At the Doors of Kranichstein: Maderna's ‘Fantasia’ for 2 Pianos

Extract

THE TIME will almost certainly arrive when historians of the music of the present century will speak of the ‘Darmstadt School’ of composers—that group of musicians many of whose earlier works were first heard at the Summer School in that city. Indeed, the phrase has already gained some ground, even if it has not yet entered general parlance. When the term ‘Second Viennese School’ was invented, some years after the ‘school’ had in fact broken up for its vacation, there may have seemed to be some justification for giving it such a name, since it had at least consisted of a teacher and his pupils; only now, perhaps, are we able to see that the ‘classes’ were somewhat unruly ones, and neither the pupils nor their most un-academic teacher had managed to invent even the most elementary ‘syllabus’ or even ‘ethos’ for the establishment. If we dare to speak of a ‘Darmstadt School’, then we shall certainly search in vain for its more than temporary guiding spirit, or for an ethos which was universally accepted.