# XX century music for amateurs



## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

XX century classical music is mostly very challenging for the musicians (and i'm sure most people will agree it is challenging for the listeners too).

I was wondering if you have some ideas of some exemples of score which is accessible for amateurs to play in the categories of:
-Chamber music (probably here we could find more repertoire)
-Choral music
-Orchestral music

I dont want to restrain too much the style to see what it comes from the forum, but I'm thinking to music with a modernist approach, not necessary atonal. Sure most playable things would be in the minimalism but I would like all kid of suggestions.

Thanks


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

For exemple in the choral section there Arvo Pärt has a lot music singable for amateurs (even if I have to admit i'm not a great fan of his music)


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Composers as disparate as Britten and Schoenberg both wrote pieces for student orchestras -- and there's a Youtube video of Michael Tippett conducting a HS student orchestra in his own Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage -- which one would think is not an easy piece.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

I don't know if this counts as chamber music, but a lot of Schoenberg's solo piano music is playable for amateurs.


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

^^^Are you thinking of something specific in the catalog of Schönberg?


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Opus 19 is probably the most approachable. I admit I haven't personally played any except for a couple pieces from Opus 19 a long time ago, so that's what I was thinking of. Looking at Opus 11 and 23, some of them do look very difficult...some amateurs could play them well, not sure if I could.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

isorhythm said:


> Opus 19 is probably the most approachable. I admit I haven't personally played any except for a couple pieces from Opus 19 a long time ago, so that's what I was thinking of. Looking at Opus 11 and 23, some of them do look very difficult...some amateurs could play them well, not sure if I could.


I'm gonna try and learn one of the op.19 pieces. Good call.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I can think of Bartok's Mikrokosmos for piano and Leo Brouwer's Simple etudes for the guitar, but those are pieces for single instruments, I'm not sure if you were considering that too with "chamber music"


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

The nose said:


> (and i'm sure most people will agree it is challenging for the listeners too).


I think the difficulty of listening may vary depending on the context:


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I am not aware of any modern work that good youth orchestras have failed to perform well. As for adult amateurs, I guess a lot depends upon how good they are but suspect that there are as many modern works as earlier ones that are suitable for less capable amateur bands. The issue may be more a matter of how much poor intonation and sloppy ensemble work one can accept in music that is less than familiar.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Holst - Brook Green Suite and St. Paul's Suite were written for school orchestras


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Hindemith wrote a lot of music for youth and amateur ensembles. His mature compositions are tonal but thoroughly modern with a lot of controlled dissonance.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

The nose said:


> XX century classical music is mostly very challenging for the musicians (and i'm sure most people will agree it is challenging for the listeners too).
> 
> I was wondering if you have some ideas of some exemples of score which is accessible for amateurs to play in the categories of:
> -Chamber music (probably here we could find more repertoire)
> ...


The "composer" to investigate is Cornelius Cardew - maybe his masterpiece _The Great Learning_. He deliberately went out of his way to make it accessible to amateurs, even those who can't play an instrument or read a score.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

Terry Riley's _In C_ for open instrumentation is definitely accessible to amateur performers.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Knorf said:


> Terry Riley's _In C_ for open instrumentation is definitely accessible to amateur performers.


I've often wondered whether a group of not particularly good amateurs (like me) could make it sound any good...


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

isorhythm said:


> I've often wondered whether a group of not particularly good amateurs (like me) could make it sound any good...


I've performed it with students. It worked out great! A couple ringers won't hurt, but aren't necessary. The music is not technically difficult.

I will say that it works best by far when you have as many numbers as possible.


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Knorf said:


> Terry Riley's _In C_ for open instrumentation is definitely accessible to amateur performers.


I wold like to try this with my choir, perhaps with a pitched percussion to keep it from slide away from C


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is not particularly difficult in its string quartet version. I have also heard it played on solo piano.

Arnold Schoenberg's accessible Theme and Variations Op. 43 was written for bands.


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Amateurs should be able to handle Shostakovich's _Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57_. The only thing that really needs practice (dexterity-wise) would be a few passages in the Finale, but they should be able to handle it still with no problem. And it's a perfect introduction to the genius of Shostakovich.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

larold said:


> Arnold Schoenberg's accessible Theme and Variations Op. 43 was written for bands.


It's wicked hard, though. You need a good collegiate-level band at least. A community band maybe could do it, but they'd need to be excellent and have a highly skilled director with plenty of rehearsal time.

Very cool piece, anyway.


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Torkelburger said:


> Amateurs should be able to handle Shostakovich's _Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57_. The only thing that really needs practice (dexterity-wise) would be a few passages in the Finale, but they should be able to handle it still with no problem. And it's a perfect introduction to the genius of Shostakovich.


Some chamber Shostakovich can be played but it is challenging.


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

larold said:


> Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is not particularly difficult in its string quartet version. I have also heard it played on solo piano.
> 
> Arnold Schoenberg's accessible Theme and Variations Op. 43 was written for bands.


Barber also made some really good not so difficult choral music (also the choral arrangement of the Adagio, Agnus Dei, is awesome)


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Knorf said:


> It's wicked hard, though. You need a good collegiate-level band at least. A community band maybe could do it, but they'd need to be excellent and have a highly skilled director with plenty of rehearsal time.
> 
> Very cool piece, anyway.


Seems like it, I wold love to try some schönberg on my band but I highly doubt that would work...


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Some good suggestions here.

This next one doesn't come from me. So forget where you read it.

But … a friend of a friend (neither very close friends, I'll point out) told me that you could have your amateur musicians simply play any notes they wish in ensemble and chances are it will sound like a modernist composition. 

Remember: you didn't hear this from me.

PS -- I would be remiss to mention that if your musicians haven't yet heard the John Cage composition 4'33", they are probably up to performing it well. (As well as anyone else has, I suspect.)


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

SONNET CLV said:


> But … a friend of a friend (neither very close friends, I'll point out) told me that you could have your amateur musicians simply play any notes they wish in ensemble and chances are it will sound like a modernist composition.


Hahaha well yes that's not completely false :lol:
Well, joke aside, you can do things in this direction, I remember years ago the director of my wind band made us do some clusters with random notes for an introduction.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

The nose said:


> Hahaha well yes that's not completely false :lol:
> Well, joke aside, you can do things in this direction, I remember years ago the director of my wind band made us do some clusters with random notes for an introduction.


I know that piece! It's called, I think, "Introduction with Clusters with Random Notes", but I forget the composer. Though I'm sure it wasn't Mozart.


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