A question on music longevity

[charlie and algernon]

Poll question: A question on music longevity

Which group/person do you think is most likely to be talked about and listened to in 2408?

I was wondering this as I was listening to a classical station. If you think about it, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach have been listened to and performed for 200+ years. It makes you wonder that if lennon and others wanted to be remembered, why didn't they compose symphonies and concertos?

In another 200 years from now, who has a better chance of still being performed and listened too? Will Beethoven and Mozart continue to survive as Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin fade from memory or will they take the place of Ludwig and Amadeus?

[BarenakedLady]

1. That's a good question

I have no idea.

[Dr. Strange]

2. Beethoven, absolutely.

Moonlight Sonata, Symphonies 5 and 7: they'll be listened to forever.

[charlie and algernon]

4. that's probably true

which leads to my other question, while I love the others on the list, I somehow doubt that they'll have the longevity of the great classical composers. I'd like to think that at least Lennon and Marley wanted to leave a message, so why aren't orchestras playing Lennon's 3rd Symphony or Marley's Concerto No. 35?

[Dr. Strange]

8. I think they'll probably have the longevity...

though not as much of a mass appeal (I suspect). I'm not sure about the other part. Are you asking why Lennon or Marley didn't write symphonies, or why orchestras don't play their songs?

[bbernardini]

3. All of the above, except Patti, AND a wishful thinking "Other."

I don't think Patti will remain as well-known as the others on your list, alas. I'd like to suggest Frank Zappa as somebody who will be held in the same regard as the others in the future. It's my hope that someday people will be able to see beyond the "dirty" lyrics to the musical genius underneath.

[KansDem]

5. This is like comparing apples to oranges...

Beethoven/Mozart represents what is known as "the absolute in music" or music in its purest form--music for music's sake.

Beatles/Marley represent the practice of subordinating music to poetry, drama, or dance. Incidentally this type of music goes back to ancient times when singers and dancers accompanied themselves with music. Absolute music really only took place from roughly 1750 to 1950, give or take a few decades. These two hundred years witnessed the rise of the symphony.

But really, this comparing Bach to Rock is not really possible.

But having said that, I discovered in my 40-plus years of studying music that "you can't get laid to Webern" so keep some pop ballads around for that special night...:D

[BlueJazz]

6. I agree....but also....being a Jazz Musician, I believe improvisation...

..will also be around for ..well..forever...in one form or another.

Jazz joke: The Laurence Welk band will now perform that great Duke Ellington song "Take A Train"

[KansDem]

7. True...

20th-century jazz and music of the Baroque have a lot in common, namely the use of non-music symbols for improvisation. With Baroque soloists and accompanists, it was the use of "figured bass," and with jazz soloists and accompanists it's the use of chord symbols.

Love the joke! :thumbsup:

[MilesColtrane]

9. Jazz joke:

I took this course in genealogy and after some research I found out I'm half Cherokee........




..........and half How High the Moon.

[KansDem]

10. By a strange coincidence...

In about an hour and a half I'll be sipping scotch and listening to Chet Baker's rendition of "How High the Moon."

Sarah Vaughan "Cherokee"

:thumbsup:

[Bake]

11. OK, but Edgar Winter recorded "Frankenstein"

And The Ventures were primarily all-instrumental, as I recall. There was one other one, but I can't remember it at the moment. Oh, wait, I got it: Allman Brothers, "Jessica." Another great instrumental rock number!!

Bake

[KansDem]

12. Yes, I see you point, but aren't these really exceptions to the rule?

I mean, can we describe Mahler's 3rd and 4th symphonies as "songs" because he used a singer in one of the movements? Or are they symphonies in which Mahler expanded the color of the orchestra to include voice?

Besides, absolute music implies "no program" and relies on the composer's craft in regarding form, thematic development, harmonic language and use of modulation, etc. This is how the composer's mastery of his/her craft is evaluated. When the music is subordinate, like in song or dance, then another set of standards needs to be considered.

Wasn't "Classical Gas" really just an instrumental "song?"

[Bake]

14. I always thought "songs" were meant to be sung.

In which case, Classical Gas is an instrumental composition, pure music. Great piece, too, by the way.

Thanks for reminding me!! Going to pick up the guitar now ...

:-)

Bake

[Bennyboy]

13. I think anyone with a sound that is uniquely their own will still be around

Or anyone that was the first to become popular with a unique sound will still be listened to. Like Frank Zappa. Grateful Dead. Bob Dylan.

[laconicsax]

15. You got it wrong.

The great composers aren't remembered because they wrote concertos and symphonies.  There were a lot of composers in the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras who aren't widely remembered and they wrote concertos and symphonies.

Bach wasn't even really regarded as one of the greatest composesrs until the 20th century.  Longevity in music is dependent on two things:  quality and popularity.

The music of Johann Strauss, to be blunt, sucks but is still played today because it was wildly popular in his time and became the epitome of waltz music.  The music of Bach is incredible and is still played today because over 100 years after his death, people started to notice the genius and great quality of his music.  The music of Haydn and Mozart was extremely popular in their time but survives mostly (though I'm sure some would argue) on the quality of the compositions.

Think about it this way, there's a sort of natural filter in music.  The higher the quality of a piece of music, the more staying power it has.  Over time, what's left tends to be the highest quality music.  There are obviously going to be exceptions--a lousy piece of music may be remembered simply because it was popular and an incredibly good piece of music might be completely overlooked and forgotten because it was never popular at all.