[justekaia]

Salvatore Sciarrino (1947) is not only a great composer, but also an intellectual who evaluates and anticipates our living conditions.
His wonderful violin concerto (2013) "Giorno velato presso il lago nero" is played with unfaltering dedication by Carolin Widmann accompanied by the Bavarian Radio SO conducted by Jonathan Nott.

 

[justekaia]

The Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (1937) reminds us of many other important composers like Mozart, Mahler, Schnittke or Pärt and that is also why his music is full of contrasts. A perfect example is his outstanding piece "Postludium" (1984) which he calls a symphonic poem because it is a short, dense piece that features an initially observed conflict followed by pastoral melodies. His music is atmospheric but has the capacity to move us very deeply. The piano part is handled by Ivan Sokolov, while Borejko directs the Ural PO.There is another excellent version with Lubimov and Russell Davies on a disc which includes Metamusik which is an extended version of Postludium.

 

[20centrfuge]

I’d throw these 10 names into the hat of excellent living composers:

John Adams
Unsuk Chin
Wolfgang Rihm
Brian Ferneyhough
Louis Andriessen
Sophia Gubaidulina
Thomas Ades
Michel Van der Aa
Salvatore Sciarrino
György Kurtág

 

[justekaia]

L'Oeil du Cyclone (2022), exciting piano concerto by major spectralist Tristan Murail (1948).
His favourite interpreter François-Frédéric Guy is accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France directed by Brad Lubman.

 

[Ludwig Schon]

L'Oeil du Cyclone (2022), exciting piano concerto by major spectralist Tristan Murail (1948).
His favourite interpreter François-Frédéric Guy is accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France directed by Brad Lubman.

I adore Murail. Did not think much of Guy's recent solo piano pieces, Revolutions, which included Debussy's Preludes. In fact, it was garbage…

Terre d'Ombre (2014) with the OPRF and Peter Eotvos is much better.

 

[Neo Romanza]

In fact, it was garbage…

Which, in fact, is one of your favorite things to say, which I find unfortunate. Saying you simply dislike it must not be enough. Anyway, remember that one man's junk is another man's treasure.

 

[justekaia]

Andrew Norman's (1979) "Sustain" (2018) is a contracting spiral, repeating the music 10 times in a row with each repetition accelerating the pace.
The composer imagined future times and all his thinking brought him close to the natural world, the earth and our relationship to it.
A certain sense of sadness permeates the music and refers to our shortcomings in taking care of the planet.
The piece feels like an acoustic experience about the future we imagine.

 

[HenryPenfold]

I'd throw these 10 names into the hat of excellent living composers:

John Adams
Unsuk Chin
Wolfgang Rihm
Brian Ferneyhough
Louis Andriessen
Sophia Gubaidulina
Thomas Ades
Michel Van der Aa
Salvatore Sciarrino
György Kurtág

Sadly, Louis Andriessen passed away last year......

 

[justekaia]

Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) has been fascinated by Eastern religions and philosophies.
His interest for new sonic realms opened up by electronics and his masterful command of orchestral forces make him one of the most fascinating British contemporary composers.
The orchestral work "Body Mandala" (2006) alternates the fierce wildness of ancient Tibetan purification rituals with a tranquil state of chant.

 

[Mandryka]

Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) has been fascinated by Eastern religions and philosophies.
His interest for new sonic realms opened up by electronics and his masterful command of orchestral forces make him one of the most fascinating British contemporary composers.
The orchestral work "Body Mandala" (2006) alternates the fierce wildness of ancient Tibetan purification rituals with a tranquil state of chant.

I think the piece by him I've enjoyed most is Ritual Melodies.

 

[justekaia]

I think the piece by him I've enjoyed most is Ritual Melodies.

In the category of electronic pieces i believe Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco is his masterpiece.

 

[justekaia]

Concerto for orchestra (2019) by Slovenian composer Nina Senk (1982) who covers a broad musical spectrum with inspiration from historical and contemporary pieces. She alternates calm moments with more explosive ones in a concerto that has splendid moments and an interesting overall concept. Matthias Pintscher conducts the Bavarian Radio Orchestra.

