POLLERO!: ILM's Top 100 Notated Pieces of Music Since 1890

The String Quartet No. 4, one of Bartók’s greatest masterpieces, is imbued with elements from Hungarian, Romanian, and Bulgarian music. It was written a year after String Quartet No. 3, and the two quartets can be viewed as a pair. Both works are in Bartók’s most abstract style, and display a highly coloristic approach to string sonority. However, the Fourth Quartet departs from the Third in its structure, which is an “arch” form: A-B-C-B-A. The first and final movements are linked, as are the second and fourth movements. The fourth movement was a later addition to the Quartet; Bartók did not originally conceive of the work in the symmetrical five movements. The third movement, the only slow one of the Quartet, stands alone. Bartok called it the “kernel” of the work, around which the other movements are arranged.

The Quartet demands great technical ability from the players. It is the first time we hear the famous “Bartók” pizzicato – where the player plucks the string hard enough to make it “snap” against the instrument. The Quartet also asks for a plethora of other extended techniques, along with rhythmic szforzandos, particularly in the outer movements. In the second movement, all four instruments play with mutes on the strings, and the matching fourth movement is entirely pizzicato.

- from: http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/string-quartet-no-4-bela-bartok

https://youtu.be/nz8uzuJxufo?t=13s

I have a weird pet peeve about people describing music as "abstract" because it is avant-garde or unconventional. Other than musique concrète, all instrumental music is abstract.

Our last one for the night, another film score:

61 Yamashiro Shoji (with Geinoh Yamashirogumi) - Akira (Original Soundtrack) Points: 429 Votes: 3 #1s: 0

http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/1433866018/akira2_0.jpg

Recap:

61 Yamashiro Shoji (with Geinoh Yamashirogumi) - Akira (Original Soundtrack)
62 Bela Bartok - String Quartet no. 4
63 Maurice Ravel - String Quartet in F
64 Benjamin Britten - War Requiem
65 Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ
66 Pierre Boulez - le marteau sans maître
67 Brian Eno - Discreet Music
68 John Luther Adams - Become Ocean
69 Jerry Goldsmith - Alien, film score
70 Gustav Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
71 Igor Stravinsky - Les Noces
72 Claude Debussy - String Quartet in G Minor
73 Gustav Mahler - Symphony no. 9
74 Gavin Bryars - The Sinking of the Titanic
75 Antonin Dvořák - Symphony no. 9 ('New World')
76 Iannis Xenakis - Pithoprakta
76 Steve Reich - Sextet
78 Charles Ives - The Unanswered Question
79 Jean Sibelius - Symphony No. 4
80 Gustav Mahler - Symphony no. 5
81 Philip Glass - Akhnaten
82 George Gershwin - An American In Paris
83 Antonin Dvořák - Rusalka
84 Steve Reich - Piano Phase
85 Giacomo Puccini - Manon Lescaut
86 Claude Debussy - Etudes
87 Scott Joplin - The Entertainer
88 luciano berio - Sequenza III (for female voice)
89 Igor Stravinsky - Symphonies of Wind Instruments
90 Ennio Morricone - For A Few Dollars More, film score
90 Les Baxter - Quiet Village
92 Glenn Branca - Symphony no. 13 ('Hallucination City')
93 Maurice Duruflé - Requiem
94 Arvo Pärt - Magnificat
95 Gustav Mahler - Symphony no. 3
96 John Cage - First Construction in Metal
97 Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music
98 Iannis Xenakis - Metastasis
99 Benjamin Britten - The Turn of the Screw, opera after Henry James
100 Gérard Grisey - Les espaces acoustiques

Hoo boy, pretty much striking out completely on Spotify when it comes to the score of Akira. I found one solitary rerecording of one theme on a comp of anime music.

I haven't seen this movie in 20 years. Pieces from the soundtrack are sounding pretty cool now.

The Akira soundtrack is still amazing, the sound and arrangements are so unique! All those weird & dramatic vocalisations, busy urban marimbas, and so on... Apparently Geinoh Yamashirogumi consists of mostly amateur musicians, and Shoji Yamashiro himself is a scientist as his main occupation.

