21st century classical music

[some guy]

Henk, I'm sure you didn't intend it this way, but I took your assessment as a challenge.

So I produced my own list, which is, I think, a far nicer sum up of contemporary composers. And the ratio of men to women, while still not all that good, is better at 2 to 1 than the Kairos list, which is 7 to 1. And if I were really going for a seriously representative list all on my own, I would have included several on that list, which is a very nice list, to be sure, for what it is, which is NOT by any means a nice sum up of contemporary composers. Which was not Kairos' intent, anyway.

Maryanne Amacher
Ana-maria Avram
Natasha Barrett
Carola Bauckholt
Günter Becker
Martin Bédard
Michèle Bokanowski
Michael Boyd
Ludger Brümmer
Anna Clyne
Chaya Czernowin
Francis Dhomont
Tod Dockstader
Kevin Drumm
Iancu Dumitrescu
Gerard Eckert
Rolf Enström
eRikm
Ivan Fedele
Brunhild Ferrari
Luc Ferrari
Beatriz Ferreyra
Bernard Fort
Emmanuelle Gibello
Gilles Gobeil
Heiner Goebbels
Annie Gosfield
Christine Groult
Jonty Harrison
Robin Hayward
Erdem Helvacioğlu
Tim Hodgkinson
Ryoji Ikeda
Philip Jeck
Elsa Justel
K.K. Null
Zbigniew Karkowski
Dmytro Federenko (Kotra)
Matsunaga Kouhei
Ulrich Krieger
Christine Kubisch
Bronius Kutavičius
Ricardo Mandolini
Lionel Marchetti
Walter Marchetti
Christian Marclay
Bérangère Maximin
Francisco Meirino
Ole-Henrik Moe
Katsura Mouri
Grainne Mulvey
Gordon Mumma
Toshimaru Nakamura
Phill Niblock
Jérôme Noetinger
Helmut Oehring
Pauline Oliveros
John Oswald
Zeena Parkins
Bernard Parmegiani
Åke Parmerud
Felipe Otondo
Eddie Prevost
Eliane Radigue
Horatio Radulescu
Guy Reibel
Dirk Reith
Fausto Romitelli
Keith Rowe
Ákos Rózmann
Peter Ruzicka
Sachiko M
Diane Simpson Salazar
Philip Samartzis
Alice Shields
Adam Stansbie
Simon Steen-Andersen
Iris ter Schiphorst
Avet Terterian
Martin Tétreault
Doug Theriault
Yasunao Tone
Barry Truax
Annette Vande Gorne
Jennifer Walshe
Hildegard Westerkamp
Otomo Yoshihide
Z'ev
Lidia Zielinska

(If you want an even 100, then you could do much worse than add the following eight from Kairos' list:

Peter Ablinger
Mark André
Georges Aperghis
Friedrich Cerha
George Friedrich Haas
Bernhard Lang
Francisco Lopéz
Salvatore Sciarrino

And these four to make up the difference:

Julio Estrada
Ellen Fullman
Andrea Neumann
Dan Senn

Now. Now there's a nice sum up of contemporary composers.

[kishnevi]

Both your lists illustrate something rather depressing about the state of contemporary music:  combining both lists,  I can say I've heard of at most ten of the composers listed--and only one of them have I ever seen mentioned (that I can remember) outside GMG (Eotvos).  (And who is Z'ev?  That's actually a rather common first name, and I know a couple of Z'evs IRL, but as far as I know none of them are involved in music.)

Granted that I live in a place where any form of music that's not pop or allied thereto can not be said to flourishing, where I would go to find the music of these people (YouTube, apparently--but is there any consistent place to sample such music--please bear in mind that I'm rather conservative in my taste, so there's a high chance I won't like the music.  But to decide if I like it or not, of course, I have to hear it first!)

[Henk]

I certainly don't like all those composers of the Kairos list. I have checked out almost all.

My list would be:
Aperghis
De Raaff (not on any of these lists, great composers imo)
Parra
Camarero
Birtwistle
Ferneyhough
Sciarrino
Stockhausen
Posadas
Pécou

[San Antone]

Both your lists illustrate something rather depressing about the state of contemporary music me:  combining both lists,  I can say I've heard of at most ten of the composers listed--and only one of them have I ever seen mentioned (that I can remember) outside GMG (Eotvos). 

Fixed.

[San Antone]

Shai Cohen

https://www.youtube.com/v/nWAb-ajJSIo

Echoes of Eternity (2009), for violin solo and orchestra.

