This is a post about lists, and it’s going to get specific about making lists about music. If you are not of the High Fidelity school of music discourse this post may irritate. Discontinue use if irritation persists.
Lists reflect those who make them, but they also reflect the list-making process. A To-Do list might be broken down into things to do before lunchtime, things to do before the weekend and things to do before Christmas, as a way of managing different priorities. A shopping list might be organised according to retail establishments, or even by way of supermarket aisles. Even books list contents by chapter, by title, alphabetically or by author name. There are all kinds of ways of organising the lists we make.
A radio station I rarely listen to recently compiled a list, as voted by its listeners (and me), of the 20th century pieces of classical music most cherished by its listeners (and me).
The enthusiasm for lists seeming to be universal, particularly amongst readers of blogs and consumers of music (see High Fidelity link above, and cf Rage programming, any hit parade/countdown music presentation format, and hints for bloggers), this appears to be a winner of a broadcasting idea. Lists are a starting point for debate and discussion, and all curation is (at heart) sophisticated list-making, so there seems little to lose in such an endeavour.
But a great list needs clear definition. Favourite Compositions for Viola in Quintuple Time. Favourite Compositions for Piano by South American-born-and-raised composers. Favourite Art Music Compositions for non-orchestral instruments composed 1996-2000. And so forth. Generally speaking, the more specific the confines of the list the more intriguing the results.
And this ABC Classic FM top 100 20th century classical music pieces featured an unhelpful looseness of definition in two key ways.
1. Time Constraints. So the 20th century either began on January 1, 1900, or on January 1, 1901. Decide which and be brutal at excluding works not within the arbitrarily decided starting point. Yes, this means that works composed in 1899 were not, in fact, 20th century works at all. And a century lasts 100 years, not 110 or 111. So works composed after December 31, 1999, or after December 31, 2000 (keep it consistent with the decided-upon starting date) shouldn’t have been included either. Unless you change the name of the list.
2. Intention/Reception/Production. The 20th century saw a diffusion of musical styles and consumption, and the term ‘classic’ or ‘classical’ has come to represent a particular subset of styles and consumption models. The final list included works composed for film/performed by orchestra: an interesting cross-roads of what constitutes classical music. Brilliant and demonstrably popular film scores were not included, one assumes because of their unsymphonic approach. TV themes of similar popularity and interest also went unnominated. Musical theatre entries told the same story, the scored-for-symphonic-orchestra-and-composed-by-legitimate-classical-conductor West Side Story featured in the list, but nothing else from this genre. In fact, the moral of the story seems to be that if it’s symphonic in ambition it probably counts as classical music in this list-making process.
So what if we made some different parameters for the construction of a 20th Century Classic 100? What if we broke it down a little in the voting process, and then compiled an über-list from the results?
How about this: vote for up to 3 in each of the following categories; the same composition can be included in as many categories as you please; dates of composition are strictly from January 1, 1901 through to December 31, 2000.
1. Astonishing
2. Beautiful
3. Ground-breaking
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
5. Small Ensemble/Chamber
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation/forces/media
7. Keyboard
8. Opera/Music Theatre
9. Film/TV/Games
10. Vocal/Choral
You can vote for as few pieces as you like, or for as many as 30. The most voted-for pieces will make it into the top 100, irrespective of category.
Who’s in?
Elissa Milne 
Im in. your comments on the 20C 100 are spot on! And I love the reference to High Fidelity!
Do we leave choices here?
Ah, yes, I should have suggested places for placing votes. Here in the comments is fine! Also, if people want to vote via twitter, let’s hashtag votes #alt100. I’m currently searching for a survey tool where we could compile it – the wordpress poll options are single question only, so not suitable for this 10 category question….
I like your definition of the 20th century.
Reminds me of Wanda Landowska’s comment on various ways of playing Bach:
Not at all ipsissima verba, but along the lines of:
OK. You play it your way, and I’ll play it BACH’s way
One of the bonuses is that we don’t have to suffer Tosca!
Yes, I’m in! Fantastic idea, thanks for making it happen Elissa.
