User:Wager2010

Sylvester Wager finds the article on Mendelssohn's "Lieder ohne Wörter" or "Songs Without Words" to be useful in rebuilding confidence in the integrity of these well-composed works. The titles most of them have are arbitrary, and it was helpful to know that Mendelssohn did not want them to have specific titles, as such. They should be removed by future editors. It would be interesting to hear a modern symphony orchestra play one of the many transcriptions that exist of some of these Songs. The music community has not been fair enough in assessing the value of these well-wrought works, because they are not very difficult to play. The ever-difficult, dense, and complex is not equal to superiority, in music. At some point, we Western Musicians will have to acknowledge the excellence and appeal of shorter lyric, instrumental works. The usual modern complexities that listeners are faced with when hearing new music continues to drain our audiences. They retreat to the "classics." Everyone feels defensive on some level. New music must find a balance: it must respond to "today" and it must be well-written. Some of our new "serious" music is balanced. But the reliability of that balance is wanting. It is not a sin to write in the key of C, and people understand a fully diminshed 7th chord. These are not exhausted tools, anymore than a hammer would strike a 3/4" nail into a piece of wood.    If we do not consider the abilities of moderate-level players when we write the highest quality works, classical music will be lost to a defensive elite - in this generation, at least. http://www.youtube.com/user/composerland