Introduction to Contemporary Music [antikvár]

PREFACE This book attempts to lead the reader to an understanding and enjoyment of twentieth-century music. It surveys the broad panorama of the contemporary scene and tries to assess the forces that have shaped the musical climate we inhabit. Musicians would generally agree as to the identity of the handful of composers who have played the decisive roles on the musical scene of our time. There would be far less agreement about the composers who occupy less commanding positions. Where those are concerned, no two musicians would see eye to eye about who should receive greater emphasis and who less. My aim has been to present the total picture: both the main trends and the subsidiary currents. It would be pleasant to say that this work stands above geographical considerations. Such, however, is not the case. Books coming out of Paris or London devote considerable space to composers who are hardly known in the United States, but who are important in the musical life of their own country. By the same token, I have described at some length the doings of the American school. Some may feel that I have overemphasized our native music. Yet I believe that in a book written out of the American scene, this is as it should be. I have discussed in detail only works that are available on records, as I consider it pointless for anyone to read about a piece of music unless he can hear it. This procedure offered no difficulty for the major figures, who are very well represented on records. In a few cases, it was a problem. For example, I originally included a discussion of Alilhaud's First Symphony; but the piece was dropped from the record catalog just as I finished the book, and I had to substitute something else. The same thing happened with Dallapiccola's Canti di Prigioiila. Although no one can free himself entirely from his prejudices, I have tried not to inflict mine upon the reader. A4y goal, rather, is to explain what the composer set out to do and how he went about