Mahlerite

10ths comfortably, stretch to most 11ths. Seems to be the case for most of us.

Yeah, well Messiaen didn't exactly have an orchestra available to compose for in Stalag VIII-A. :shifty: Seriously, the instrumentation was entirely dictated by what was available. Messiaen didn't have a plan from the start, he was just adjusting as the situation improved. For instance, the third movement, for solo clarinet, was written first because Messiaen had a clarinet (and a clarinetist) handy.. he didn't even really plan to use it in a larger work at that point.

Among my very favorite pieces. I'm particularly fond of the 5th mvmt. It's divine, in an otherworldly sort of way. The story of the quartet's creation and premiere is quite fascinating as well. The book For the End of Time: The Story of the Messiaen Quartet by Rebecca Rischin tells it in some detail. Definitely worth a listen (or several) if you're unfamiliar with it.

I found the site on Wikipedia like 9 months ago, as an external link in the article on musical composition. (I don't think it's there anymore.) I remembered the site and finally registered this summer.

Among others... Mahler's Ninth Messiaen's Quartor pour la fin du Temps Strauss - Thus Spake Zarathustra

I find the post-rock genre appealing as well... are you familiar with Sigur Ros? A bit more mainstream I suppose... they have a vocalist, but he sings a fabricated language most of the time so it really just adds to the soundscape.

Yes Sigur Ros Queen Travis Gomez Pink Floyd (a few albums at least) Radiohead-- In response to a (much) earlier post, they definitely have acknowledged classical influences, all the way from Hector Berlioz to Olivier Messiaen. Didn't know that about the Tristan chord, I'll have to try and find it :cool: Someone mentioned Nickel Creek -- Chris Thile is absolutely incredible. I honestly haven't heard a lot of Nickel Creek, but I saw the Punch Brothers live just recently and their album is fantastic as well. Bela Fleck is great too.