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Of late, my attention has drifted towards contemporary Classical music composers such as Jose Evangelista, ??? Nyman and such like, does anybody know any interesting recordings of comtemporary composers that worth investigating.
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He has in the pass recommended numerous contemporary composers.A few of my personal favorites are:
- Elliot Carter
- Toru Takemitsu
- John Cage
- Morton FeldmanOthers of interest that might not have been mentioned are:
- Olivier Messaien
- Pierre Boulez
- Oliver KnussenOf course, there is always the "Second Viennese School":
- Arnold Schoenberg
- Alban Berg
- Anton WebernFor some way-out electronic stuff, try:
- Karlhienz Stockhousen
Bill Bailey
___________________________________________
See my stereo config ... but always looking for cost effective improvements
I assume by "contemporary" you mean composers who came to the fore during the the last couple decades of the 20th century and the first years of our present one?I'll heartily second John Adams and Elliott Carter (particularly the late works).
Also:
John Corigliano
Ellen Taaffe Zwillich
Jennifer Higdon
Lowell Liebermann
Richard Danielpour
Christopher Rouse
Henryk Gorecki
Arvo Part
Chris Brubeck
Lou Harrison
If you enjoy choral music you musn't miss Morten Lauridson's or Eric Whitacre's work.
Thanks
Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
Besides the usual suspects already mentioned, particularly Elliot Carter, Cage, etc., you might want to investigate Wolfgang Rihm, especially his string quartets (recorded by Arditti String Quartet and the Minguett Quartet) and also his other string trio and solo piano music. Two other composers I find very interesting are Olga Neuwirth and Beat Furrer. I am envious of the experience you may have exploring these and other contemporary composers. Good listening. (By the way, I keep listening to Cage's Ryoanji, over and over again, in all of its recorded manifestations. Fabulous!)
If this is the direction that's interesting, others in this lineage could include the likes of Holliger (has some amazing pieces), Lachenmann, Eotvos, Birtwistle, even Ferneyhough, culminating in Ligeti, Kurtag, and the totally uncategorizable Sciarrino. For me it's the latter three that, in different ways, carry the banner of great music in our time.But what's contemporary? Among the mothers of these inventors are Nono and Berio (in some ways also Boulez and Stockhausen). Why not start with them? And where do we place Messiaen?
There's a whole bunch of ex-Soviets, lead by Schnittke of course, but they're really something else (quite romantic and not purposefully worried about advancements in compositional technique and musical language).
nt
Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
If your familiarity with Michael Nyman is primarily music from his film scores, like for The Piano, and your familiarity with Evangelista from his music that incorporates non-Western influences, then I would suggest --Nino Rota, who wrote for film and also as a serious classical composer. There are many soundtrack recordings, but if you look in the classical music sections of online retailers, you'll discover a lot of classical recordings as well. His concerti are among his better works.
Erich Korngold is another composer whose music spanned both film and concert halls.
For a composer who melds Eastern and Western music, I recommend Toru Takemitsu - yet another composer who wrote both film and classical music. But his classical music has a distinctly Eastern character.
Finally, I think you would like Gorecki Symphony No. 3.
I'm not familiar with the two names you mentioned but I listen to a lot of Milton Babbitt, Elliot Carter, Robert Simpson, David Shea, Charles Wuorinen, Christian Wolfe, and the usual pack of Cage, Penderecki, Xenakis, Feldman, etc.What are some of the pieces you're interested in now? Email me if you might be interested in a compilation CDR of samples of some of the newer folks I've mentioned and others.
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I'm constantly on the lookout for new and interesting music.
Describing music is tough. It is, at various points: tense, floating, longing, abstract. It's easy to envision a huge thundercloud moving over a stormy sea. Other times, it is simply ethereal and wispy-frail...peace and resignation to things beyond comprehension. It is among the most deeply moving "abstract music" I've experienced. Simply awesome -- and gorgeous -- as pure sound. Try the recording below on for size first. If it hooks you, get ANY OTHER RECORDING YOU CAN FIND. The ECM issues are all readily available, but there's also a handful of CDs on the Megadisc label that are indispensible, and include large-scale orchestral and choral works not otherwise obtainable. The Megadisc issues, unfortunately, are hard to come by -- getting harder every day, it appears:-(The major labels ignored Silvestrov (there is one Sony recording from 10 years ago of Symphony 5, and it's an expensive collectors item that I do not own), and it's likely too late in the Classical music business for anyone to rectify the situation. If the music of Silvestrov gets to you, you'll be like me -- sitting there marvelling at the glow of this profound music, and shaking your head at a world gone mad -- or a world that has only given us passing illusions that it was not always so. Silvestrov's music is like a stream, a current, a breeze, a sigh, a scream.
The picture links...
My favorite for a while has been Saariaho. I have a number of recordings of various works and she has a unique voice. Her music is not too difficult.It really comes down to personal taste. There are the extraordinarily abstract composers like Ferneyhough and James Dillon.
And then there are those like Robert Simpson, who was prolific and fantastic and is almost unheard.
Hi TuneNut,Is Robert Simpson, Ferneyhough, James Dillon instrumental or vocal as I am not really gung-ho on vocals.
It is great to experiment as I have discovered a few gems that way, I like Messien
Most have come and gone in my collection, but IMHO John Adams is the real deal, especially Harmoniellrhe, (sp-LOL). Also, the Ligeti Etudes, and his Violin/Piano Concerto with Boulez, Atmospheres and Lontano with Abbado on DG (oop). I'll keep it at that.
-nt
Bill Bailey
___________________________________________
See my stereo config ... but always looking for cost effective improvements
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Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
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