John Smyth:

>It's all so relative isn't it.  While wallowing in the sounds of Puccini's
>"Ill Trittico," ...  it was so heartbreaking to read in the liner notes
>that Puccini was very concerned his music might not be modern (artistic)
>enough, and that he would only be known as a composer of "popular" music.
>
>With "Trittico," finished in 1918, after such progressive works such as
>Schoenberg's "Erwartung," (1909), Strauss' "Solome" and "Elektra" (1905
>and 1909, and Stravinsky's "Rite," (1913), it's hard not to believe that
>Puccini was speaking of himself.

Actually, Puccini stole from all those guys.  "La Fanciulla," "Schicchi,"
and "Turandot" are modern works, or at least works that owe a great deal
to early Modernism.

Steve Schwartz