Modern Music and After

Prelude 1945 1. Rational and irrational: western Europe, 1945-50 Paris, 1945-8 - The young Boulez - Boulez's Second Piano Sonata - Other stories - Musique concrète - Variations: Nono 2. Silencing music: Cage, 1946-52 Rhythmic structuring - Towards silence - Around Cage 3. Total organization: western Europe, 1949-54 The moment of total serialism 1: Darmstadt 1949 and Darmstadt 1951 - Interlude: the patrons of modernism - The moment of total serialism 2: Paris 1952 - The human voice 1: Nono - Electronic music - The human voice 2: Barraqué 4. Classic modernism and other kinds: the United States, 1945-55 Schoenberg - Carter - Babbitt - Home-made music - Wolpe - After silence 5. The Cold War 6. Extension and development: western Europe, 1953-6 From points to groups - Systems of organization - Le Marteau sans maître - Sound and word - ...how time passes... - Statistics 1956 7. Mobile form: 1956-61 Cage - Stockhausen and Boulez - Boulez and Berio - Barraqué - Exit from the labyrinth 8. Elder responses Stravinsky - Messiaen - Varèse - Symphonists and others 9. Reappraisal and disintegration: 1959-64 Questioning voices: Ligeti, Bussotti, Kagel - Stumbling steps: Kurtág - Listening ears: Cage, Young, Babbitt - Exploiting the moment: Stockhausen - The last concert: Nono 1965 10. Of elsewhen and elsewhere The distant past - (The imaginary past) - The distant or not so distant east - Quotation - Meta-music 11. Music theatre Opera and 'Opera' - Music theatre - Instrumental theatre 12. Politics Cardew - Rzewski - The composer in the factory 13. Virtuosity and improvisation The virtuoso - Virtuosity in question - The electric musician - Improvisation 14. Orchestras or Computers Ochestras - Computer Music 15. Minimalism and melody New York minimalism - Minimalism in Europe - Melody 16. Ending 1975 17. Holy Minimalisms Pärt - Tavener and Górecki - (Messiaen) - Ustvolskaya 18. New Romanticisms Rihm - Schnittke, and the hectic present - Gubaidulina, and the visionary future - Silvestrov, and the reverberating past - Symphony? - Feldman and loss - Lachenmann and regain 19. New Simplicities Cage, or innocence - Denyer, or outsiderness - Kurtág, or immediacy - Holliger, or extremity - Sciarrino, or intimacy 20. New Complexities Ferneyhough - Finnissy - Charged solos 21. Old Complexities Carter and the poets - Xenakis and the Arditti Quartet - Nono and listening - Stockhausen and Licht - Birtwistle and ritual - Berio and memory - IRCAM and Boulez 22. Spectralisms Radulescu and Tenney - Grisey - Vivier 23. (Unholy?) Minimalisms Reich - Andriessen 24. Eclecticisms Kagel et al. - Donatoni - Bolcom and Adams - Ligeti 1989 25. Towards mode/meme Rootless routes: Ligeti - Memory's memorials: Berio and Kurtág - Remade modes: Adams, Adès, Benjamin - Pesson's past and Pauset's - Traditions' tracks: around Zorn 26. Towards the strange self Act I: Schneewittchen - Entr'acte: Kurtág's Beckett - Act II: Luci mie traditrici - Entr'acte: Birtwistle's Celan - Act III: Three Sisters - Entr'acte: Kyburz's no-one - Act IV: Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern 27. Towards transcendence Gubaidulina and Christ - Haas and darkness - Harvey and the Buddha - Grisey and rebirth 2001 28. Towards change? Resources Index