# If a spaceship from outer space landed, which composer



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

's music would you want to have a orchestra play for the landing party?

I mean we wish to make best impressions, as we have no idea what their intent is, nor how we can communicate with them. We know they are a superior intelligence, and so wish to have them as friends, not foes. 
1st impressions matter here.
So which composer would hopefully project happy , cheerful , beautiful sounds, , make them smile and take kindly to us?,,,then again, maybe if the music is all distorted , crass, harsh, they might say *,,lets get the hell out of here* and we would all be saved.

You only get one chance, either a composer to cheer and glee, or music that would frighten and cause them to crank up and get the hell out of Dodge.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

John Williams - Close encounters of the third kind


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Art Rock said:


> John Williams - Close encounters of the third kind




yeah someone in the group might cheer out *oh yeah I've heard that work from my high powered short wave radio, as your mars rover ship blasted out that piece and I could just barely pick it up,,,finally get to hear it live,,wow unreal*


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

*Mahler*. That's the exact situation K. Stockhausen discussed in his introduction to the 1973 vol 1 of de La Grange's Mahler bio. He decided that Mahler would present to aliens the full range of human emotions, aspirations and horrors.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

John Cage - 4'33" (the only piece they'll understand)


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

hammeredklavier said:


> John Cage - 4'33" (the only piece they'll understand)


Are you sure they might not say *I don't get it*
how are you going to explain this as human's best inspiration of musical art past 400 years


----------



## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> *Mahler*. That's the exact situation K. Stockhausen discussed in his introduction to the 1973 vol 1 of de La Grange's Mahler bio. He decided that Mahler would present to aliens the full range of human emotions, aspirations and horrors.


he would more likely bore them to death with his 1.5 hrs long self-pitying funeral marches.
I would play them the number pi, since mathematics is the universal language




or some Beethoven


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The human race decided to play Beethoven's Ninth for them. Unfortunately, the aliens were an arachnid species, and only atonal music sounds good to them. They instantly incinerated the greeting party with their death-ray.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

millionrainbows said:


> The human race decided to play Beethoven's Ninth for them. Unfortunately, the aliens were an arachnid species, and only atonal music sounds good to them. They instantly incinerated the greeting party with their death-ray.




well being of a super high intelligence, it might do down like that. atonality would the style i'd choose to appease the martians. Something seemingly simple, as Webern's 1 minute lieder longs with orchestra, yet mesmerizing. 
stun them into a hypnotic state, grab their death ray guns and now we;'ve got them as prisoners.


----------



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I'd probably go with Vivaldi's the Four Seasons. It's bright, cheerful, but not ultra-complex and demanding of extended attention.


----------



## Guest (May 10, 2019)

hammeredklavier said:


> John Cage - 4'33" (the only piece they'll understand)


Dammit, you beat me to it!


----------



## Guest (May 10, 2019)

I wouldn't necessarily want to welcome these aliens with an orchestral piece.
I suggest instead that we play them the Monty Python "*Philosophers' Song*" (see link hereafter) that presents a short overview of the major Occidental philosophies expressed in conventional common practice, equal-temperament tuning that points up the Pythagoroustic [_sic_] cent-per-cent compromises we have to make between guitar, piano and voices. We assume that these aliens speak English, and understand references to Australian culture.
Here is the link:


----------



## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

They may want to drink something in the meantime. Some guidance may be of use:

A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity, as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palette, but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.

'Black stump Bordeaux' is rightly praised as a peppermint flavoured Burgundy, whilst a good 'Sydney Syrup' can rank with any of the world's best sugary wines.

'Chateau Bleu', too, has won many prizes; not least for its taste, and its lingering afterburn.

'Old Smokey, 1968' has been compared favourably to a Welsh claret, whilst the Australian wino society thouroughly recommends a 1970 'Cote du Rod Laver', which, believe me, has a kick on it like a mule: 8 bottles of this, and you're really finished -- at the opening of the Sydney Bridge Club, they were fishing them out of the main sewers every half an hour.

Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is 'Perth Pink'. This is a bottle with a message in, and the message is BEWARE!. This is not a wine for drinking -- this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.

Another good fighting wine is 'Melbourne Old-and-Yellow', which is particularly heavy, and should be used only for hand-to-hand combat.

Quite the reverse is true of 'Chateau Chunder', which is an Appelation controle, specially grown for those keen on regurgitation -- a fine wine which really opens up the sluices at both ends.

Real emetic fans will also go for a 'Hobart Muddy', and a prize winning 'Cuiver Reserve Chateau Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga', which has a bouquet like an aborigine's armpit.


