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21st Century Classical

39K views 237 replies 60 participants last post by  christo131 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,

This is a thread for the discussion of 21st century music. It's just a place to mention all sorts of news, including recent compositions, composers and works you've discovered, intriguing genres, new instruments, award announcements, album releases, premieres, favorite new music blogs, etc. Youtube clips and article links are great if you've got them.

There are similar threads on the board: some focus on particular genres, and most of them ask for favorites. Feel free to link to interesting posts on other threads. I hope this one will be a casual and easy-going thread that can gather information and ideas that don't fit very well elsewhere.

A word about etiquette: this is emphatically not a debate thread. If anyone posts music you dislike or inflammatory polemics, please do not engage with them (if something is way over the line, report it). It would be nice if there were no negativity at all. I'd like it if people felt comfortable mentioning 21st-century music of any style.

...

A few introductory links for newcomers to contemporary music:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st-century_classical_music

Alex Ross: http://www.therestisnoise.com/2006/05/new_music_links.html

Ross has fairly comprehensive lists of esteemed contemporary composers and ensembles.

Tom Service: https://www.theguardian.com/music/series/a-guide-to-contemporary-classical-music

In a popular series, Service chose 50 composers to try to "tell the story of the contemporary music scene." It does not have many active composers, though it could serve as useful background.

schigolch: http://www.talkclassical.com/16411-contemporary-opera.html

Finally, I thought I'd mention a great, long-running thread managed by our own schigolch, which provides information about contemporary operas.

...

I hope that some people will enjoy the thread--thanks for participating!
 
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#3 ·
Great thread idea. I hope this continues to grow with people adding links to music, resources, information, etc.. One of my favorite TC threads concerning contemporary music is New Generations. Not all the music listed is 21st century, but essentially all composers are contemporary.

Also I'd like to mention the radio station WQXR Q2. It plays and discusses contemporary music.
 
#4 ·
#5 · (Edited)
By very rough estimate my collection is about 55% 20th century, 40% 19th century and 5% for the rest. Within that last 5% are a number of 21st century pieces in various styles which have made it into the semi-regular listening.

In no particular order..

James MacMillan
Piano concerto #2 -
Violin Concerto -

Peter Maxwell Davies
Symphony #10 - "Alla ricerca di Borromini" -

Hans Abrahamsen
let me tell you - song cycle for soprano and orchestra -

Jennifer Higdon
City Scape - for orchestra -

Gerald Barry
The Importance of Being Earnest - two act opera based on the Oscar Wilde play -

Henri Dutilleux
Correspondances - song cycle for soprano and orchestra -

Esa-Pekka Salonen
L.A. Variations - for orchestra -
- this is actually from 1997 but quite representative of Salonen.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Count me as another huge fan of 21st century music!