Btw, if you want to get the soundtrack on CD, remember to get the Symphonic Suite Akira version. I have the 1988 Japanese CD, and it sounds amazing, especially considering how inconsistent CD mastering was on many Western albums in the '80s. There's another version of the soundtrack that adds dialogue and sound effects from the movie on top of the music, you don't want that!

Oh yeah, and War Requiem! It's not beautiful and sublime in ways a lot of my favourite Britten is, but it sure is effective in getting its message through. Last year I saw it performed live for the first time, and some of those discordant bits conveying the horrors of war are heavier than any metal or noise music I've ever heard. Just breathtaking!

bartok's a great composer, but he doesn't really have a "definitive work" imo. he's got a bunch of stuff that's pretty much all great. so i don't expect him to be placing super high in this poll!

I feel like the academic consensus for peak Bartok is sonata for two pianos and percussion/quartet no 5/music for strings percussion and celeste

Jon, was there some particular reason you didn't put the original, Britten-conducted recording of "War Requiem" (with Pears, Vishnevskay, and Fischer-Dieskau) on the Spotify list? This isn't meant as a criticism, you have way better judgment over different recordings of classical music than me, I was just wondering why you chose the version you did?

Quartet 5 over Quartet 4? Really? Huh.

James Redd: Neat video. It reminded me that I need to get a copy of the Bream 20th Century Guitar disc, which I just ordered from Amazon. I was surprised to see it on Apple Music six months ago or so, since it had been OOP.

xp

60 Maurice Ravel - Rapsodie espagnole 433 3 0

http://img.cdandlp.com/2012/11/imgL/115773771.jpg

I should get into Ravel one day. All I know is the obvious tune, and I love that one, but I've never delved deeper into his oeuvre.

bolero is so completely unrepresentative of ravel's work! i'm not deeply familiar with his compositions but "miroirs" is amazing, he's a must-listen if you're into impressionism at all.

Miroirs was my highest ravel vote
Also am in awe of the melodies de Stephan mallarme, ma mere de l'oye, Daphnis, and both piano concertos

Tuomas I totally would have used britten's recording but all the versions of it on Spotify are from before universal music group stopped their audible watermarking of files, so they don't sound good. Hickox has been a common 2nd choice for the war requiem (though I kind of wanted to use a more recent wildcard one)

Ok, that explains it... Just out of curiousity, what does this watermark sound like?

big honking airhorn every 2 minutes

Elements like the decay on pianos, acoustic guitars and cymbals, and the body of quieter choral passages, are most affected. It basically sounds like certain frequencies are being heard through the blades of a fan. It's not the most glaring thing but once you notice it its inescapable, and I can't help but think it produces a subtle feeling of displeasure in listeners who don't notice it as well.

Xpost to self Jesus the list of great ravel must also include the piano trio! And the orchestral version of tombeau de couperin

At #59, an avant-prog epic:

59 Louis Andriessen - De Staat Points: 433 Votes: 4 #1s: 0

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0001/003/MI0001003231.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

I wrote De Staat (The Republic) as a contribution to the debate about the relation of music to politics. Many composers view the act of composing as, somehow, above social conditioning. I contest that. How you arrange your musical material, the techniques you use and the instruments you score for, are largely determined by your own social circumstances and listening experience, and the availability of financial support. I do agree, though, that abstract musical material - pitch, duration and rhythm - are beyond social conditioning: it is found in nature. However, the moment the musical material is ordered it becomes culture and hence a social entity.

I have used passages from Plato to illustrate these points. His text is politically controversial, if not downright negative: everyone can see the absurdity of Plato's statement that the mixolydian mode should be banned as it would have a damaging influence on the development of character.

My second reason for writing De Staat is a direct contradiction of the first: I deplore the fact that Plato was wrong. If only it were true that musical innovation could change the laws of the State!

-Andriessen, 1994; from http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Louis-Andriessen-De-Staat/1425

Btw, discussion of Bartok SQs should be supplemented with: Let's listen to Bartok String Quartets

don't know Andriessen, love that quote, can't wait to go home and check him out

He had sort of a more aggressive, dissonant take on post-minimalism. I'd be interested to see what you think.

A way more pugilistic early nyman

Andriessen is easily my favourite living composer but I'm a terrible dilettante so that might not be much of an endorsement

I was just reminded that they're putting on Messiaen's Quatuor pour le fin de temps here tonight! I hope I can make it.

