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Trying to recall SF short story

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jayfa...@nospamyahoo.com

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Jun 14, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/14/00
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Hope someone out there can help me recall the title/author of a short
story I read about ten years ago. The story was set in a "utopian"
society, where everyone was given the job for which they were best
suited. The main character was a musician/composer who was punished
for listening to a tape of Motzart, and subsequently sent to work on a
road crew.

Any clues?

Thanks,

jayfa...@yahoo.com

Dr. Fidelius

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
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Oh, and it was Bach. All the fugues disappeared from his work while he was
trying to hide "influence" and remain "original".

Dr. Fidelius

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
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_Unaccompanied Sonata_ by Orson Scott Card.

I first read it in _OMNI_ about twenty years ago.


Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan
Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University
"You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason."
Midlife Crisis Step 1: I bought a boat.

James Charles Rau

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
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On 15 Jun 2000 01:51:46 GMT, drfid...@aol.commoriom (Dr. Fidelius)
wrote:

>Oh, and it was Bach. All the fugues disappeared from his work while he was
>trying to hide "influence" and remain "original".

Did this story appear in Omni magazine? I can't recall the name of the
author and title, but I do remember this story. I do remember that it
was the sudden absence of fugues from the character's work that gave
him away to the authorities. The 'utopian' society described in the
story demanded absolute originality from its more artistic members.

James Rau


Paul Andinach

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
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On Thu, 15 Jun 2000, James Charles Rau wrote:

> On 15 Jun 2000 01:51:46 GMT, drfid...@aol.commoriom (Dr. Fidelius)
> wrote:
>
> > Oh, and it was Bach. All the fugues disappeared from his work
> > while he was trying to hide "influence" and remain "original".
>
> Did this story appear in Omni magazine?

Can't remember, and I just took _Maps in a Mirror_ back to the
library.

> I can't recall the name of the author and title, but I do remember
> this story. I do remember that it was the sudden absence of fugues
> from the character's work that gave him away to the authorities.

AIR, it wasn't simply the absence of fugues; it was the absence of
fugues in combination with an increase in the use of all Bach's less
obvious stylistic twiddles.

Paul
--
The Pink Pedanther


Niall McAuley

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
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James Charles Rau wrote in message <39486680...@news.primenet.com>...

>On 15 Jun 2000 01:51:46 GMT, drfid...@aol.commoriom (Dr. Fidelius)
>wrote:
>>Oh, and it was Bach. All the fugues disappeared from his work while he was
>>trying to hide "influence" and remain "original".

>Did this story appear in Omni magazine? I can't recall the name of the


>author and title, but I do remember this story.

According to the isfdb, Unaccompanied Sonata by
Orson Scott Card first appeared in Omni, March 1979.
--
Niall [real address ends in se, not es.invalid]


gal...@hotmail.com

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Jun 15, 2000, 3:00:00 AM6/15/00
to
In article <20000614214932...@ng-fu1.aol.com>,

drfid...@aol.commoriom (Dr. Fidelius) wrote:
> >Hope someone out there can help me recall the title/author of a short
> >story I read about ten years ago. The story was set in a "utopian"
> >society, where everyone was given the job for which they were best
> >suited. The main character was a musician/composer who was punished
> >for listening to a tape of Motzart, and subsequently sent to work on
a road crew.
> >
> >Any clues?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >jayfa...@yahoo.com
>
> _Unaccompanied Sonata_ by Orson Scott Card.
>
> I first read it in _OMNI_ about twenty years ago.
>

I remember not liking it. It was one of those "The end justifies the
means" stories, which actually seem to have little to teach. "The Island
of Doctor Death" by Wolfe is another example.

G

> Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan
> Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University
> "You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach
> through reason." Midlife Crisis Step 1: I bought a boat.
>


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