Classical Check-Up – 1950

The 1950s are a somewhat obscure and murky decade when it comes to Western classical music. There wasn’t really a dominant style, and there weren’t many singular composers who defined the era. Instead, the period is represented by a range of diverse movements.

To get a sense of the classical music climate in 1950, read these reviews, which are organized in ABC order by last name of composer.

1949     |     1950     |     1951

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Piano Sonata, No. 2

The most impressive thing about this experimental composition is how difficult it is to play. Therefore, if anything, my praise goes to the performer. The composer, on the other hand, comes off as masturbatory.

This piano “composition” is an endless draught of mismatched notes. Even though Pierre Boulez has the same melodic non-principles as John Cage, at least Cage knew how to be minimal instead of mathematical. In terms of theory, Piano Sonata No. 2 is fantastic; in terms of listenability, this is ersatz Schoenberg.

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Five Flower Songs

Artist: Benjamin Britten

Genre: Choral

Grade: B+

Charming, gorgeous, slight — Benjamin Britten’s Five Flower Songs are an entertaining 10-minute collection of pastoral English choir music. You don’t need to be a botanist to enjoy the impressive vocal harmonies, and you don’t need a degree in floriculture to enjoy the modernist melodies (particularly in the third song, “Marsh Flowers”). But you probably need to be a pretty big Britten fan to even notice these things in the first place.

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String Quartet in Four Parts

John Cage’s String Quartet in Four Parts is an ebb and flow of single-note minimalism that produces a dreamy effect. Even though the notes are atonal, there is never a sense of unease. The composition is calm because there is no sense of progression or development and no destination — this is music whose sole purpose is to quiet the mind.

Ironically, the best portion of the piece is the 90-second finale in which Cage delivers an unexpected baroque wake-up call. Following 20-minutes of avant-garde trance, he surprisingly channels Johann Sebastian Bach for the conclusion. It’s a funny way to end the piece, but I’m sure it was intended as such. Cage was smart enough to never take himself too seriously.

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Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 199

An underrated vanguard, Sergei Prokofiev is one of the greatest Soviet composers of all time. His Cello Sonata, which premiered only three years before his death, is one of his most beautiful works. It’s also a strangely haunting listen, taking significant influence from Russian mysticism.

I recommend the 1988 recording featuring Yo-Yo Ma. The sonata, especially the first movement, calls for a jazzy virtuoso, and Ma is nothing short of the world’s greatest cellist

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Four Last Songs

Richard Strauss, the last great Romantic composer, was 85-years-old when he completed his final work. Fittingly, it is known as his “Four Last Songs.” Even more fitting is the fact the cycle premiered eight months after Strauss died.

Scored for orchestra and solo soprano, this sequence of sorrowful songs encompasses an entire life’s work.Yet Strauss doesn’t face death with fear or tragedy; instead, the music is imbued with a peaceful sense of calm, acceptance and serenity. These Four Last Songs are perhaps the greatest and most epic swansong in musical history.

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