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Classical Music as Relics for easy listening

When is classical music art as opposed to easy listening or entertainment? I ask this question because it seems the FM classical music stations almost always claim "for asoothing relaxing time listen to W@#$" I guess this goes hand and hand with the midcult of symphonic fare that the orchestras and the music directors are dishing out. The radio stations play third rate baroque music "to soothe ones nerves on the commute home" (I guess you need something on the rush hour traffic on I-495 in DC) and for the symphonic fare: the same warhorses over and over, relics of dead great composers. Absolutely nothing new. I cannot remember
when the last time I here a modern piece by Part or Schnittke(though he is dead). I only found out Part or Schnittke by reading about them in the New York Times, and
getting a Naxos CD, to hear them. I have to go to Philly to Tower Records to find these composers because neither Borders or B&N have them. No wonder Classical music is dying slowly. Does anybody else have this same kind of frustration or are you just as happy hearing the same recordings over and over? Just asking......
shubertmaniac
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
BTW Schubertmaniac...There is a Tower Records in DC (actually on the border with Alexandria, VA). It is right off the Duke Street exit of I-395.

There are also DC beltway area stores in Rockville, Fairfax, and Vienna/Tysons

There is also a Tower Records in Annapolis on the south side of Rte 2 (south of the mall) in the shopping center that has the movie theater.

The few I have been in had the typical Tower large separate classical rooms.

To me the finest living "symphonic" composer is John Williams. John gets no respect from the classical crowd because he composes for motion pictures. This overlooks that the opera was once the main "theater"; and those operas were composed because the money was good. Look how many classical concerts begin with an overture, which is after all just an old show tune. 100 years from now they'll play the bicycle flying sequence from ET, the Love Theme from Superman, and the Empire March from Star Wars. Like all the others, John will have to be dead for 50 years before they notice how good he is/was.
flex
292 posts
 
There are LOTS of good modern composers!!! I listen to modern music all the time and love it. I would forget the radio and start with a contemporary music history text as a source for directions in 20th century composition. I've never had any trouble finding cd's when I knew what I was looking for. Try some or all of the following: Luciano Berio, Thomas Ades, John Adams, John Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, Witold Lutoslawski, H. Dutilleaux, H.W. Henze, Henryk Gorecki, John Tavener, Giya Kancheli, E. Rautavaara, John Rutter, Toru Takemitsu, E.S. Tuur, Pierre Boulez, Peter Vasks.
flex
292 posts
 
I generally find the internet to be a much better way to locate classical music, especially modern, than searching locally. The Tower and Amazon URL's are pretty decent, and if you look, you can find a number of British and German internet sources that will have anything you can't find here (e.g. BOL). Also, review mags like Gramophone are great sources of commentary on modern recordings.
flex
292 posts
 
Rats, I left out Gyorgy Ligeti, speaking of chamber music.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
While I basically agree with your list Flex, most of the modern composers you list compose music that is pretty small scale and simplistic in comparison with the masters.

There has been literally hundreds upon hundreds of "classical" composers over the last few centuries. Most have been long forgotten for the same reason.
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