Bernard Chasan <[log in to unmask]> writes: >> But I thing that Ms. Wong would agree that there is an enormous amount >> of twentieth century music which is accessible. Joccelyn Wang replies: >"Accessible" has become a euphemism for tolerable, not likely to drive >audiences from their seats in flight from atonal screeching. The fact is >that much of, if not most of, classical music itself is inaccessible by >virtue of its sheer complexity, the depth of thought, and the attention >span required of its listeners. But, yes, there was a lot of melodic music >composed last century. I of course understand that classical music requires an attention span. I use "accessible" to indicate that I think that a serious listener can connect with it without detailed study or repetition. Incidentally, I think that music can be too accessible, too easy to take. Lowell Lieberman's Second Symphony is, to my ears, a case in point. It is too self consciously beautiful, and all the beauty is skin deep. I will take Schoenberg (always excepting Pierrot Lunaire) any day, and Berg even quicker. Bernard Chasan <[log in to unmask]>