Arnold Schoenberg says: I’ll show them bluegrass

Arnold Schoenberg says: I’ll show them bluegrass

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norman lebrecht

February 08, 2019

The old man got there first, ahead of those strummers.

Listen here.

 

Comments

  • John Borstlap says:

    He was also far ahead of Boulez, Xenakis, et al. And of the re-evalutation of tradition in his later explorations (2nd chamber symphony, suite for strings). And of the 20C technique neurosis. He was the father of us all, alas.

    When asked who was the greatest french writer, André Gide answered: ‘Victor Hugo, alas’.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      I’ve always thought that as a composer Xenakis was an excellent engineer.

      • John Borstlap says:

        One bridge he designed but which was never built, showed a threeway structure where cars would drive onto it from three different directions, and going into one of these directions would inevitably lead backwards to where you came from. Also some buildings he designed were very progressive with tilting floors and elevators going sideways. One recent building in Prague is said to have been inspired by Xenakis’ sound piece ‘Metastatis’:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZazYFchLRI

        https://yandex.com/collections/card/58fcb7e0d7f77d5529d1a122/

        Some offices in this building still stuggle with the desks where pencils, staples, lunch boxes, computers, files etc. keep falling-off.

  • Harrumph says:

    He must have had the most horrible breath.

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