50. Louis Andriessen - La Passione
49. Enno Poppe - Keilschrift
48. Thomas Ades - Tevot
47. Kaija Saariaho - Orion
46. Sofia Gubaidulina - In tempus praesens
45. Donnacha Dennehy - That the Night Come
44. Esa Pekka Salonen - Violin Concerto
43. Sarah Kirkland Snider - Unremembered
42. Ann Southam - Simple Lines of Enquiry
41. Anna Thorvaldsdottir - Aeriality
40. GĂ©rard Grisey - Quatre Chants pour franchir le seuil
39. John Zorn - Shir Ha-Shirim/The Song of Songs
38. Nico Muhly - Viola Concerto
37. Tristan Perich - Surface Image
36. Unsuk Chin - Violin Concerto
35. Steven Stucky - Symphony
34. John Adams - On the Transmigration of Souls
33. Julia Wolfe - Steel Hammer
32. Peter Eotvos - Seven
31. David Lang - The Passing Measures
30. Jennifer Higdon - Violin Concerto
29. George Benjamin - Written on Skin
28. Ted Hearne - Law of Mosaics
27. David T. Little - Dog Days
26. Chaya Czernowin - Maim
25. Lisa Bielawa - Double Violin Concerto
24. Chris Theofanidis - Rainbow Body
23. Meredith Monk - Songs of Ascension
22. Henri Dutilleux - Correspondances
21. Osvaldo Golijov - Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra
20. John Luther Adams - In the White Silence
19. Jurg Frey - String Quartet No. 3
18. Thomas Ades - Polaris
17. Kaija Saariaho - D'om le vrai sens
16. Steve Reich - Double Sextet
15. Hans Abrahamsen - Schnee
14. Julia Wolfe - Anthracite Fields
13. Donnacha Dennehy - Grá Agus Bás
12. Anna Thorvaldsdottir - In the Light of Air
11. Andrew Norman - The Companion Guide to Rome
10. Georg Friedrich Haas - in vain
9. Thomas Ades - Asyla
8. David Lang - The Little Match Girl Passion
7. Kaija Saariaho - L'Amour de loin
6. John Adams - The Dharma At Big Sur
5. John Luther Adams - Become Ocean
4. Andrew Norman - Play
3. Missy Mazzoli - Breaking the Waves (* Because this piece has not yet been recorded, we've substituted Song from the Uproar)
2. Hans Abrahamsen - let me tell you
1. Caroline Shaw - Partita for 8 Voices
I am somewhat surprised that nothing by Magnus Lindberg made this list.

While there are many great pieces in the above list, Linberg's "Sculpture" and "Concerto for Orchestra" are the equal, or better, than some of the pieces listed, in my opinion.

I will be checking into the pieces I am unfamiliar with on the list.
 
#20 ·
I think it's interesting is to say the most. It just sounds like a lot of plinking and plucking. On the plus side, I did made it through a minute and a half of it. Which brings up a philosophical question: I wonder if folks who are, ahem, older like I am are less open to listening to 21st century music. After all, one could argue that we, on average, do have less time remaining to listen to "music." (Sorry for the quotes, that's snarky of me, even I get that. But there it is.) I decided the remaining six minutes of this piece were better served elsewhere.

I remember when I was younger, I used to adore listening to Cathy Berberian singing Luciano Berio. Darn, crossed that century boundary again. Partial recompense: I think Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima is a stunning piece. He's still alive, right?

:tiphat:

Kind regards,

George
 
#15 · (Edited)
Re 21, Gubaidulina (85), Penderecki (83), Wuorinen (78), Sciarrino (69), Chin (55), currently hold the most interest for me. Kurtag (90), Norgard (84), Dusapin (61), somewhat less. Some are long-in-the-tooth, so replenishment may be in order in the not-too-distant-future. Ensuring of course to keep taking my vitamins, so all of this makes sense. But that's the beauty of Atonal, isn't it. It doesn't really have to make sense at any of life's intersections.

"I could tell you my adventures - beginning from this morning," said Alice a little timidly: "but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then." - Lewis Carroll
 
#16 ·
Good idea to open a thread devoted to 21st century music, without the perennial debates on "atonality", "meaning of art", "4:33",... :)

As a small first contribution to the thread, let me mention (an opera, what else?) a piece by the Spanish composer Héctor Parra, "Wilde", premiered just around one year ago at the Schwetzinger Festival. It's based on Händl Klaus's Wilde - Der Mann mit den traurigen Augen, with a libretto by the Austrian writer himself. And a staging by Calisto Bieito.

 
#17 ·
The Living Composers Project - a nonprofit database, charting the lives and works of composers in the here and now
This is a good database of contemporary composers, listed by surname and country.

