[log in to unmask] writes:

>HB is not an atonal composer in the conventional sense of the word.
>His use of dissonance is nothing to frighten a hardcore Metallica fan
>(or Searle, if you prefer a marginally more reputable eg)

Whoa!  Wait a minute.  I'm very much a classical music addict, and a
serious classical pianist, but I must protest at the reference to Metallica
as being "atonal".  There is a hideous surplus of "heavy metal" that lacks
tonality (or is essentially tonal, but doesn't sound that way because of
techniques such as distortion etc.), and/or betray a general lack of
performing and composing ability.  Metallica's music is neither.  The basic
harmonic foundation of their music is a bared fifth, although that's just
the starting point, and a hypersimplified one at that...some of it is
relatively harmonically complex.  But I can't think of any song that could
really be described as atonal.  Additionally, their music is full of
arresting rhythms, and their songs, like many other rock groups', often
have what is missing from modern classical concerto performances: an
improvised solo which showcases the performer's abilities and is based on
previously stated thematic material.  Sounds awfully like a cadenza,
doesn't it? (That's not a criticism of modern music, rather it's partially
a comment on the lamentable fact that in the concert one rarely ever hears
improvised cadenzas in, say, Mozart concertos.  I think that's partially
because for various reasons the whole art of performance of "old" music has
become more technical, clinical even, and less spontaneous.  But that's
another thread entirely.)

For you Chicagoans on the list (I'm assuming there are at least a few),
our beloved Rachel Barton has met Metallica; the weekend of the grand
re-opening of "Symphony Center" in October 97 (does anyone else besides
me cling to referring to it as Orchestra Hall?), she presented a string
trio arrangement of one of their songs; the title escapes me.  A woman in
a row behind me leaned to her companion and commented that is sounded like
Bartok, which brought a smile to my face.  I like Metallica...  but maybe
I'm just unsophisticated.

Michael Cooper
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