 

[justekaia]

The American microtonal composer Catherine Lamb (1982) teams us with one of the leading contemporary quartets, the Jack Quartet, to give us one of the outstanding SQs of the 21 st century, called Divisio Spiralis (2019). It requires stamina from the performers and the audience but is well worth the effort. The piece starts at 2.05.

 

[tortkis]

The American microtonal composer Catherine Lamb (1982) teams us with one of the leading contemporary quartets, the Jack Quartet, to give us one of the outstanding SQs of the 21 st century, called Divisio Spiralis (2019). It requires stamina from the performers and the audience but is well worth the effort. The piece starts at 2.05.

Divisio Spiralis (I listened to the Kiros recording) is much more melodic and accessible compared with Lamb's earlier works, although I have heard only some of them. It is a beautiful work, sometime sounds almost like religious or spiritual music.

 

[maladie]

In the category of electronic pieces i believe Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco is his masterpiece.

Mortuos Plango... is definitely an electroacoustic masterpiece and it was an important piece to show the possibilities of computers doing interesting inharmonic sounds in the 80's. Bhakti was another piece of his in the 80's that was very important and it's a mixed work. For IRCAM it was an important showpiece at that point as well.

 

[justekaia]

The Czech composer Ondrej Adamek (1979) is a sonic wizard and alchemist who shapes new worlds of sounds.
He travels intensively and his sensitivity and open-mindedness pervade his works, which absorb a lot from other cultures.
Nôise (2009) for example, a piece for large ensemble, is inspired by a stay in Kyoto and Japanese theatre mainly No and Bunraku, a form of puppet theatre.
Adamek uses theatre's instrumental sounds, buddhist sutras and toy shops' electronic jingles to create a very paradoxical mixture which resemble's today's world.
Susanna Mälkki conducts the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

 

[justekaia]

Marc Monnet (1947) is one of the well-hidden treasures of French contemporary music.
His works are unpredictable, inventive, disconcerting, unrealistic and attractive at the same time. His real aim is to construct sonorous phenomena to reach the audience.
His catalog is a real kaleidoscope, with particular strength in chamber music, but also in music for larger ensembles.
Monnet is not interested by the traditional romantic concerto any more and this violin concerto is more of a battle between the soloist and the orchestra. The composer worked closely with the virtuoso violinist Ted Papavrami and included passages in which he forms a kind a duo with one instrumentalist of the orchestra.
This lyrical, sparkling piece has unabated rhythm and dynamics.
"Pour Orchestre, Violon et autres Machins (2013) is played by the SWR Baden-Baden conducted by F.X.Roth.

 

[justekaia]

Syntax (2014) by Ivan Fedele (1953) is played by Radio France PO conducted by Ceccherini.
The composer wanted to write an homage to Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and focused on certain aspects of their compositions: archetypes of aesthetic options which can give life to new musical and poetical forms and thus create a new syntax.
There are 3 parts: 1) the rigorous one dedicated to Haydn with an extreme synthesis of musical elements
2) the brilliance of the articulation of timbre achieved by Mozart
3) Beethoven's revolutionary manipulation of the musical materials which leads to very diverse musical figures. The synthesizer used by Fedele at the end introduces new timbre elements in a climate of impetuosity and tension which refer to the "Sturm und Drang" Period of which Beethoven was one of the greatest interpreters.

 

[justekaia]

Le Songe de LLuc Alcari (1992) is a mysterious cello concerto by Jean-Louis Florentz (1947-2004) with Chiffoleau as the soloist and Krivine conducting the Lyon National Orchestra.
The first cellist plays an important role and emerges in the prolog; he is the alter ego of the soloist and irradiates the 11 other cellists with certain thematic elements which are in turn transmitted to the orchestra. The second movement is dominated by a stimulating cello dialog, while the third movement starts with a largo and increases the dramatic character of the whole piece. A remarkable last movement features a chaotic litany that leaves the soloist fighting alone. His last burst of energy is torn apart by a thundering cymbal crash which ends the piece.

 

[Waehnen]

Lots of Fenno-Ugric, Polish and Russian composers on my list!

Kalevi Aho
Elena Firsova
Sofia Gubaidulina
Erik Bergman
György Ligeti
Witold Lutoslawski
Joonas Kokkonen
Krzysztof Penderecki
Arvo Pärt
Kaija Saariaho
Dmitri Smirnov
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Harri Vuori