Another composer from the twilight zone


Any Bernstein performance from the archives is noteworthy. But what makes this 2008 double CD from Radio France's Ocora label particularly noteworthy is the coupling of the premiere of '24 Préludes pour Orchestre' by the Romanian composer Marius Constant (1925-2004). Olivier Messiaen, Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger were among his teachers, and he was a member of Pierre Schaeffer's Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète. Today, Marius Constant is remembered, if at all, for the title theme for the TV series 'Twilight Zone'. Audiences need permission to like unfamiliar music and classical's twitterati should be playing a much more proactive role in granting that permission for composers such as Marius Constant. Those who have hijacked social media for self-promotion should note Leonard Bernstein's wise words* that: "We don't sell music, we share it". Audition Marius Constant's '24 Préludes pour Orchestre' via this link.

* Is that Bernstein quote apocryphal? It is in wide circulation, but I cannot identify where, or indeed if, he said it. No review samples used in this post. Any copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter.

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Pliable said…
Neil Talbott comments via Facebook: Found this fascinating mini - documentary about Marius Constant: https://youtu.be/ox4b8tRjVfw

12:29 pm
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