Rhubarb Rhubarb

The Hungarian composer Antal Borsos (1916-1979) was known for works of a traditional nature until the early 1960s, when he began to dabble with the avant garde. He was particularly interested in incorporating organic noises and envisioned a symphony developed from the ‘music’ produced by plants (creaking trees, snapping buds etc). His Fugue in C major (No.50) used a recording he made of rhubarb growing inside metal bins (forced rhubarb famously grows so quickly that it can be heard expanding). His wife Ilona, who did not share his interest in the experimental, teased him remorselessly about his 'silly musical fruits’. Eventually they divorced - probably a mistake on her part. Within a year, she was remarried to her dentist, who murdered her on their honeymoon.