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Posted by Figo on March 28, 19101 at 17:12:50:
In Reply to: And... posted by Figo on March 28, 19101 at 16:56:51:
: ...you praise Benny Goodman, but you don't seem to realize that he understood the value of a great many composers of his day whom I'm sure you would be very quick to deride. He commissioned and/or recorded important works for the clarinet by Copland, Stravinsky, Bartok, Bernstein, Gould, Nielsen, and others. In most instances, the composers themselves participated in the actual recordings, either as pianists or conductors. If it was good enough for Benny, jeez, wouldn't you think there was some merit to the music? Similarly, Heifetz, Rubinstein, Horowitz, etc. -- to name but a few others of Goodman's generation -- all commissioned and performed works by contemporary composers. It's not all crap, friend. And I sincerely doubt Charles Ives is going to fade, particularly in any study of American music, especially since he exercises more of an influence today than he ever has. Remember, very few even knew of his compositions until the 1950s. (However, there is one amazing anecdote by a percussionist in the orchestra that suggests Gustav Mahler may have actually conducted a private performance of the Third Symphony!)
: Figo, lamenting the fact that Philip Roth and Toni Morrison wrote no clarinet music for Benny Goodman, so that he could REALLY -slap you.