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Book Review
Jan. 7th, 2018 07:22 pmA Concise History of Avant-Garde Music: From Debussy to Boulez
by Paul Griffiths
This book works well an an introduction to contemporary music up until the mid-1970s, and Griffiths' prose is very readable. However, I can't recommend it for anyone who already has a good grasp of modern music. It doesn't cover any new ground, and the title is a bit of a misnomer. Griffiths sticks mainly to the usual suspects, with a bit more emphasis on the ways in which their music covered new ground or pushed boundaries. He spends hardly any time on Harry Partch, George Antheil, Henry Cowell, or other 20th century composers who really went out on a limb and went all the way to the edges of new music. Griffiths also ignores a lot of the truly experimental world of extended techniques and multimedia.
by Paul Griffiths
This book works well an an introduction to contemporary music up until the mid-1970s, and Griffiths' prose is very readable. However, I can't recommend it for anyone who already has a good grasp of modern music. It doesn't cover any new ground, and the title is a bit of a misnomer. Griffiths sticks mainly to the usual suspects, with a bit more emphasis on the ways in which their music covered new ground or pushed boundaries. He spends hardly any time on Harry Partch, George Antheil, Henry Cowell, or other 20th century composers who really went out on a limb and went all the way to the edges of new music. Griffiths also ignores a lot of the truly experimental world of extended techniques and multimedia.
