21st century classical music

[San Antone]

https://www.youtube.com/v/LorP8xKKTh0

Kate Soper — Nadja

My interview with Kate.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

How do YOU approach form in your pieces then?

It depends on the length of the piece and the deadline really! For things that are shorter than 5 minutes I usually just let a few ideas develop and spin out in a very intuitive way with no real regard to form. 5 to 10  minutes I try to have a couple of structural points as a kind of short term goal, where I can intuitively develop the relevant material up until those points. I haven't composed any single movement that is longer than 10 minutes, but if I had to I would take the idea of having structural points to work towards up another level. Dividing a piece up into smaller chunks is what I find most useful. When I know I have musical 'events' to work towards that is, say, 1'45" into the piece, then another at 3'30" then another at 5'15" and I eventually have to conclude the piece after about 10 minutes, I can see how the music will work logically on a macro level and taking elements of the structural points to intuitively develop on the micro level.

BTW, your piano concerto is really cool and as an ensemble piece it is much more well thought out and executed than a lot of student and professional works I come across.

[San Antone]

Santiago Diez Fischer — three tales

https://www.youtube.com/v/43bBto0Lf28

Ensemble Container
Piano (percussion): Alexandra Bellon
Clarinet: Marie Mercier
Cello: Esther Lefebvre

[San Antone]

Panayiotis Kokoras — Conscious Sound

https://www.youtube.com/v/Nkdx9Sw-rPU

My interview with Panayiotis Kokoras in 2014.

[San Antone]

Louis Goldford : composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music

Mémoire Involontaire (2017) for string quartet, performed by the JACK Quartet

https://www.youtube.com/v/IdNrij6QK3A

[vandermolen]

I enjoyed Paul Patterson's VC No.2 although it sounds like it was written in the 1940s rather than in 2013. Very approachable and lyrical in the spirit of Alwyn and L.Berkeley perhaps.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I enjoyed Paul Patterson's VC No.2 although it sounds like it was written in the 1940s rather than in 2013. Very approachable and lyrical in the spirit of Alwyn and L.Berkeley perhaps.

I've never heard of this composer.....whom did he study with and where? That could be an interesting insight into his style.

[vandermolen]

I've never heard of this composer.....whom did he study with and where? That could be an interesting insight into his style.

The CDs in my car but I'll get it later - here is some general info:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Patterson_(composer)

And here is his first VC with commentary from PP at the start. Not sure it will play 'down under' but if so it will give you an idea of his style. Worth exploring I think and thanks for your interest.

https://youtu.be/GDMu4S9o14s

[milk]

I no longer compose classical music.  But I when I did, the form was an organic outgrowth from the thematic materials. 

I only write songs now, lyrics and music - stories in song.  I am constructing a group of connected songs covering the history of America from the earliest colonial settlements to the present through telling the histories of nine fictional families.

Sounds pretty cool!

[Karl Henning]

I no longer compose classical music.  But I when I did, the form was an organic outgrowth from the thematic materials. 

I only write songs now, lyrics and music - stories in song.  I am constructing a group of connected songs covering the history of America from the earliest colonial settlements to the present through telling the histories of nine fictional families. 

Part of me thinks, Why fictional?  It would be more poignant, though it would also require research, to tell the story of nine actual families.

But then the practical part thinks, Do I really want to have to secure the now-necessary disclaimers/permission?

[San Antone]

Your interest is much appreciated!

Sounds pretty cool!

Thanks, I am having a good time.  Examples of the songs and background of people and places can be found here.

Part of me thinks, Why fictional?  It would be more poignant, though it would also require research, to tell the story of nine actual families.

But then the practical part thinks, Do I really want to have to secure the now-necessary disclaimers/permission?

A lot of reading has gone into my learning the history of the settlement of the region I am focusing on (about a 100 mile wide band of territory stretching from Dallas, Texas to the other side of Macon, Georgia with special focus on north Louisiana and Mississippi) but I also wanted to have the freedom of creating characters and events without being rooted in actual persons.

[Karl Henning]

A lot of reading has gone into my learning the history of the settlement of the region I am focusing on (about a 100 mile wide band of territory stretching from Dallas, Texas to the other side of Macon, Georgia with special focus on north Louisiana and Mississippi) but I also wanted to have the freedom of creating characters and events without being rooted in actual persons.

Splendid.  Conquer!

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

The CDs in my car but I'll get it later - here is some general info:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Patterson_(composer)

And here is his first VC with commentary from PP at the start. Not sure it will play 'down under' but if so it will give you an idea of his style. Worth exploring I think and thanks for your interest.

https://youtu.be/GDMu4S9o14s

Thank you! I actually found it on youtube earlier as I was curious to hear it and some other works of his. It looks like he has done quite a lot for contemporary music in his area, which is great! Personally, there is a piece for harps which I like much more than the violin concerto. Have you heard it?

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Cross post because sometimes it is nice to hear the music of someone early in their composition career. This composer is 25 this year.

Marianna Liik (b. 1992)



Adapt to prevailing stream and become able to see clearly (2017)
For flute, clarinet, piano, violin & cello

Ensemble Schallfeld

A delight to hear this! I enjoy the very gradual growth and change throughout the piece. Slow paced in that she spends quite a long time with an idea (be it a texture, an articulation or a timbre) before another idea comes into play, gradually coming to the fore.......so it is slow paced but very captivating.

https://www.youtube.com/v/qyJrXHhXu70

[San Antone]

Irene Galindo Quero : working along the threshold of music and language

https://www.youtube.com/v/O8GkKb7zDHk

My interview with Irene.

[vandermolen]

Thank you! I actually found it on youtube earlier as I was curious to hear it and some other works of his. It looks like he has done quite a lot for contemporary music in his area, which is great! Personally, there is a piece for harps which I like much more than the violin concerto. Have you heard it?

No, not yet but I'll look out for it. The VC No.2 is more approachable than No.1 I think.

[San Antone]

Chaz Underriner

https://www.youtube.com/v/7k-UvnYy6Os&t=1239s

My interview with Chaz.

[San Antone]

Gleb Kanasevich : composer, experimental musician, and clarinetist

https://www.youtube.com/v/R0gUL9ubuIg

Subtraction (2016-17)
Subtraction is a large-scale body of work, which focuses on alternative approaches to playing a variety of musical instruments. This version for clarinet is the culmination of a large pedagogical clarinet project in the form of a concert piece, which focuses on approaching the instrument as a tube without holes. Instead of starting with an open G fingering and gradually closing holes to modify pitch, this piece experiments with the inverse approach by gradually opening holes in the body of the instrument to raise pitch.

My interview with Gleb.

[San Antone]

Interesting short (20 min) talk by Shulamit Ran

https://vimeo.com/193576495



Also, My interview with Alexander Schubert.


Schubert's interest explores cross-genre interfaces between acoustic and electronic music, combining different musical styles (like hardcore, free jazz, popular electronic music, techno) with contemporary classical concepts. Schubert has participated in his youth and early career in the above-mentioned genres both in groups and as a solo artist.

https://www.youtube.com/v/wMH54JeYNF4

[San Antone]

Some recent profiles/interviews with young composers creating some good music:

Marianna Liik : a sound world that is created by combining the acoustic and electronic means of expression

Timothy McCormack : music on a geologic scale

Nomi Epstein : compositions centering around sonic fragility

And one with an established composer:

Richard Barrett : creating meaningful alternatives to what we hear around us