They played about 50 seconds of Stockhausen's Ylem at the end of the BBC's weekly arts review prog., Newsnight Review. The esteemed critics make up the prog didn't discuss him at all.

[But then, they discuss the latest novel, film, play,inreresting pop, TV prog (have you spotted the connection?), plus latest art work, however avantgarde (including the one just consisting of lights being turned on and off): they never discuss the latest classical music (except for opera). And that points up the connection - words.]

The excerpt was mesmeric. There is something gripping about it and I still don't leap towards his music.


As for the point about elitism, I've realised that vast numbers are elitist in all sorts of fields from association football to fashion, restaurants to entertainment, and so on.

It's just that other words are used instead of 'elitist'.Like         
Premiership (football, implying that anything else is beneath us power-couple
A-list
5-star
supermodel
quality
celebrity (someone who is famous for being famous)
luxury
upmarket
the .... to be seen with, wearing,etc.

and so on and so on.

Even 'the greatest'.

   RIP Mr.Stockhausen

Ivor