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In Reply to: RE: Rochberg didn't really write in Beethoven's or Mahler's styles posted by rbolaw on July 07, 2016 at 06:37:26
I'm not talking about quotations, I'm talking about composing in the style of an earlier period or another composer (or at least trying to), as Rochberg did. Forgive my being slow on the uptake, but I guess I'm hung up with your statement about disappointing imperfect copies (of earlier styles styles and composers).
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No, no, silly. There is a reason Stravinsky said, "Don't borrow -- steal!" (Though apparently that quote originates from someone else? Sigh!) You have to make the work of past artists your own in some way, small or large, to be a successful artist. DHarvey said it best in this thread, I won't try to better him.
Stravinsky didn't just copy Pergolesi when he wrote Pulcinella. And let's face it -- that Italian baroque material Stravinsky used most likely wasn't even written by Pergolesi, who died young, and whose name was used by many others not trying to copy him either but merely hoping to use his famous name to boost the popularity of their own work. And Crumb didn't just copy Debussy. For me, Rochberg isn't on the same level as Crumb, and nowhere near Stravinsky, but he is an artist, not a mere copyist.
. . . is that he set out to write IN THE STYLE OF other (tonal) composers. IOW, Rochberg's use of earlier styles is FAR more chameleon-like than Stravinsky's use of "Pergolesi" (or even Kreisler's "in the style of" pieces). And as I think we both agree, Stravinsky did NOT set out to write in the style of "Pergolesi" - he merely borrowed a few tunes.
To illustrate the difference, some listeners hear Rochberg's Symphony No. 5 as a virtual re-write of Mahler's Ninth (!), although I admit that I don't hear it that way myself (despite certain sections being extremely evocative of Mahler's work). I guess the point is that modern composers can follow older styles EXTREMELY closely without becoming "mere copyists" and yet without becoming "disappointingly different" and losing their appeal to a given audience just because their style isn't sufficiently original or up to date. Having said that, I must admit that I don't find Rochberg's Fifth Symphony particularly compelling! (Maybe the work is "disappointingly different" just to me!) ;-)
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