These are web sites I sometimes check for new music.
Sequenza 21/ - The Contemporary Classical Music Community
5:4 - "It's the most beautiful ugly sound in the world"
Just outside - Brian Olewnick
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN - New Classical Music News
Second Inversion - Rethink Classical
 
#18 · (Edited)

[url=http://5against4.com/]5:4
- "It's the most beautiful ugly sound in the world"
Just thought I'd highlight Simon Cummings' end-of-year list of his favorite albums, which includes a lot of names that I don't think have ever been mentioned on the forum. There's a slant towards music with electronics and some stuff that could probably fairly be described as experimental pop:

http://5against4.com/2016/12/30/best-albums-of-2016-part-1/
http://5against4.com/2016/12/31/best-albums-of-2016-part-2/

For anyone interested, here's his "mixed tape" with selections from each album:

• Mitski - Fireworks (from Puberty 2)
• Me and My Drummer - Lancelot (from Love is a Fridge)
• Bear McCreary - Alone in the Cave (from The Forest (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
• Olga Neuwirth - Torching (from Goodnight Mommy (Original Soundtrack))
• Jenny Hval - The Great Undressing (from Blood Bitch)
• Kroy - Days (from Scavenger)
• Maïa Vidal - The Tide (from You're the Waves)
• Necro Deathmort - Moonstar (from The Capsule)
• Wendy Bevan - Porcelain (from Rose and Thorn)
• Oy - We We We We (from Space Diaspora)
• James O'Callaghan - Empties-Impetus [excerpt] (from Espaces tautologiques)
• Seth Parker Woods - Pierre Alexandre Tremblay: asinglewordisnotenough3 (invariant) [excerpt] (from asinglewordisnotenough)
• Michael Moser - Antiphon-Stein: Side B [excerpt] (from Antiphon Stein)
• Mark Korven - Caleb's Death (from The Witch (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
• Richard Barrett - life-form (anthesis) (from Music for cello and electronics)
• Bent Sørensen - Lacrimosa (from Snowbells)
• Zahn | Hatami | McClure - Vhandaan (from Veerian)
• Clara Iannotta - Al di là del bianco (from A Failed Entertainment: Werke 2009-2014)
• Robin Foster - The Last Stand (from Anthropoid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
• SPC ECO - Slow Down (from All We Have Is Now)
• Fritz Hauser - Rundum [excerpt] (from Different Beat)
• Matmos - Ultimate Care II [excerpt] (from Ultimate Care II)
• Supersilent - 13.9 [excerpt] (from 13)
• The Natural History Museum - Australopithecus (from Attenborough)
• Ladyhawke - A Love Song (from Wild Things)
• Cliff Martinez - Neon Demon (from The Neon Demon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
• Chaya Czernowin - At the Fringe of Our Gaze [excerpt] (from The Quiet: works for orchestra)
• Claude Vivier - Première Partie: Air Du Baryton-Martin (from Kopernikus)
• John Wall - Muta [*]-[*] (from Muta Variations)
• Daniel Wohl - Holographic [excerpt] (from Holographic)
• Jonty Harrison - Going / Places [excerpt] (from Voyages)
• Stefan Fraunberger - Ereignishorizont [excerpt] (from Quellgeister #2 'Wurmloch')
• Francis Dhomont - La métamorphose (from Le cri du Choucas)
• Three Trapped Tigers - Tekkers (from Silent Earthling)
• Katie Gately - Sire (from Color)
• Sleigh Bells - Throw Me Down The Stairs (from Jessica Rabbit)
• C Duncan - Like You Do (from The Midnight Sun)
• Christian Fennesz & Jim O'Rourke - Wouldn't Wanna Be Swept Away [excerpt] (from It's Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry)
• Autechre - c7b2 [excerpt] (from elseq 2)
• Kayo Dot - Amalia's Theme (from Plastic House on Base of Sky)
Here also is a list of all his reviews, mostly of new works premiered at major festivals:

http://5against4.com/list-of-contemporary-compositions-reviewed-on-54/
 
#22 · (Edited)
#23 ·
Neos has not been releasing albums for digital download until recently, but I found today that some recent recordings have become available at amazon download store and google play (cheaper). Still many albums are missing (Donaueschinger 2012~2014, Hába, etc.) but this is a good news to me. I downloaded Donaueschinger Musiktage 2015 and musica viva vol. 23 (Lachenmann).

