In this engrossing collection of essays, distinguished composer, theorist, journalist, and educator Arthur Berger invites us into the vibrant and ever-changing American music scene that has been his home for most of the twentieth century. Witty, urbane, and always entertaining, Berger describes the music scene in New York and Boston since the 1930s, discussing the heady days when he was a member of a tight-knit circle of avant-garde young composers mentored by Aaron Copland as well as his participation in a group at Harvard University dedicated to Stravinsky. As Virgil Thomson's associate on the New York Herald Tribune and founding editor of the prestigious Perspectives of New Music, Berger became one of the preeminent observers and critics of American music. His reflections on the role of music in contemporary life, his journalism career, and how changes in academia influence the composition and teaching of music offer a unique perspective informed by Berger's abundant intelligence and experience.
Author(s): Arthur Berger
Edition: 1
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 256
Acknowledgments......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
I Trends in Twentieth-Century American Composition......Page 16
1 Composers and Their Audience in the Thirties......Page 18
2 Nationalism......Page 30
3 Is Music in Decline?......Page 44
4 Rendezvous with Apollo: Form Is Feeling......Page 59
5 Reinventing the Past: Pastiche, Collage, or “Criticism”?......Page 78
6 Serialism: Composer as Theorist......Page 92
7 Rapprochement or Friendly Takeover?......Page 102
8 Postmodern Music......Page 108
II Writing about Music......Page 118
9 Virgil Thomson and the Press......Page 120
10 Music on My Beat......Page 131
11 PNM and the Ph.D.......Page 156
12 A Tale of Two Critics: Rosenfeld and Haggin......Page 167
III Aesthetics and Musical Analysis......Page 176
13 Do We Hear What We Say We Hear?......Page 178
14 New Linguistic Modes and the New Theory......Page 190
15 The Octatonic Scale......Page 202
IV Retrospective......Page 216
16 Backstage at the Opera......Page 218
17 A Tale of Two Conductors: Koussevitzky and Mitropoulos......Page 226
18 From My Diary: Brief Encounters......Page 237
Appendix: From My Scrapbook......Page 248
Notes......Page 258
Index......Page 274
