Listener Crossword No 4267 German Serial Composition By Quinapalus

[trux]

Certainly this theme was something new to me, and I am not sure that I understand all of its nuances but have managed to complete the final grid even so. Some very deft touches in both the clues and the endgame. Some (pedants) may argue that Quinapalus has jumped the queue but that bit of research may well not have been available at the time he submitted the puzzle. Many thanks to Mr Q for a challenging work-out and for the education (which is surely why we all love these puzzles so?).

[Ruthrobin]

.... or even those who have solved it and share AHearer's amusing lack of musical talent (I too hummed it on one note like his tone-deaf cod!)

[PapaBear]

"Having finished the puzzle, I've since done some research and discovered that the tune as printed doesn't match the assumed piece, and have now correctly identified the piece and the composer."

I think it does match. The piece has a Wikipedia page, and the tune is given there. In WP the second G does not have the natural sign, which according to classical notation means it is sharped; but 20th century music does not always follow that convention, and the nearby text makes it clear it is actually a G natural.
Finding the piece and composer was the first thing I did. It was no help whatsoever in solving the puzzle.

[Ruthrobin]

Sorry, s_pugh, I have understood what you are hesitating about and am now becoming anxious too!

[EAChaplin]

Yes I think s_pugh has a valid concern. Of course we are all here because we have access to a computer (and accessories probably). Those who don't and are working on the newspaper copy may have the same concerns.

[jockie]

If the tune and composer genuinely have no relevance whatever to solving the puzzle, please would PapaBear share his discovery?

[perseverer]

I don't think it is giving anything significant away to say that the names of the composer and composition can easily be found by Googling the information given.

[trux]

Careful - please don't go into further detail about the tune's relevance or not.....we're straying across the verboten line, mefears ... which is not entirely fair to Q ...

[jockie]

Yes, I thought of googling the important words a few minutes after posting ... and sure enough, there it is. As I've observed before, I should wait 10 minutes after writing anything before hitting the "submit" button.

[Scorpius]

Papabear, just to clarify what I said, I did not mean to suggest that the musical notation is inaccurate. "Assumed piece" refers to my wrong assumption. My initial thought (which turned out to be wrong) was that the tune was from a composition that is referred to in one of the clues. Once I compared the two I realized they were not the same, so investigated further and discovered the real source.

[Contrarian]

Beautiful! Thanks Quinapalus.

[Staurologist]

Great theme. Like many others, I suspect, I heded off in the wrong direction to start with, because I recognized the composer and the piece (German, serial, pianos, electronics--all you need is there in the preamble). The third title is my favourite from the featured individual. Worth looking out.

[jim360]

Still a long way to go on this one, having had a weekend at home and a cold before that -- looks like it could be a classic though!

[olichant]

I think I might be having the same last-minute wobble as others above. Hopefully it will resolve itself.

There are some mind-boggling performances of the tune on the internet. I can't post the quote I'd like to here, for fear of giving anything away...

[Philoctetes]

Very good work out. You could get through to a complete grid, having followed the instruction, yet there is still that last remaining hurdle, that one "waffer thin mint" that you really do need to show you have beaten it.

[sunny-dave]

Excellent - loved it to bits ... one of my favourites of recent months I think.

Thanks Q.

[jim360]

Satisfied about all apart from the answers to 19 and 23a which I've got only backwards from what the final grid must presumably be. Lovely finish, thanks Quinapalus!

[freiheid]

I loved the five 'special' clues once I finally unravelled them. But while this was brilliant overall, I did have a feeling that the little tweak required at the end was making a virtue out of a grid-fill necessity.

[contendo]

One of the most ingenious puzzles for a long time. One or two of the definitions were, I thought, too vague, eg 14d and 42a. Also I'm not sure why we had to have two As below middle C.

[sunny-dave]

Given the corrected misprint I can't see a lot wrong with 14d, contendo?

I agree that 42a is a bit less precise, but still seems reasonable given the absence of unches?

[contendo]

Yes, Sunny-Dave, I'd missed the misprint. It's actually a very nice clue.