[Mr Bloom]

Fixed.

Why so harsh ? Most of the composers on some guy's list are unknown (no cds, only played localy...). And I could still produce two or three lists of 100 composers who most people here wouldn't know, while most of the composers of these lists would be more interesting than these guys from Kairos. It does say something about "the state of contemporary music".

[San Antone]

Why so harsh ? Most of the composers on some guy's list are unknown (no cds, only played localy...). And I could still produce two or three lists of 100 composers who most people here wouldn't know, while most of the composers of these lists would be more interesting than these guys from Kairos. It does say something about "the state of contemporary music".

For me it says that contemporary music is a dynamic and busy world.   There is some very good music being written today, at least in my opinion, and all I can tell you is to get started curing your ignorance.

[some guy]

Mr. Bloom, so far as I know, only four people on my original list have not released commercial CDs.

I don't know about your mathematical abilities generally, but four (and I may be wrong about any of them--so far as I know, they don't have CDs out) out of eighty-nine in no way constitutes "most."

But you weren't saying that most of them didn't have CDs out, not quite, but only that most of them were unknown. Hmmm. Most of these people are very well-known, with multiple CDs and international concert schedules.

Besides, why the dig on "locally"? Everywhere in the world is "local" to its inhabitants. And if you're being played all the time in, oh, say Chicago (Anna Clyne) or in Paris (Emmanuelle Gibello), then so what if those are your localities?

As for more interesting that those guys from Kairos (and the handful of gals) is really neither here nor there, though I confess to thinking my list more interesting. I didn't make it to be more interesting, but to be more representative. That is, it contains people working in all fields of new music, not just one or two. "Interesting," like "unknown" begs for the question "to whom?" Leaving that unanswered is to pretend that the composers mentioned, and their music, are in and of themselves unknown and uninteresting.

Anyway, you'd have a much better idea of the state of contemporary music if you got out more. 

If you don't, I promise you that I will produce two or three lists of 100 composers each, none of whom you will have heard of. People much more "unknown" than the very prominent 89 I originally produced.

[Karl Henning]

Besides, why the dig on "locally"? Everywhere in the world is "local" to its inhabitants.

And, Lord knows, if my music were not performed locally, it would be performed next to not at all.

[Henk]

For me it says that contemporary music is a dynamic and busy world.   There is some very good music being written today, at least in my opinion, and all I can tell you is to get started curing your ignorance.

Listing names is bullshit, it proves nothing of experience or knowledge .. list the notably great compositions from said names, and then we will have something .. & the list will be much, much smaller. Truth.

I agree with both. The lists giving in this thread is just a nice way to explore composers and music.

There's indeed some beautiful music written these days, I only have to mention three of my favorite composers who are all still young and at the beginning of their carreer:

De Raaff
Parra
Pécou

I begin to develop a preference to these composers and contemporary music. I try to listen to Mozart, but I think it's rather boring comparing to music written these days by these composers, which I can really connect to. Mozart is not of our time, the music by these composers is, and it's incredible music.

[San Antone]

I think a list of names is helpful and preferable to listing "great compositions".   

From a list of names, one can Google the composer, find some audio clips and begin to familiarize themselves with the music, some of which might strike another listener as a great piece of music.  Conversely, when someone predetermines what is a "great work" they reduce the exposure of all the composers who did not make their cut.   

I say, list away!

[San Antone]

No, James what it mean is that I, and possibly others, enjoy the process of discovery.  It is how I learn about new music: by hearing of a composer and checking them out myself; not relying on someone else to tell me what is good or bad.

Of course there are plenty of places where you can find lists of "great works" and those are easily and eventually all heard - then you are back where you started - with plenty of other new music to discover.

YMMV.

[some guy]

James, you perhaps forget that it was you, James, who posted the list that started this little subthread.

'Course, it wasn't really your list. It was Kairos' list. But you posted it. And then, later, you said that listing names was bullshit.

OK. Then you condemn yourself. Which is fine, as I've remarked before. Takes the pressure off the rest of us.

"Great work," if it means anything at all (and I think that it doesn't), means after, not before. After you've listened. After you've evaluated. After you've decided.

This naive belief that you can start with "great" is just laziness, intellectual laziness, that takes it as given that getting others to do your work for you is a good thing. You know, saves time.

Say what? Time is for spending, not for saving. You can't save it. (Another naive belief, I fear.) It just keeps on ticking on. Spend it. That's what it's for.

