Wow, thanks for the link to the article, Superbassman.
Hey Michael, I didn't realize how much you are into 20th century classical music. I actually work at the same college that David Cope (composer, modern classical historian, author) does. Not too far away from you, at UCSC in Santa Cruz. He is amazing. For 20 years he's been working on computer programs that artificially produce new pieces based on existing ones--avant garde stuff, really. His Bach experiments are eerie they're so spot on.
Glad to see that Berg is on your list. His
Violin Concerto is one of my favorite pieces. You know, I've always thought that his blend of the 12 tone technique with traditional harmonic elements made him the most sophisticated of the New Viennese School. I love Schoenberg for his early work, and Webern is the dark horse with his total serialism, but Berg is just so special. I've actually been studying his
Lyric Suite lately. (But I keep returning to the woodwind orchestration on Stravinsky's
Rite of Spring--it's stunning)
Ligeti is up there, too! Do you like the postwar Polish movement at all? Early Penderecki is chock full of interesting ideas, sound mass, texture experiments. I've often thought it would be fun to record
Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima or
Polymorphia using all fretless basses, but there would need to be 52 players, and I don't think that's going to happen.
I'm a little ashamed...I spend more time composing and studying classical than I do playing bass. My bass skills have taken such a dive over the last ten years.