Another long-time favourite for me:

58 Edgard Varese - Density 21.5 Points: 439 Votes: 5 #1s: 0

http://image.slidesharecdn.com/lecture51massanddensity-141117213253-conversion-gate02/95/lecture-5-1massanddensity-19-638.jpg?cb=1416260712

Even the most cursory view of the exciting flute
repertoire of the twentieth century will immediately
recognize Varèse’s short masterpiece, Density 21.5,
as a seminal work having a far-reaching effect on later
repertoire. Three aspects of the work stand out in this
regard:
■ It contains the first use of key clicks—pitched,
drum-like sounds made by slapping the keys
while playing a soft staccato note in the low register.
The wealth of key click sounds and other
extended techniques now found in our repertoire
can be traced to this innocent beginning in 1936.
■ Varèse’s extended use of the extreme upper register,
demonstrating the possibilities of Georges
Barrère’s new platinum flute, was undreamed of
at the time.
■ Density 21.5 is not a “flute piece” but rather a
Varèse piece. The dramatic impact of the work
redefined the flute as an instrument capable of a
powerful musical intensity

- Patricia Spencer, from http://www.patriciaspencerflute.com/images/VareseArticleFinal.pdf

I can't believe I forgot to vote Density 21.5 -- really approachable Varese IMO.

Tons of great pieces in the roll-out so far. As far as Ravel and Bartok -- these are two of my favorite composers, and tho I find Ravel more consistent than Bartok, they both make it easy to drop in at any point in their repertoire. I'm a little surprised Bartok's quartet #4 is so low -- I always viewed it as the pick for a quartet cycle that as a whole, is one of THE cycles of the 20th Century. Ravel's as well (and also Debussy's) -- I fully expect to see Shostakovich (8?) show up soon.

If you're curious about Ravel beyond Bolero, I say start with the piano music. To me, his piano music is sublime -- practically perfect, really. Hoping Gaspard de la Nuit shows up, as its second movement Le Gibet is my idea of piano music that's as rich and resonant as any orchestral piece.

and thanks to all for the congrats! Hopefully able to contribute more to the thread now that the baby is coping better with life on the outside.

We've got a whole string of heavy hitters here. What might be the most grooving serial piece up next:

57 Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kreuzspiel Points: 442 Votes: 4 #1s: 0

http://www.karlheinzstockhausen.org/OCR/cross_play_4.jpg

The video of this performance really rocks.

Unfortunately, I don't have Griffiths or Schwartz/Godfrey with me now but we can start with Universal's introduction:

Stockhausen was 23 years old when he composed this piece, scoring it for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and three percussionists. He conducted its premiere performance (Darmstadt, 1952), which ended in a scandal. The structure of the piece, consisting of three “stages,” the processes set in motion (clearly and precisely indicated in Stockhausen’s introduction) were evidently too new, too revolutionary. Now, 60 years later, Kreuzspiel is played the world over, from Tokyo to Sao Paulo to Lucerne, as a standard piece in the repertoire of modern classics.
The work consists of an interplay, a “crossing” or “intersecting” of “temporal and spatial processes” which are “simultaneously linked” in the third stage.

from http://www.universaledition.com/composers-and-works/Karlheinz-Stockhausen/composer/698/work/3248

12ish minutes into De Staat and loving it

What might be the most grooving serial piece up next:

I thought this was going to be Agon!

a kind of grooving anyway IMO

One I like for the car:

56 Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra Points: 446 Votes: 3 #1s: 0

http://www.shadeddog.com/images/rca_ecs-9-v2.jpg

late to this party, but very much looking forward to investigating the results

thanks for doing this!

love Concerto for Orchestra, and along w Rite of Spring and Alexander Nevsky score, part of my "sounds like Star Wars" canon ;) 2nd movt = C3PO and R2D2 providing comic relief as they walk thru the desert on Tatooine

heh

55 John Zorn - Cobra Points: 449 Votes: 4 #1s: 0

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/gijoe/images/f/fe/Cobra_logo.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100403201428

My #28.

The score is worth checking out.
And this video (by Derek Bailey) covers it as well as any quote I could dig up.