"Light" contemporary music?

[Oddball]

Radio 3 has been broadcasting a lot of light music recently, and taking a cue from the thread on the Early Music board, I wondered whether it might be possible to identify a sub-category of "light" music in the contemporary music genre?

Perhaps a lot of minimalism is very easily approachable, but whether it might be termed light?

I guess a problem here is that contemporary music easily merges into rock, pop and jazz, once the intellectual challenge aspect is reduced.

[Tristan Klingsor]

H.K.Gruber's Frankenstein, some of Kagel perhaps, Ades's Powder Her Face Suite. There isn't much now but there was quite a lot of Stravinsky, Britten, Walton and Shostakovich that might qualify.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Surely the likes of John Rutter and Debbie Wiseman fit the bill?

[arcades]

some of Kagel perhaps

Kagel's Die Stücke der Windrose für Salonorchester have a wonderfully parallel / sinister relation to Light Music. Brilliant pieces.

[Mr Pee]

Never heard of Debbie Wiseman but I don't think that John Rutter qualifies as "light". Diatonic, tuneful, and approachable, yes- but one could say the same of a vast number of composers, from Bach to the present day.

How about Piazolla for contemporary light music? Or perhaps the genre simply has become redundant, displaced by pop, crossover and film music.

[arcades]

Youtube link for Kagel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_5UohIN0EI

[MrGongGong]

H.K.Gruber's Frankenstein, some of Kagel perhaps, Ades's Powder Her Face Suite. There isn't much now but there was quite a lot of Stravinsky, Britten, Walton and Shostakovich that might qualify.

Stravinsky , Shostakovitch = "contemporary music" ????

how ?

Kagel's "Repertoire" is a great score (love the stepladders !)

[french frank]

I would have thought that film (Titanic?) and television music would be the equivalent. More so than Karl Jenkins and the contemporary composers favoured by Classic FM.

[Tristan Klingsor]

Stravinsky , Shostakovitch = "contemporary music" ????

how ?


I used the past tense on purpose but should have said 'that might have qualified in the past'. My post was stimulated by a thought that there has been a thread of 'light' music written by 'serious' rather than 'light' music composers and that Kagel et al aside (yes, I know he's no longer with us), there seems to be less now. Which is a pity - in my opinion - as most light music by light music composers was (and is) not so interesting. I await a foray into this arena by Herr Lachenmann!

[MrGongGong]

Korngold ?
the great Carl Stalling ?

[cavatina]

I used to share an apartment with a young Japanese composer who made a pretty decent living arranging and orchestrating music for video games. Who knew? Sounds a little like the heavier side of "light music" to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKBqQZwxBPc&feature=related

[Serial_Apologist]

I used to share an apartment with a young Japanese composer who made a pretty decent living arranging and orchestrating music for video games. Who knew? Sounds a little like the heavier side of "light music" to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKBqQZwxBPc&feature=related

I sometimes think Prokofiev left a lot to answer for, as composer of the Scythian Suite - a piece of proto-film music if ever there was one.

I was once on the panel of a radio music quiz, in which we were asked to identify passages of music. After the lovely pentatonic melody a short distance into Vaughan Williams's The Wasps overture was played, a member of the opposing team asked, "Is it from a Western?" Listening earlier today to Job, by the same composer, I couldn't help visualising Charlton Heston approaching in full Roman armour on a white charger as the work's big theme bursts forth in full splendour. It is easy to forget that music of this kind was being composed many decades before the film epics of the 40s and 50s made it generic.

S-A

[StephenO]

One of my 'guilty pleasure' is the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, particularly after their wonderful Proms appearance. They'd certainly tick both the light and the contemporary boxes.

And how about Michael Nyman's film scores?

[Oddball]

Interesting comments and links, and composers I had not heard of previously.

There seems to be a whole spectrum of music here -enough to fill a radio channel - Radio 3 Extra?

[cavatina]

More video game "light music" that made me laugh out loud...perfect! :biggrin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcKurvm_0oE&feature=related

[french frank]

After the lovely pentatonic melody a short distance into Vaughan Williams's The Wasps overture was played, a member of the opposing team asked, "Is it from a Western?" I've always thought the same - it has the real smell of "The Big Country" about it. (Not very appropriate!)

[Serial_Apologist]

I've always thought the same - it has the real smell of "The Big Country" about it. (Not very appropriate!)

I wonder what music might express "the Big Society"? "Rule Britannia"? :whistle:

[ahinton]

I wonder what music might express "the Big Society"?
Anything sung by Jess(y)e Norman, presumably (given that his book on the subject must surely be the only place in which David Cameron and Arnold Schönberg get a mention on the same page).

Seriously, though, didn't Cole Porter write High Society many years ago?...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I wonder what music might express "the Big Society"?
I would say "Peer Gynt", but it would be libellous to explain why. :winkeye:

[Chris Newman]

I've always thought the same - it has the real smell of "The Big Country" about it. (Not very appropriate!)

I agree, ff. Yet when I said the same thing on the old boards and people thought I was mad.

[Tristan Klingsor]

I wonder what music might express "the Big Society"? "Rule Britannia"? :whistle:
The Smiths' "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" I should think.