Composers of recent years have had mixed feelings about the use of music of the past, and they have borrowed in a variety of ways. Surges of interest in borrowing arose around certain occasions. For example, the 400th anniversary of Gesualdo's birth inspired a number of new works in 1960, and this helped create interest in using the works of Monteverdi and Cavalli in the 1960s and 70s. Others have turned to Bach, including Lukas Foss with his innovative use of Bach's Von Himmel Hoch in his Baroque Variations. Beethoven's bicentennial in 1970 inspired composers including Stockhausen and Ginastera to borrow in various ways. Kagel's "meta-collage" of small quotations from Beethoven's most popular works offers an interesting example. The twentieth century has also seen a movement called New Romanticism, consisting of a return to 19th-century tonality. Rochberg's quotation technique led him to a more general stylistic modeling, whereas Berio's use of Mahler was intended to honor him specifically. Eventually, New Romanticism focused more on stylistic modeling than exact references, and with the addition of jazz and ragtime devices, composers achieved a "polystylistic juxtaposition." Many pieces are mentioned, and the article includes an extensive list of modern works and the works from which they borrow. Those listed below are discussed in more detail.

Works: Stravinsky: Monumentum pro Gesualdo ad CD annum (640); Davies: Tenebrae super Gesualdo (642); Foss: Baroque Variations (643); Kagel: Ludwig van (645); Rochberg: Third String Quartet (647-8); Berio: Sinfonia (648-9); Cage: Cheap Imitation (651).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Jessica Sternfeld