jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (04/11/84)
I thought the article containing the dire oral threat (among other
obscenities) was pretty bloody funny. But then, both punk and new wave
(as well as just about all other "popular" and the "bad" classical music
Gordon Fisher talks about) are about as interesting to me as yesterday's
oatmeal. (Note: personal opinion only!) So I guess I'd be a bad one to
judge.
It does seem true that classical improvisation (leaving out aleatory
music) has pretty much died out as a public phenomenon. But in Bach's
and in Beethoven's day, composers were as famous for their improvs as for
their published compositions. I heard a sad remnant of this tradition on
a friend's recording of a Dinu Lipatti concert - he improvised for about
30 seconds before launching into his program. Doubtless many scholarly
treatises have been written on this decline - I wonder if any of them
are readable?
I'll bet the living rooms of various present-day composers still
hear plenty of improvisation (mine certainly does, although I can hardly
claim the title).
beyond repentence? hope not.
Jeff Winslow