Trackings: Composers Speak With Richard Dufallo by Richard Dufallo (review)

work, even, or perhaps particularly, where one profoundly disagrees with specific conclusions by individual contributors. TRACKINGS: COMPOSERS SPEAK WITH RICHARD DUFALLO by Richard Dufallo. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, U.K., 1990. 432 pp., illus. Trade, $35.00. ISBN: 0-195058I6 -X. Reviewed byJohn Cooper, Pergamon Press, Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX] OBlv, UK. Literate, witty, stylish, informed, entertaining , all of these adjectives descirbe this unique attempt by a leading international conductor to try to make sense of the fermen t of styles and ideas in contemporary music. In meticulously documented conversations of breadth and intimacy with 26 composers (13 American and 13 European), the thoughts and personalities expressed reveal insights into many of the cornerstones of the modern repertoire. The potential tedium of interview following interview is cleverly countered with autobiographical musings by Dufallo on how, when and where he met his subjects. MUSIC ANIMATION MACHINE DEMONSTRATION REEL by Stephen Malinowski. VHS Videotape , 40 min. Stephen Malinowski, 1850 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA, U.SA., 1990. Reviewed by RogerF. Malina, Center for EUVAstrophysics, 2150 Kittridge, Berkeley, CA 94720, US.A. The Music Animation Machine is a tool for studying music by viewing cer632 Current Literature TwENTIETH-CENTURY MUSIC by Robert P. Morgan. W. W. Norton & Co., London, U.K., 1991. 572 pp., illus. Trade, £25.00. ISBN: 0-393-95272-X. Reviewed byJohn Cooper, Pergamon Press, Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX] OBlv, UK. It is surprising how little contemporary music is performed at concerts , recitals and competitions, particularly when one reflects that much of what is popularly meant by twentiethcentury music is now between 50 and 90 years old. Our time is unique in this respect, in our veneration of old forms, old sounds and composers long dead, with few exceptions: Sibelius became a 'legend in his own lifetime', Stravinsky, too, to a lesser extent, and perhaps Sir Michael Tippett. But who would dare present a Tippett or a Stravinsky in competition , let alone lesser-known contemporary composers! Yet, with the passing of the idea and practice of patronage, how else are contemporary composers to survive other than by performances creating and stimulating interest in their work. Our nineteenth-century forebears understood this well: their concerts and recitals hardly ever failed to include at least one new work (not all, of course, stood the test of time). So, while writing about composers and their music is not as good as performing their works, it, too, can contribute to a greater awareness and appreciation. Morgan states in his preface that his primary focus is on compositional ideas, their evolution and realization, and the composers most responsible II. Videotape Reviews tain elements of musical structure and by experimenting with interpretive changes to a particular rendition. This tape presents a demonstration of the machine responding to music by a number of classical composers. The screen displays a system of bar graphs in which each note is represented by a colored bar. The vertical and horizontal placement and length of each bar indicate the pitch, timing and duration of that note. Color indicates what instrument is playing the note. The tape is accompanied by a for their formulation; but he does not ignore the wider social, political, artistic and intellectual/philosophical aspects of the times. He posits three distinct (but overlapping) periods1900 to World War I, between the wars, and World War II to the present -as a necessary aid to unravelling the complex fabric of historical progression. It is remarkable how well this classification succeeds, yet Morgan nimbly avoids the pitfalls of a rigid dogmatism, preferring to present his arguments in a lucid and entertaining style quite free of textbook ennui. But this is a textbook, with an extensive bibliography and a good index--quite the best one I have read on modern music, and amongst the best on any period. MUSIC WITH WORDS: A COMPOSER'S VIEW by Virgil Thomson. Yale Univ. Press, London, U.K., 1990. 184 pp., illus. Trade, $24.00. ISBN: 0-300-04505-0. Reviewed byJohn Cooper, Pergamon Press, Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX] OBlv, UK. Even though Thomson states at the outset that "this is not a textbook", these candid, practical, yet authoritative essays offer invaluable insights into all...