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What's the point of atonality anyway?

What's the "point"? Even if there is a meaningful answer to such a meaningless question, the answer to it is inevitably going to vary from one composer to another, don't you think? Schönberg provided an explanation for the use of the twelve-tone system in his work in his book "Style and Idea".

I personally like to listen to something with good tunes in it.

Good for you. What does that have to do with the alleged "pointlessness" of atonality?

In fact, in my opinion, if I cannot hum, sing or whistle it, it isn't music.

So instrumental fugues are not music?

I've always felt that the "Finale Problem" is little more than a widespread "everybody says so so it must be true" myth.

In terms of organic growth, the best ending from the Romantic era is that of Bruckner's 5th Symphony - no contest.

It does me. Thanks! I take it this will not be archived for indefinite listening as most of Concertzender's programs are- unfortunate though understandable...

Actually it will be, but from what I'm told, the "indefinite listening" option will have lower sound quality (I don't know how inferior, though).

Hello all,

it has recently come to my attention that the Dutch independent Internet radio broadcaster "De Concertzender" (http://www.concertzender.nl/) has plans to broadcast (in two parts) Sorabji's over 8 hours long Second Organ Symphony (1929-1932). This is a work that has been performed complete only two times in history (in the summer of 2010) and never been broadcast nor released commercially.

The performance of this piece is that of Kevin Bowyer, who spent some 20 years working on it on and off. Given the difficulties involved in preparing a performance of a work as complex and long as this one, Mr Bowyer has requested that the broadcasts be mixed; hence the 1st movement (about 80 minutes) will come from a partial performance given in York, the 2nd movement (some 270 minutes) will be taken from the world premiere of the work in Glasgow, and the 3rd movement (roughly 180 minutes) will also be taken from the Glasgow performance, but its third section will be replaced with a partial performance that took place in Berlin.

While each of the broadcasts will be repeated once (as well as available for later listening), the key dates are 11 May and 25 May. Each of them will start at midnight (in the Netherlands), and the first will include movements 1 and 2, while the second will include the 3rd movement. In addition to that, both broadcasts will include Mr Bowyer's recordings of various works by Alkan, and the second will also include his 1988 recording of Sorabji's 1st Organ Symphony.

For the full details about the background and realisation of this event see http://sorabji-archive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=469.0.

I hope this piques the interest of at least some of you!

Barraqué, Boulez 2, Janáček, Medtner Ballade, Scriabin 5, Sorabji 4.