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]

Oh yes, indeed, what an education this has been. I love the way this has all finally come together thematically. Delightful, thanks, Quinapalus.

[TheBear69]

Well, I have followed the instruction so that the theme fully appears and have the complete name, but I still am puzzled by at least one misprint. A couple of the misprints seem awfully obscure. But this was a nice challenge; thanks Quinapalus!

[AHearer]

An excellent puzzle. My heart sank when I saw the stave under the grid, as what I know about music could be hummed on one note by a tone-deaf cod, so I was quite relieved when I got the theme and saw how the whole thing came together. I still have one cell blank, as a result of failing so far to solve one across clue. I did feel that the erasure smacked slightly of desperation.

[jockie]

Brilliant puzzle, Q, but a year early surely .... no! Wiki gets it wrong AGAIN.

[jim360]

All references get it wrong sometimes. wikipedia isn't helped by the fact that it's the biggest reference in pretty much ever. Of course there are errors. As readers of the EV discovered not too long ago, though, there are also errors in more established reference works too e.g. misspellings of names in ODQ, while the BRB has a couple of Scientific howlers...

[emcee]

Impressive puzzle and an even more impressive construction.

Another theme I didn't know!

Many thanks, Quinapalus.

[upsetter]

O.....M.....G

[s_pugh]

Another cracking puzzle, what a run we are on - thanks Q. To be fair to Wiki it does contain a comment referring to the ambiguity surrounding the year. The only doubt I have is in how the completed grid is to be submitted as this isn't really made clear which is a shame as past experience says it could be marked wrong if not in the format deemed 'correct'.

[Ruthrobin]

I am absolutely sure s_pugh, that there is no ambiguity at all. There is an instruction to be obeyed and a requirement 'so that the theme in full appears in the final grid, and then must complete the person's real name ...' (I am simply quoting the preamble). I am sure that anything else would justifiably be marked wrong.

[perseverer]

Fascinating! The things you learn when you do the Listener. Incidentally the first footnote to the Wiki article does acknowledge some doubt about the relevant year.

[perseverer]

Sorry - just read s_pugh's comment more carefully!

[olichant]

What an absolute joy. Clues not as punishing as Elm (phew) but such a clever, witty and fun puzzle. The musical excerpt made me laugh out loud - it has been years since I saw that.

[pushmi-pullyu]

Pure enjoyment from beginning to end.

[contendo]

Isn't the date wrong in 18a?

[dr b]

^I think the preamble states there's something wrong in every clue.

Quite an amazing construction; I'm sure I'm missing something due ot my inability to read musical notation, but that's OK. Tracking down the last few misprints took quite a while.

[contendo]

Doh!

[Scorpius]

That was a full workout. An enjoyable challenge with plenty of PDMs en route, but it was a bit like travelling from London to Norwich via Berlin. Some annoying ambiguities in some of the misprints (eg 12) did not help to make sense of the hidden message, nor did the obscurities referred to by TheBear69, but I eventually got there. Not what I’d call an elegant puzzle, given the complex mix of unrelated or loosely related material, but I guess the setter’s ingenuity in bringing it all together in one puzzle is to be admired.
The first word of 2 down aptly describes the final stage.

I think I can guess what s_pugh is referring to in his comment on the format of the submitted solution, since I wondered about this myself, but decided to take no chances.

[starwalker]

Well, that was a wonderful struggle, though I am becoming ever more alarmed at the increasing number of Listener themes about which I know absolutely nothing. Thanks Q.

[tilbee]

Very much enjoyed this. Clueing very fair, a superb construction and a jaw-dropping discovery (to me at least).

[Scorpius]

This puzzle has an unexpected dimension. Half way through solving the clues I came to the conclusion that the tune, which I did not recognize, was referenced by one of the clues. 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. There's some fascinating stuff on the internet, including the composer talking about the genesis of the music.

I don't think any of the above will help solvers who have yet to complete the puzzle.