This too, although not for the reasons the author intended, I think.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-asia/carter-is-dead_b_2838247.html
Oh god, not him again....
I just discovered this...
As a public service I present the Musical Invective Kit, especially useful for writers trying to attract attention by trolling for HuffPost. Just fill in the blanks with the name and works of your least favorite composer (recently deceased ones are best, particularly those who are lovingly remembered by their friends and colleagues) and blog:
"[Name of composer]'s death has brought about a number of hagiographic articles confirming [his/her] stature as one of the greatest American composers of the [recently ended time period]. This is somewhat perplexing, because even among [his/her] musical and compositional friends, while they found [Name of composer] quite likeable, few, it is said, really liked [his/her] music. [Name of composer]'s works suggest a decent ear but not a great one. Or perhaps more to the point, they demonstrate a certain blandness of personality. While the pieces are well-done, they simply don't have a clarity of purpose, a sense of being highly profiled. They are nice, genteel, but hardly demand or command our attention. [Name of composer]'s methodology is utterly incomprehensible. [His/Her] approach to time and structure is similarly obtuse. There is a profusion of ideas, however ill-defined or amorphous, but the rhythmic flow keeps them in the same frame. Nothing is terribly memorable, as the musical gestures fail to add up. Notes remain completely on the surface, floating free as isolated atoms; nothing binds them together, not any true musical sense. The disintegration into chaos proceeds apace in the next [number] decades. This is displayed in [long list of other pieces]. What [people who like Composer's music] might note is that the pitches, whether as a single line, as polyphony, or as harmonic structures, have ceased to make any coherent sense. [Name of composer], like [Name of another composer you don't like], gave up his ear for an idea. Can different moods be so quickly traversed without producing chaos or undifferentiated boredom? Can a wild flotsam and jetsam surface really make up for any sense of deep note coherence? A number of years ago I attended an all-[Name of composer] concert played by some of his most important admirers. They are truly great virtuosi, but even their technique and interpretive powers could not bring coherence to a music in which there is so little. For to produce finely etched music demands a great ear, a large heart, a rich and deep personality, and an unerring sense of drama and pacing. [Name of composer] just didn't have it to give, or he thought [he/she] was on to something better, but wasn't."There you have it. Works with tonalists, modernists, serialists, minimalists, post-modernists, and just about any other "ist" you can think of. Next week: alien autopsies and diet supplements.
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