<p>Can’t forget contemporary american composers such as Aaron Copland and Eric Whitacre</p>
<p>Ottorino Respighi </p>
<p>Aaron Copeland</p>
<p>Alex North!</p>
<p>Haha, odd to see that the thread turned into a discussion about what constitutes “modern” music. IMHO, the idea of classifying music as “modern” by it’s sound is a pointless exercise. After all Arvo Part is still living, Spiegel im Spiegel was written in 1976 and is among the simplest pieces written since the advent of polyphony. On the other hand we have “threnody for the victims of hiroshima” which was written in 1960… very complex, and dissonant.</p>
<p>The reason I chose “modern” in the title is because I like all of these different branches of music in the 20th and 21st centuries and with so many countless branches it was convenient for titling purposes to branch them together by time period.</p>
<p>I’ll list a few (both living and dead): Thomas Ades, Magnus Lindberg, Claude Vivier, Morton Feldman, John C. Adams, Derek Bermel, Reich, Ligeti, Berio, Georg Friedrich Haas, Takemitsu, Unsuk Chin, Julian Anderson and so on. I tend to prefer European composers, but of a certain stripe. I think lots of American neo-Romantics are quite boring but I’m also not crazy about the so-called ‘ping-plank-plonk’ type modernists from the continent. I’m not sure if you can extrapolate anything from the above list other than the fact that I find their music really, really compelling, and exciting. </p>
<p>These are simply the composers that some people might recognize. I can also name a bunch of people 35-and-under who I think are really exciting, but it’s almost certain no one here would know who they are. There’s a young British-Hong Kong composer nameed Lam Fung, a Norwegian named Jan Erik Mikalsen and an American named Missy Mazzoli, all worth checking out, and all born around 1979-1980. Classical music is truly international, and no less fresh or youthful than pop/hip-hop/rock/electronica. </p>
<p>I’m also glad someone brought up Judd Greenstein’s name. Judd is a really good personal friend, and the little record label he co-founded (New Amsterdam Records) is really worth checking out. Almost everything on the label is a gem, and they recently received their first Grammy nom for a superb Jazz album.</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m a bit tired of people bring up either really, really old names like Copland or Prokofiev (both great composers, but are we still calling stuff from the 30s modern?) or modernist names from the 50s and 60s. Pendereski has long left the world of Threnody and frankly, nobody really cares much about the Milton Babbitts of the world anymore. There’s so much cool, new exciting stuff going on now. Open your ears! (Mikalsen, Lam and Missy all have MySpace pages with clips).</p>
<p>Definitely Stravinsky.</p>
<p>I’m glad someone mentioned Messiaen. He is by far my favorite post-romantic composer.</p>
<p>My daughter was playing something on her laptop yesterday, which I liked, so I asked the composer. It was Missy Mazzoli…I got Judd Greenstein (Night Gatherers) and David Lang (Little Match Girl) for Christmas. Second the thoughts on New Amsterdam.</p>
<p>Wind Cloud, hope you are having a good year in London!</p>
<p>I, too, got Little Match Girl from my son for Christmas! Second my best wishes for WindCloud Ultra in London.</p>
<p>I am often surprised by these two youtube subscriptions for contemporary classical music: [YouTube</a> - John11inch’s Channel](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/John11inch]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/user/John11inch) and [YouTube</a> - NewMusicXX’s Channel](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/NewMusicXX]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/user/NewMusicXX). </p>
<p>When it comes to dissonant modern and postmodern classical music, these guys are the hipsters of the stuff, and the fact that I can pronounce Scelsi correctly means nothing when they somehow conjure yet another brilliant piece by a composer who I’ve never heard of. </p>
<p>Also, John Luther Adams. He may have already been mentioned, but he is far superior to his similarly named contemporary.</p>
<p>Thanks Compmom and SpiritManager! Happy New Year to both! I’ll have to give a longer respond/report on London once I get a chance!</p>
<p>@theorygeek: Both channels are quite good–they do have a slight bias towards featuring European composers, and while it’s quite comprehensive (if you’re looking for a specific Donaueschingen-type bend to new music that is), it’s certainly not as international as one would like. So hipsters of new music? Maybe…but one very specific type. </p>
<p>Of course, that’s not to say my own list is without it’s own biases. For example, I’m quite happy to leave off certain German composers from my list these days–and they’ll remain nameless. </p>
<p>With that said, for anyone interested in some more continental composers–though I don’t think they’re necessarily the best places to start for everyone–here are some names:</p>
<p>Xenakis, Luca Francesconi, Michel van der Aa, Hans Abrahamsen, Gerard Grisey, (some) Sciarrino, (some) Beat Furrer etc. are good places to start. I’ll plug Helmut Lachenmann’s stuff a bit (as he was a former teacher), but it’s a tough entry for most people. If you feel really really adventurous, Ein Kinderspiel and the String Quartets are good places to start. I’ve discovered that his music works much better live, so it’s very easy to get a wrong impression from a recording–more so than most other music. </p>
<p>As to the merit of Mr. Adams (JCA that is), I’ll say that personally he is unfairly maligned by those of a more modernist-bent, and especially those from the continent and I think it’s a bit silly. Still, reactions to art are ultimately opinion, and there’s no absolute right or wrong. I do think there’s a lot of aesthetic baggage that cloud some people’s reaction to his music though, and not based entirely on the ‘merit’ of the music, whatever that means. (This is a much, much longer conversation) </p>
<p>(P.S. re:Scelsi–for those who don’t know, is pronounced Shell-SEE) Anahit is a good place to start.</p>
<p>@fiddlefrog: I might send you a message in a bit, but I’m curious what your connection is to Northwestern (if any). I see that you mention Aaron Cassidy and Travers and figured you were at NU either when I was there or immediately afterwards…haha</p>
<p>Cheers,
WCU</p>