Donaueschinger Musiktage 2015

Georg Friedrich Haas (*1953): Oktett fĂĽr 8 Posaunen (2015)
Johannes Boris Borowski (*1979): Sérac for orchestra (2014 / 2015)
Stefan Prins (*1979): Mirror Box Extensions for ensemble, live electronics & live video (2014 / 2015)
Mark Andre (*1964): „über" for clarinet, orchestra and live electronics (2015)
Francesco Filidei (*1973): Killing Bach for orchestra (2015)
Yoav Pasovsky (*1980): Pulsus alternans for orchestra (2015)
 
#69 · (Edited)
Neos has not been releasing albums for digital download until recently, but I found today that some recent recordings have become available at amazon download store and google play (cheaper). Still many albums are missing (Donaueschinger 2012~2014, Hába, etc.) but this is a good news to me. I downloaded Donaueschinger Musiktage 2015 and musica viva vol. 23 (Lachenmann).
A belated reply: many of the NEOS Donauschinger albums are available in lossless format courtesy of Qobuz - they're easily the best place these days for lossless avant-garde music.

http://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/search?s=rdc&q=Donaueschinger+Musiktage&i=boutique
 
#24 ·
It's a general chamber music site, not specifically 21st-century oriented, but I like keeping an eye on Earsense:

http://earsense.org/

There are regular updates of new videos uploaded to Youtube (including really rare and some new stuff). You can search for composers by year, genre, etc. And it's got a handy list of composer anniversaries for those who want to make a composer-birthday post in Current Listening. Just another site to browse and maybe bookmark for anyone interested.
 
#25 ·
I so appreciate this thread. I think an ongoing discussion of today's music is so important. I believe music of this century is as different from the music of the 20th century as the 20th is different from the 19th century.

Here are some questions I propose for discussion:

1. When you are sifting through new music, what is it that you are hoping to hear? Of all that is being composed nowadays, musically speaking, what is it that is enjoyable to you?

2. What role do you feel melody has amongst contemporary composers?

3. What are your views about the integration of technology in the composition and the performance of new works?

4. Does contemporary music have problems connecting with audiences? Is that relevant? What do you feel can or should be done about that?
 
#26 ·
I see 21st century music as having branches. One branch of the current music tree is COMPLEXITY (Ades, Lindberg, Maxwell Davies, Carter, Ferneyhough, etc) . There is a lot of music being written now that is a lot to take in. It takes more work from the listener to come to terms with this music.

Another branch is SIMPLICITY. This seems like a reaction to the complexity trend. Some minimalism seems to fall into this category (Reich). Some of the recent choral music falls in here (I'm thinking of Wolfe's Anthracite Fields, for example)

I don't mean either of these labels as negative. I actually enjoy a lot of very complex music and a lot of relatively simpler music as well.

I hate to say it but I also feel there are a lot of GIMMICKY composers right now. I won't name names cuz I don't really want to fight about it, but I think some composers, in an effort to be different, resort to silly techniques.
 
#28 ·
So-called complexity music sometimes sounds simple when it is monotonously complex.

There are not so many composers whose works are literally simple. I don't think the works of Reich and Wolfe are so simple. The only true simplicity composer I can think of might be Tom Johnson.

An aleatoric music or process music could be described in a simple instruction, but it does not mean that the result is necessarily simple. (piano phase, in C, Cage's etudes, ...)

La Monte Young said that his music may sound simple but it is actually very complex.

A piece of music that sounds simple in one aspect (for example, rhythmically static) might reveal the complexity of another aspect (harmony of subtle overtones, variety of timbre, gradual changes of multiple sound layers, ...)
 
