Late 20th Century, Contemporary: Major Composers

[canninator]

Props to Corey for mentioning Scelsi. I think some spectralism a la Gerard Grisey should definitely reach your CD player at some point. I would recommend 'Les Espaces Acoustiques' and 'Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil'

[MN Dave]

Thanks, IF. Much appreciated.

This Feldman music is something I could get into. Contemplative, trance-inducing, subtle, lovely...

[UB]

You are welcome!

Did you try any of the other composers that they offer? The music of many American composers - living and dead - are there for the listening. Just start in the 'A's' and work your way through.

[MN Dave]

You are welcome!

Did you try any of the other composers that they offer? The music of many American composers - living and dead - are there for the listening. Just start in the 'A's' and work your way through.

Oh, I haven't tried that site yet; I was referring to the recording I just purchased. But I look forward to it.

[MN Dave]

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated!

Anyone hear this? I just bought it based on a post at Sequenza21 and am happy with my purchase. It's a bit too easy to like so maybe I will get sick of it pretty quick, eh?

Since no one replied to this, I assume I am somewhat on the cutting edge.

[bhodges]

Since no one replied to this, I assume I am somewhat on the cutting edge.

Although I haven't heard this recording, I do have Ingram Marshall's Fog Tropes on the disc below.  Just knowing of your recent listening, you might enjoy it a lot.  Don't recall the other two pieces well.

--Bruce

[MN Dave]

Thanks, Bruce. I certainly could do with more Marshall. He's a nice blend of electronic and acoustic, with ideas and melodies close enough to more popular genres that it makes him ideal for someone into different types of music.

[snyprrr]

I thought by the Thread Tile that you were looking for:

Sciarrino
Lachenmann
Rihm
Harvey
Dillon
Cerha
Mache
Aperghis
Dusapin
Ferneyhough
Kurtag
Holliger
Marco
Halffter
De Pablo
Ruzicka
Estrada
Hosokawa
Saariaho
Lindberg
Gubaidulina
Platz
Norgard
Furrer

...and so on. The High Modernists, so to speak? (I only showed the living composers)

... and, of course, Boulez and Carter...

[MN Dave]

Thanks again, folks. I have plenty to work with here. 

[some guy]

Just to see if what toucan said is even remotely true:

Beethoven
Berlioz
Chopin
Mendelssohn
Schubert
Schumann
Saint-Saens
Wagner
Grieg
Dvorak
Bruckner
Mahler
Mussorgsky
Rimsky-Korsakov
Tchaikovsky
Smetana
Borodin
von Weber
Liszt
Verdi
Brahms
Suk

And that's just me, who doesn't listen to all that much 19th century music any more, who pulled simply this list out of his *** (without even breaking a sweat), and so who has doubtless left off many many fine 19th century composers that other posters here consider great.

I believe I could do the same for the 18th as well.

Bach
Handel
Pergolesi
Vivaldi
Telemann
Corelli
Mozart
Haydn
Gluck
Beethoven (again, yes)
Couperin
Rameau
Scarlatti

OK, not as long as the 19th century list, but still more than ten. (And still from the same location and still without perspiration and still woefully incomplete, I'm sure!)

[Lethevich]

Sorry, but if you can't consider half of the composers you listed great, then you have very skewed taste.

[some guy]

toucan,

I'll ponder "usually" if you'll promise to ponder "even remotely."

Deal?

some guy

(Tchaikovsy, Dvorak, Mussorgsky, and Verdi not great? Unpossible!!)

[jochanaan]

Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens, Grieg, Dvorak, Moussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Smetana, Borodin, Verdi, and Suk - Suk!!! - are not among the great composers....

I'll give you Suk and Grieg, and agree to disagree about Borodin (he spent too much time in the chemistry lab ), but about the others, I beg to differ!   (Although it has to be said that much of Rimsky-Korsakov's best music appears to be in his never-heard operas, at least by the evidence of the suites I've heard...)

[The new erato]

I'll give you Suk and Grieg, and agree to disagree about Borodin (he spent too much time in the chemistry lab ), but about the others, I beg to differ!   (Although it has to be said that much of Rimsky-Korsakov's best music appears to be in his never-heard operas, at least by the evidence of the suites I've heard...)

Depends what you mean by great but I really found only Mussorgsky and Verdi where I disagreed with toucan's list. Much as I love Saint Saens for example - to call him great (ie in the company of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky etc) is pretty far off the mark. OTOH, I'm not very into Verdi (I have more discs of S-S and play them far more often), but have no problem accepting him as one of the greats.

[Grazioso]

(Although it has to be said that much of Rimsky-Korsakov's best music appears to be in his never-heard operas, at least by the evidence of the suites I've heard...)

Watch this for further evidence backing that hypothesis:

[Josquin des Prez]

Forgot to mention 1960's Penderecki: his scrumptuous first two String Quartets, his Partita for Harpsichord, his first Cello Concerto and his First Symphony, and also his Capriccio for Oboe. I very much doubt Penderecki is one of the great ones, even when he is good.

Maybe if you bothered to check his later works. Ho i get it, he turned away from the avant-gard so that makes his music irrelevant, am i right? Todays Penderecki > old Penderecki.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Todays Penderecki > old Penderecki.

If you mean a few works like the Sextet, Clarinet Quartet, or 3rd Symphony, then I agree with you. Otherwise, old Penderecki > today's Penderecki.

[Josquin des Prez]

If you mean a few works like the Sextet, Clarinet Quartet, or 3rd Symphony, then I agree with you.

What's your objection with his other late works?

[Lethevich]

What's your objection with his other late works?

(Butting in is cool )

Some recent pieces are enjoyable if you leave your sense of taste at the door - the 7th symphony, the 2nd VC (which offers watered down musings on earlier works like the CCs in his now trademark drab-as-hell sound), the choral music during the transition was already a bit pointless (impressive in a virtuoso way, but the gloom and overblown elements are ever apparent), but afterwards became worse.

I haven't heard absolutely everything, and have heard many good things about some of the later chamber works (re-affirmed up by comments a few posts back), and some bad things about the piano concerto, but generally his neo-romantic style has been deadly dull after its early years, lacking in vitality, melodic interest, fun, over-egging the artificial "this is deep" elements and sometimes very vulgarly overblown. It sometimes feels that he is writing a large symphonic structure just to prove that he can, "look I can write a symphony, look I can orchestrate" as every other musical pre-requisite to them being good is not fulfilled.

Edit: This isn't to say that it can't be enjoyed for what it is (non-great music) - I own around 10 CDs of it after all, but I get the impression that this isn't an option for you, meaning your preference for the music came as a minor surprise.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

What's your objection with his other late works?

Lethe has already dealt with it pretty well. I would add that P. seems uncomfortable writing in traditional large-scale forms like the symphony; his symphonies other than the 3rd simply don't hold together as structures very well. There's also the strain of self-important bombast that manifests in works like Credo. Again, it has its enjoyable moments, but I can't take it as seriously as it wants to be taken.

When he hits a home run (as with the Sextet), I always wonder how he managed to do it.