# Second Viennese School’s Greatest Hits infomercial!



## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

As an April Fool's joke in 1977, Robert Conrad, president of WCLV (Cleveland's classical radio station), Kenneth Jean, then assistant conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra, and Matthias Bamert, then resident conductor of the orchestra, created a "commercial" selling an album featuring the greatest hits by the Second Viennese School.

In 2009 this video was created using the commercial.

To quote Alex Roth commenting about it: "Yes, it's cruel, and most of the examples aren't actually twelve-tone music, but you _vill _laugh anyway."


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I like the Second Viennese School's music, and I think this is funny. I'm guessing from all the musical quotes, the announcer really does like this music also.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Very funny! Right along side 12-tone Country Music:


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

"Alban, Arnold, and Anton - three of the greatest composers since Joachim Raff".

brilliant


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

That atonal banjo at 1:37 is priceless.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

I liked the comment on youtube wondering if he had to pay John Cage for the excerpt from 4'22. It's a good question; is ambient noise copyrightable?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

BachIsBest said:


> I liked the comment on youtube wondering if he had to pay John Cage for the excerpt from 4'22. It's a good question; is ambient noise copyrightable?


Been there, done that. "Musician Mike Batt had paid a six-figure sum to settle a bizarre dispute over who owns copyright to a silent musical work."

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Silent music dispute resolved


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

mbhaub said:


> Very funny! Right along side 12-tone Country Music:


Rhyming Scho-wen-berg with Alban Berg. Very clever.

Recorded in Nashville? Yep, we're hip down here; we just mask our intelligence with irony and a wink.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I'm another big fan of the 2nd Viennese school, and I loved this vid when I first saw it a couple of years ago.

It was the 2nd school that really fueled my ongoing love of classical.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Manxfeeder said:


> Rhyming Scho-wen-berg with Alban Berg. Very clever.
> 
> Recorded in Nashville? Yep, we're hip down here; we just mask our intelligence with irony and a wink.


No need to hide intelligence: given you have Vanderbilt University, Belmont, the Grand Ole Opry, and the best barbeque anywhere. A fine orchestra, too!


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