#27 ·
Here are some of the works that have been written since Y2K that I have enjoyed:

Michel van der Aa: Up Close, Concerto for Cello, Orchestra, Film
Unsuk Chin: Violin Concerto
George Tstontakis: Violin Concerto, No. 2
Han Abrahamsen: Let Me Tell You
Poul Ruders: Symphony No. 4 (2008)
Tristan Murail: Winter Fragments
John Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives
Gubaidulina: In Tempus Praesens
Dutilleaux: Correspondances
 
#34 ·
Another new (to me) composer: Arlene Sierra.

Surrounded Ground is a sextet for Clarinet, Piano, and String Quartet.

Piano Concerto - Art of War

These two works are related since the term surrounded ground comes from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. I read one review of the Piano Concerto that said she "makes ... absolutely no attempt whatsoever to make these works easy on the listener." Maybe, but I found the work both interesting and enjoyable on the first listen so that surprised me.

The whole concerto was wonderful, and the last movement of Surrounded Ground was pure fun.
 
#36 ·
A great way to experience the newest in serious (classical) music, and jazz, too, is to visit the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany. This festival is hailed as the oldest festival for contemporary music, founded in 1921, and is held annually in October. This year's festival opens on Friday, October 20. Hope to see you there.

http://www.swr.de/swr-classic/donaueschinger-musiktage/-/id=17055662/1asto8u/

If you can't make it to the actual festival (I probably can't), you can do as I do: collect the recordings that catalogue the goings on. These are available from labels Col Legno and NEOS.

Presto Classical provides a page with a quite extensive catalog. Not everything is available, but there is certainly plenty there to sample:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/s/Donaueschinger+Musiktage

I probably have every recording of the collection since its start and I have the wonderful multi-disc collection (12 CDs) 75 Jahre Donaueschinger Musiktage 1921-1996, which is a great intro to the music of the 21st century.

Brown Rectangle Wood Orange Font


Take a look here for a listing of what is available in that set: http://ployvaultcat.blogspot.com/2013/10/donaueschinger-musiktage-75-jahre-12-cds.html

The latest edition in this series, a 2 SACD set of the recordings of the 2015 festival

Jaw Rectangle Font Parallel Drawing


features the following new music:

Georg Friedrich Haas (*1953)
[01] Oktett fĂĽr 8 Posaunen (2015) 19:50

Johannes Boris Borowski (*1979)
[02] Sérac for orchestra (2014 / 2015) 24:55

Stefan Prins (*1979)
Mirror Box Extensions for ensemble, live electronics & live video (2014 / 2015) 32:42

Mark Andre (*1964)
[01] „über" for clarinet, orchestra and live electronics (2015) 38:10

Francesco Filidei (*1973)
[02] Killing Bach for orchestra (2015) 20:50

Yoav Pasovsky (*1980)
[03] Pulsus alternans for orchestra (2015) 12:12

If these composers and pieces sound unfamiliar, well that's half the joy of confronting Donaueschinger. Much to explore here.

The NEOS label itself provides some of the best access to what is currently happening in serious music. Take a look through the NEOS catalog and you'll soon be salivating over the host of new music works available for hearing. NEOS discs play an important role in my personal music collection which is heavy with "new music".

Of course, there are other labels out there specializing in new music recordings, and perhaps someone will create a post informing on the best of them. But for a starting look at what is happening in the 21st century in music, the Donaueschinger collection from Col Legno and NEOS offers an extraordinary sampler. Give it a listen!
 
#37 · (Edited)
Here are 3 works by Vivian Fung all found on the Naxos release.

Violin Concerto
Glimpses
Piano Concerto "Dreamscapes"

Organism Font Art Rectangle Poster


I enjoyed all, but the Piano Concerto is my favorite sounding remarkably varied throughout. The concerto starts with the piano strings directly plucked while Vietnamese bird whistles are blown scattered in the audience. It ends with the orchestra playing pitches on filled wine glasses while the piano plays lovely figures. In between the music ranges from pounding to fun to dreamlike.

Piano Concerto
 
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