1. Astonishing
Reich: Drumming
Stockhausen: Gruppe
Nancarrow: String Quartet No. 3
2. Beautiful
Boyd: Meditations on a Chinese Character
Part: Fratres (violin/piano)
Takemitsu: Rain Tree Sketch
3. Ground-breaking
Cage: 4’33
Reich: Come Out
Xenakis: Melanges
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
Gubaidulina: Zeitgestalten
Webern: 5 Pieces for Orchestra
Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
5. Small Ensemble/Chamber
Boulez: Pli selon Pli
Cage: Amores
Feldman: For Philip Guston
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation/forces/media
Hmmm
7. Keyboard
Janácek: On an Overgrown Path
Debussy: Etudes
Cage: Sonastas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
8. Opera/Music Theatre
Adams: Nixon in China
Glanville-Hicks: The Transposed Heads
Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre
9. Film/TV/Games
Nyman: The Draughtsman’s Contract
Takemitsu: Dodes’kaden
10. Vocal/Choral
Ligeti: Lux Aeterna
Strauss: Four Last Songs
Boyd: As I Crossed A Bridge of Dreams
1. Astonishing
Ives: The Unanswered Question
Reich: Different Trains
Varese: Hyperprism
2. Beautiful
Ives: The Unanswered Question
Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time
Crumb: Black Angels
3. Ground-breaking
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire
Cage: 4’33”
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
Berg: Violin Concerto
Debussy: La Mer
Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
5. Small Ensemble/Chamber
Webern: String Quartet, Op. 28
Crumb: Black Angels
Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation/forces/media
Reich: Different Trains
Babbitt: Philomel
Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge
7. Keyboard
Debussy: Images for piano, Books I & II (1905 & 1907)
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Messiaen: Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
8. Opera/Music Theatre
Adams: Nixon in China
Strauss: Elektra
Britten: Peter Grimes
9. Film/TV/Games
Williams: Star Wars
Nyman: The Draughtsman’s Contract
Nyman: The Piano
10. Vocal/Choral
Berio: Sequenza III for solo voice
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
Britten: War Requiem
Hmm…on second thoughts, possibly the Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste should go in ‘Orchestral’…if so, just remove the Penderecki and replace with Bartok. 😉
Here are mine (it will change in the next 5 minutes) – I left so… many great pieces out I feel slightly guilty:
1. Astonishing
Berio: Sequenza
Bartok: String Quartet No. 4
Birtwistle: Panic
2.Beautiful
Scnittke: Piano Quintet
Linberg: Clarinet Concerto
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
3.Ground Breaking
Varese: Integrales
Sockhausen: Kontakte
Reich: Different Trains
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
MacMillan: The Confessions of Isabel Goudie
Sculthorpe: Earth Cry
Norgard: Symphony No. 6
5. Small Ensemble / Chamber
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8
Crumb Black: Angels
Sculthorpe: String Quartet No. 8
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation / forces / media
Reich: Different Trains
Zappa: G Spot Tornado
Varese: Poeme Electronique
7. Keyboard
Cage: Music for Prepared Piano
Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur L’enfant Jesus
Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin
8.Opera/Music Theatre
Strauss: Elektra
Berg: Lulu
Turnage: Greek
9. Film/TV/Games
Glass: Koyaanisqatsi
Zimmer: Inception
Leifs: Hekla
10.Vocal/Choral
Adams: Harmonium
Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horns & Strings
Ligeti: Lux Aeterna
1. Astonishing
Janacek Glagolitic Mass
Lovelock Organ Concerto
Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire
2. Beautiful
Part Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Durufle Quatre Motets
Copland Quiet City
3. Ground-breaking
Vaughan Williams Mass in G minor
Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time
Holst Second Suite for Military Band
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra
Sculthorpe Kakadu
Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
5. Small Ensemble/Chamber
Steve Reich Nagoya Marimbas
Ross Edwards Marimba Dances
Stravinsky Octet
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation/forces/media
Grainger Free Music
Ron Grainer Dr Who theme
Nilovic Portrait d’un Robot
7. Keyboard
Steve Reich Piano Phase
Ravel Piano Concerto for Left Hand
Peggy Glanville-Hicks Etruscan Concerto
8. Opera/Music Theatre
Bernstein Candide
Berg Lulu
Lloyd Webber Jesus Christ Superstar
9. Film/TV/Games
Michael Nyman The Draughtsman’s Contract
George Dreyfus Rush
Glass Koyaanisquatsi
10. Vocal/Choral
Langlais Messe Solennelle
Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms
Howells Collegium Regale (canticles)
Well i see already this is going to throw up some interesting selections & avenues for exploration.
This kind of listmaking after all is the antithesis of a popularity contest…
I would be struggling (or wasting a lot of time…) to fill a lot of these categories though without resorting far & wide beyond “classical” repertoire…
Astonishing:
Feldman – all of it.
Basic Channel – 1 to 9
Groundbreaking:
Vladislav Delay – Entain
Derrick May – Strings of Life
Oval – Systematisch
Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
The extent to which a fascination with Norgard, Durufle, Birtwhistle, or the myriad of other inpenetrables or obscurities this survey will now throw up makes one less “conservative” however i still think is questionable, & entirely a matter of perspective.
Set up a form in Google docs. We fill in form; it populates spreadsheets. You do gory analysis.
My nominations –
1. Astonishing
Messiaen – Turangalila Symphonie
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 4
Scriabin – Prometheus
2. Beautiful
Bartok Piano Concerto No. 3 (2nd movement)
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 (2nd movement)
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
3. Ground-breaking
Stravinsky – Rite of Spring
Messiaen – Turangalila Symphonie
Sculthorpe – Sun Music
4. Orchestral for the Concert Hall
Mahler – Symphony No. 7
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10
Holst – The Planets
5. Small Ensemble/Chamber
Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 8
Shostakovich – Piano Trio
Prokofiev – Cello Sonata
6. Non-orchestral instrumentation/forces/media
No idea
7. Keyboard
Ravel – Gaspard de la Nuit
Shostakovich – Preludes and Fugues
Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No. 7
8. Opera/Music Theatre
Shostakovich – Moscow, Cheryomushki
Bernstein – West Side Story
Shostakovich – Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
9. Film/TV/Games
Tiersen – Amelie
Jarre – Lawrence of Arabia
Williams – Star Wars
10. Vocal/Choral
Orff – Carmina Burana
Strauss – Four Last Songs
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 14
11. Non-piano Instrumental Concerto
Prokofiev – Symphony-Concerto for Cello
Shostakovich – Cello Concerto No. 2
Gubaidulina – Offertorium
Yes, just yesterday I was thinking it might have been useful to differentiate works for soloist and orchestra from specifically orchestral works…..
Maybe also a Piano Concerto section alone – I figured, though, that I’d already put quite a few piano concertos in already.