Besides, letting other people decide for you what is valuable and what is not is so obviously a chump's game. I'm surprised you keep thinking of all of us as chumps. And I'm even more surprised that you keep your missionary zeal for making sure us chumps remember that we're chumps. Well, no. Less surprised. Sorry. I got my mores and my lesses confused there. It happens.

[Karl Henning]

He cracks me up, though. "Listing names is bullshit, it proves nothing of experience or knowledge" . . . but add to the list the notably great compositions from said names, and voilà! You've proved experience and knowledge.

Wait . . . maybe if I copy and paste some articles . . . .

[Mr Bloom]

But you weren't saying that most of them didn't have CDs out, not quite, but only that most of them were unknown. Hmmm. Most of these people are very well-known, with multiple CDs and international concert schedules.

Nice to hear that. I will tell all the composers I know who struggle to get a few concerts each year (mostly in front of huge audiences of 25-30 people) that they are very well-known, and on an international scale by that. They'll for sure be pleased to know that.

Besides, why the dig on "locally"? Everywhere in the world is "local" to its inhabitants. And if you're being played all the time in, oh, say Chicago (Anna Clyne) or in Paris (Emmanuelle Gibello), then so what if those are your localities?

I live in Paris. Emmanuelle Gibello isn't played all the time here.

Anyway, you'd have a much better idea of the state of contemporary music if you got out more. 

That is the most laughable thing you wrote. You don't know a thing about me. Not a thing.
Seriously, what is wrong with people here ? The amount of arrogant assholes around here never cease to amaze me.

[Mr Bloom]

And, Lord knows, if my music were not performed locally, it would be performed next to not at all.

Contrary to what some guy, in pure rhetorical machiavellianism, is trying to make me say, there wasn't any contempt in my remark.

[kishnevi]

And I'd like to know where I'm supposed to go exploring new music.  I live in a city which barely has a classical radio station (signal doesn't go everywhere, and it's piped in from Minnesota), and has two orchestras and an opera company--the opera company gave a world premiere  (Anna Karenina) a few years ago,  but cut back in face of the recession and general indifference among the audiences.  One orchestra gives concerts only sporadically. and is trying to cultivate Hispanic audiences, so only favorites, and stuff with a Latin beat,  goes on there.  The other orchestra does program new stuff occasionally,  but its aim is to lure hip young people with proven favorites, and concertizes only in one place and one time of the week--South Beach on weekends, which is a complete disincentive to attending.   And they do have a brand new spanking Gehry building to pay for.  Guess how boundary breaking their concertizing actually is?  And the Cleveland Orchestra has started a schedule of four weekends a year here--impressive sometimes but nothing programmed that falls within the thread of this ambit.

Result: if I depend on local resources,  I'll never hear any of those composers unless they become trendy for some reason, like John Rutter.

Internet is very limited. To put it bluntly,  I'm not upgrading my Internet connection solely for the goal of hearing contemporary music.

So where does one go to explore on a regular basis?  If I need to get out more,  tell me where to get out, don't just sneer at me.

[kishnevi]

And I'll throw one name at you.  I've mentioned him before; he's a gentleman I know solely from online, and originally in a non musical context, but he's a bona fide composer and you can find his stuff online if you look.


Jeffrey Quick.

[Johnll]

Contrary to what some guy, in pure rhetorical machiavellianism, is trying to make me say, there wasn't any contempt in my remark.

Yes and yes to James's immediately preceding post. We are all free to judge but in my book one real post has more value than 15000-20000 artificial posts than some indulge in. No offense intended to you Karl as we realize you have chosen a hard road and it is not one I personally have the stuff for.

[some guy]

I live in Paris. Emmanuelle Gibello isn't played all the time here.

Indeed, she is.

Seriously, what is wrong with people here ? The amount of arrogant assholes around here never cease to amaze me.

Don't try to sweet talk me, Mr. Bloom.

ADDED:

Contrary to what some guy, in pure rhetorical machiavellianism, is trying to make me say, there wasn't any contempt in my remark.

Um, would you mind terribly pointing out where I said, or even suggested or implied, that you were being contemptuous? I went back over the last coupla pages and couldn't find anything.

Also, for Jeffrey, you really don't need what you're asking for. One, you are here, on this thread, which has a shitload of clips of 21st century music. Two, nothing. There is nooooooooo second thing. (You don't need to be told where to go, you're already there.)