Sylvia Wolfe: >My husband, noting the lack of "modern" classical music in my collection, >gave me a recording of Pierre Boulez' "Trois Sonates pour Piano" as played >by Claude Helffer. I can hardly stand to listen to this stuff. Is there >anybody out there who really likes serial music, and if so, can you put >your finger on what it is that appeals? Just curious. I like serial music. I even like music by Boulez. I don't particularly like the piano sonatas. In fact, my reaction is the same as yours: I can hardly stand to listen to them. Not all 12-tone works sound like them, because not all 12-tone works sound the same. I'd recommend the following eclectic list: Dallapiccola: Piccola musica notturna; Canti di prigionia Schoenberg: Piano Concerto; De profundis; Dreimal tausand Jahre Stravinsky: Agon; Introitus; Requiem Canticles; Threni Copland: Piano Quartet; Inscapes; Music for a Great City Ginastera: Piano Concerto No. 1 Webern: Variations for Orchestra Thomson: A Solemn Music Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 (1st movement); Dybbuk Sessions: Symphony No. 7 Boulez: Le soleil des eaux; Le visage nuptial; Le marteau sans maitre Krenek: Lamentatio Ieremiae Furthermore, there are serial numbers in a lot of works you probably enjoy - most notably, West Side Story. I'm willing to bet most people don't even think about whether these numbers are serial or not. They just accept them as music like any other. This setting off of serial music as something apart from Music - even though begun by its advocates - has done more harm to the acceptance of this music and has led to more half-baked notions about what Real Music is than people who simply hated it. Steve Schwartz