Composition Major

If I only knew what this has to do with this thread or RequiemAeternam's post

He has never been able to talk; what you have been seeing is a lie.

A word to the OP. Something I didnt say earlier, but I think you should be aware of, is that just because your music is tonal does NOT necessarily make it neo-romantic. I know you said specifically that you wanted to write in a style akin to Beethoven, Schuman, etc, but does that really sum it up for you? I'm curious as to what music (piano or otherwise) from within the last century you're actually familiar with. Are you under the impression that after 1908 no one other than Schoenberg was composing?

QcCowboy, I completely agree. When I got in to college, during our Comp I class the first thing that the professor told was: "If you are expecting to compose light tonal stuff,

See, the way he says "light tonal stuff," as if tonality inherently has less weight than atonality, is exactly the problem. It doesnt matter from which direction it's coming from, it's pure, unfiltered bias no matter how you look at it. The same old assumption we always see that holds tonal music as having nothing new to offer and that "tonality was exhausted."

Didn't Carl Sagan say something along the lines of : We shouldn't include any Bach, that would just be showing off!

See, the way he says "light tonal stuff," as if tonality inherently has less weight than atonality, is exactly the problem. It doesnt matter from which direction it's coming from, it's pure, unfiltered bias no matter how you look at it. The same old assumption we always see that holds tonal music as having nothing new to offer and that "tonality was exhausted."

Well I don't think Morgri was implying that all tonal music was light (although there's a hint of it), and as said before it's not 1950 anymore so I don't think that most major conservatories would frown upon tonal music (at least I hope they don't, time will tell..). Of course you do get the odd professor who says that writing tonally is just a pastiche, but then that's due to their own lack of imagination more than anything else!

And to the OP: If you like Schubert, look into similar composers, and try to move forward a bit (in terms of compositional date).

*Double checks to make sure he didn't write anything too contraversial...*

...and you're just a tool.

Did you really just call Gardener a tool?

Really?

I advise you to reconsider.

See, the way he says "light tonal stuff," as if tonality inherently has less weight than atonality, is exactly the problem. It doesnt matter from which direction it's coming from, it's pure, unfiltered bias no matter how you look at it. The same old assumption we always see that holds tonal music as having nothing new to offer and that "tonality was exhausted."

Are you kidding? I would bet there's more discrimination against that old "academic serialism" in universities today than against tonal music. Look at many successful composers alive today: John Corigliano, John Williams, Joan Tower, Jennifer Higdon, John Adams...a lot of them write tonal music! Yet nobody accuses them of "light tonality", because they're actually doing new things within tonality.

...and you're just a tool.

Did you really just call Gardener a tool?

Really?

I advise you to reconsider.

Well, my post wasn't particularly profound, I have to admit…

So, as a more serious reply:

1. RequiemAeternam never said that he was in favour of judging people merely by how "progressive" their music is, or anything like that. He simply gave his opinion on how the status quo is, not what he thinks about it.

2. All of us are perfectly aware that all music is influenced by a lot of other, older music. This applies to Boulez as much as to Britney Spears. So what point are you trying to make here? There's a huge difference with different grades between being influenced, but taking your own critical approach to those influences, and simply imitating a style. But again: This thread is not about what is more "valuable". This thread is about what commonly is accepted by the "academic world" and what is less accepted.

3. I fail to see what relevance it has that a certain group of humans once thought aliens might not be interested in Sch

I'm with Nicola as I am in the same situation. "Progressive" is a matter of opinion. I think schools want students to explore new areas. As far as "contemporary" music goes it has no ceiling and it is the least explored so I think they tend to gravitate towards students who embrace it. Classical/romantic piano compositions have had many heydays.