
Bartok if forced to make a selection).  And, it has some meaning for others
who now know that Bernard would pick Bartok.

Don Satz
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