----------



## Aleksandr Rachkofiev (Apr 7, 2019)

I know Scriabin would have voted for his own "Mysterium", and to be honest I'd likely agree if it were ever completed. That being said, I'm sure after a long and tiring space voyage, the last thing these travelers are going to want is to sit through an hour long symphony while everyone just stares at them :lol:

I think it then becomes an interesting question of how to relate the most in the least amount of time - so we're essentially trying to find the most dense, efficient (ugh, I don't much like using this term when describing music) piece ever written. I haven't the slightest clue on how to approach this, as part of the impact of music is the experiences we associate with it. Maybe something from Bach's B minor mass?

And I recommend White Zinfandel as the beverage of choice, perfect for first timers!


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)




----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

The Doctor Who theme


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> The Doctor Who theme


Likely the Doctor's encounted the aliens before in at least one of his/her previous regenerations. 

Never heard the original. I only came to know the one from the 80's. Brings back old memories






Love this original version with the Tardis materializing/dematerializing. I think it was my first introduction to the sound of electronics effects.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Holst's The Planets


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Bach and Wolfgang Mozart as proof of some sense of intelligence on the planet. Plus, I can imagine that their names have gone around the universe a few times already and would be familiar to the aliens when they landed here.


----------



## Flutter (Mar 26, 2019)

mbhaub said:


> *Mahler*. That's the exact situation K. Stockhausen discussed in his introduction to the 1973 vol 1 of de La Grange's Mahler bio. He decided that Mahler would present to aliens the full range of human emotions, aspirations and horrors.


Oh yes, introduce them with Mahler's 6th 

Then when we've accommodated them to Earth, we can introduce them to Stockhausen :tiphat:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Flutter said:


> Oh yes, introduce them with Mahler's 6th
> 
> Then when we've accommodated them to Earth, we can introduce them to Stockhausen :tiphat:


Don't think Introductions would be necessary:lol:


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

paulbest said:


> So which composer would hopefully project happy , cheerful , beautiful sounds, , make them smile and take kindly to us?,,,then again, maybe if the music is all distorted , crass, harsh, they might say *,,lets get the hell out of here* and we would all be saved.


The spacemen would respond differently to the abstractions we call music. They might hear war and torture in the music that we think of as happy or blissful. Or perhaps they would be a little similar in their tastes to those who don't like Mozart ... or Schubert? Is that alien enough for you? Or maybe they would become angry at our treatment and disdain of those they see as our greatest composers, Elliott Carter and Xenakis. For this reason they would decide to obliterate us having first rescued the few who love those composers.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Enthusiast said:


> The spacemen would respond differently to the abstractions we call music. They might hear war and torture in the music that we think of as happy or blissful. Or perhaps they would be a little similar in their tastes to those who don't like Mozart ... or Schubert? Is that alien enough for you? Or maybe they would become angry at our treatment and disdain of those they see as our greatest composers, Elliott Carter and Xenakis. For this reason they would decide to obliterate us having first rescued the few who love those composers.




h I would hope they love all my favs, my vote would be Mozart, as it is the most appeasing and pleasurable of all classical. His allegro movements in the early syms, especially, would let the aliens know, we are friendly and happy folk.
Maybe the only reason they came to earth in the 1st place is to know everything about classical music, ,,,as they can not read our languages, so books don't interest, only music, classical, They hate jazz and pop and get very angry at any other music except classical. So away they go in the flying saucer, but before they take off, ………......
They have the technology to take the Knappertsbusch/Koln Orchestra/1963 Bruckner 7th and make it sound as if you were actually there at the Koln Auditorium. Crystal clear transfer... that sure would make the Bruckerians very happy.


----------



## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)




----------



## Guest (May 11, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> They may want to drink something in the meantime. Some guidance may be of use:
> 
> A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity, as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palette, but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.
> 
> ...


Excelllent! I'll ask my wine merchant (read: my local supermarket) to source these wines immediately.
In the meantime, I've nothing against a bog-standard Aussie Shiraz.
Cheers!


----------



## Guest (May 11, 2019)

I think they'd be over the moon with some Schubert. 

What in particular might I suggest to demonstrate his wide range of talents?

I think it would it be:

i. Chamber: The second movement of D 956 String Quintet 
ii. Symphony: The first movement of the Unfinished Symphony, D 759 
iii. Piano Solo: The second movement of Piano Sonata No 20, D 959
iv. Choral: The "Credo" of Mass 6, D 950
v. Lieder: D 776 "Du bist die Ruh"


----------

