Contemporary Classical Musicians

Quality Cucumber · 02-09-2015, 04:26 AM

I'm going to interpret the word "contemporary" as anything around World War II to the present day, since you're bringing up Phillip Glass, who is 78 at the time that I am writing this.

I'm with Zack. Spectralism is a marvelous movement. I particularly enjoy Gérard Grisey's "Vortex Temporum" and Tristan Murail's "Gondwana". I am a sucker for expansive music. Even though "Gondwana" is comparatively short, the title is evocative and the processes are beautiful (FFT FTW). Horațiu Rădulescu's music is crazy stuff. "Inner Time II" captivates me. "Clepsydra" is just nuts from a logistical standpoint, and the sounds are beautiful (the orchestration is 16 "sound icons," which are pianos that are flipped so that the performer can bow the strings). "Byzantine Prayer" is another one of those that is full of cool sounds (40 flautists playing 72 flutes).

Going back to the mid-twentieth century, I like Olivier Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" and Béla Bartók's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta" as well as the string quartets (4 and 5 especially). Meesa likey George Crumb. "Vox Balaenae" and "Echoes of Time and the River (Echoes II)".

Henryk Górecki's 2nd and 3rd symphonies are massive and reflect some very deep parts of humanity. I find his works moving, if difficult to sit through. (The last, what, six minutes of the third symphony is an A chord? Enough already!) On that note, most of the big names that came out of the Polish Renaissance are fantastic. Penderecki's "The Dream of Jacob" is awesome, "Polymorphia" is hilarious (or at least I hear it as such). Witold Lutosławski's "Jeux vénitiens" and the cello concerto... stunning.

I've always liked Milton Babbitt's sense of humor and unrelenting attitude. I can't link it (post count too low), but Bad Plus did an arrangement of Babbitt's "Semi-Simple Variations". There's a music video on Youtube of them playing it while three girls dance to it. I think the composer would have approved. Babbitt's essays are a hoot, if you ever get a chance to read them. I wish I had one iota of that man's ability to articulate.

As for composers who are active right now and doing their thing, Brendan Faegre's "Four Koans" has been an inspiration to me since I heard it. I can't decide if I like Mauro Lanza's output or not.

02-09-2015, 04:26 AM	#11 (permalink)
Quality Cucumber Music Addict Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 60	I'm going to interpret the word "contemporary" as anything around World War II to the present day, since you're bringing up Phillip Glass, who is 78 at the time that I am writing this. I'm with Zack. Spectralism is a marvelous movement. I particularly enjoy Gérard Grisey's "Vortex Temporum" and Tristan Murail's "Gondwana". I am a sucker for expansive music. Even though "Gondwana" is comparatively short, the title is evocative and the processes are beautiful (FFT FTW). Horațiu Rădulescu's music is crazy stuff. "Inner Time II" captivates me. "Clepsydra" is just nuts from a logistical standpoint, and the sounds are beautiful (the orchestration is 16 "sound icons," which are pianos that are flipped so that the performer can bow the strings). "Byzantine Prayer" is another one of those that is full of cool sounds (40 flautists playing 72 flutes). Going back to the mid-twentieth century, I like Olivier Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" and Béla Bartók's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta" as well as the string quartets (4 and 5 especially). Meesa likey George Crumb. "Vox Balaenae" and "Echoes of Time and the River (Echoes II)". Henryk Górecki's 2nd and 3rd symphonies are massive and reflect some very deep parts of humanity. I find his works moving, if difficult to sit through. (The last, what, six minutes of the third symphony is an A chord? Enough already!) On that note, most of the big names that came out of the Polish Renaissance are fantastic. Penderecki's "The Dream of Jacob" is awesome, "Polymorphia" is hilarious (or at least I hear it as such). Witold Lutosławski's "Jeux vénitiens" and the cello concerto... stunning. I've always liked Milton Babbitt's sense of humor and unrelenting attitude. I can't link it (post count too low), but Bad Plus did an arrangement of Babbitt's "Semi-Simple Variations". There's a music video on Youtube of them playing it while three girls dance to it. I think the composer would have approved. Babbitt's essays are a hoot, if you ever get a chance to read them. I wish I had one iota of that man's ability to articulate. As for composers who are active right now and doing their thing, Brendan Faegre's "Four Koans" has been an inspiration to me since I heard it. I can't decide if I like Mauro Lanza's output or not.