Top 10 favorite contemporary classical works since World War II

[James]

Referring to post-1945 western classical music up to the present day.

[kyjo]

Interesting thread, James. There's so many possibilities and my list is nowhere near definitive. I'll be mostly picking pieces composed between 1945 to 1970 (with the exception of the Aho work), because I have a lesser tendency to enjoy music written after 1970 than music written before it. In no particular order with one piece per composer:

Shostakovich: Symphony no. 10 (1953)
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6 (1947)
VW: Symphony no. 8 (1953-55)
Arnold: Symphony no. 5 (1961)
Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses (1956-71)
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 4 (1950)
Rubbra: Symphony no. 7 (1957)
Aho: Symphonic Dances (2001)
Hartmann: Symphony no. 6 (1951-53)
Kabelac: Passacaglia The Mystery of Time (1957)

[Rinaldo]

Morton Feldman - Coptic Light (1985)
Unlike the "typical", "quiet", "sparse" Feldman that I cherish as well, this work is tense and trance inducing. Not for the lighthearted.

Georg Friedrich Haas - in vain (2000)
Kind of a spectralist best of. And I do enjoy spectralists a lot.

Miloslav Kabeláč - Mystery of Time (1957)
I've gushed over this work of wonder before and I will again, as I feel it is indeed one of the greatest pieces of music out there. And by "out" I mean "still criminally unknown".

Petr Eben - Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart (2003)
A stunning organ work based on a 17th century allegorical epic by a renowned Czech educator. Think Messiaen doing Dante's Inferno, sped up.

Olivier Messiaen - The Turangalîla-Symphonie (1949)
Speak of the devil.. I'd include this behemoth even on the basis of its first movement alone. The embodiment of tour de force.

Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1977)
The embodiment of tour de where are we really? God? Are you still there? Anybody? Oh, it's so nice in here. Let's just close our eyes and wait..

Thomas Adès - The Tempest (2004)
I'm hesitant to include Adès but I think I should be honest about my enjoyment of his celebrated opera, even though it's more of a catalogue of 20th century classical music. But I do really enjoy it and the libretto is a brilliant take on a well-beaten horse.

Steve Reich - Music for 18 musicians (1976)
Tough choice. I adore Different Trains but then again, I adore M18 even more.

Philip Glass - Satyagraha / Akhnaten (1979 / 1983)
A little bit of cheating, I know, but hey, look at those guys in the "3 x 3 x 3 favourite composers" thread! And I truly can't decide. These operas contain both moments of earth-shaking power and humanity-transcending beauty.

Alan Hovhaness - Symphony no.2 'Mysterious Mountain' (1955)
Had to sneak in the Tallis Fantasia in here somehow!

[kyjo]

Miloslav Kabeláč - Mystery of Time (1957)
I've gushed over this work of wonder before and I will again, as I feel it is indeed one of the greatest pieces of music out there. And by "out" I mean "still criminally unknown".

I think I'll replace the Rautavaara with the Kabelac. Kudos for mentioning it, Rinaldo!

[North Star]

I'm probably forgetting a dozen must-haves (Martinu, Villa-Lobos, RVW), but this will have to do until I do a proper one..
Clarinet Concerto (Aho)
Faust Cantata (Schnittke)
Ainsi la nuit... (Dutilleux)
Tabula Rasa (Pärt)
Symphony No. 14 (Shostakovich)
Clarinet Sonata (Poulenc)
Nocturne (Britten)
Cello Sonata (Poulenc)
Violin Sonata No. 1 (Prokofiev)
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Bartók)

[Mirror Image]

Such a difficult task, but here goes nothing:

Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 (1947-48)
Hartmann: Symphony No. 6 (1951-1953)
Schnittke: Viola Concerto (1985)
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8 (1953-1955)
W. Schuman: Symphony No. 10 'American Muse' (1975)
Milhaud: Symphony No. 6 (1955)
Villa-Lobos: Gênesis (1954)
Copland: Clarinet Concerto (1948)
Martinu: Oboe Concerto (1955)
Chavez: Sinfonía romántica (1953)

Again, a list like this could never be all-inclusive, but I gave it a shot anyway.

[mc ukrneal]

Only two come immediately to mind (plus I'd have to check some dates on others). But two I am sure of:
Karel Husa: Music for Prague 1968
Johan de Meij: Symphony No. 1 (maybe this is temporary, but I have been quite taken with it)

[vandermolen]

Interesting thread, James. There's so many possibilities and my list is nowhere near definitive. I'll be mostly picking pieces composed between 1945 to 1970 (with the exception of the Aho work), because I have a lesser tendency to enjoy music written after 1970 than music written before it. In no particular order with one piece per composer:

Shostakovich: Symphony no. 10 (1953)
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6 (1947)
VW: Symphony no. 8 (1953-55)
Arnold: Symphony no. 5 (1961)
Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses (1956-71)
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 4 (1950)
Rubbra: Symphony no. 7 (1957)
Aho: Symphonic Dances (2001)
Hartmann: Symphony no. 6 (1951-53)
Kabelac: Passacaglia The Mystery of Time (1957)

I largely agree with this list!

Kabelac Mystery of Time
Kalabis Sinfonia Pacis
Vasks Symphony 2
Vaughan Williams Symphony 9 (or 6)
Braga Santos Symphony 4 (or 3)
Shostakovich Symphony 10
Prokofiev Symphony 6
Freitas Branco Symphony 4
Rubbra Symphony 5 (or 7)
Arnold Symphony 5

Hon mention Honegger Symphony 3

[Sergeant Rock]

Ten's impossible--not that twelve's any more possible

So, to attempt the impossible, one work per composer, and only large orchestral or orchestral/vocal works. I may submit a chamber list later.


Havergal Brian Symphony #8 B minor (1948)
Fartein Valen Symphony #4 (1947-49)
Vaughan Williams Symphony #8 D minor (1953-55)
Shostakovich Symphony #15 A major (1971)
Prokofiev Symphony #7 C sharp minor (1951-52)
Rautavaara Symphony #3 (1961)
Stravinsky Agon (1957)
Britten War Requiem (1961)
Korngold Symphony in F Sharp major (1947-52)
Pettersson Symphony #6 (1963-66)
Lloyd Symphony #4 (1946)
Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (1948)


Sarge

[springrite]

Pettersson Violin Concerto #2
Pettersson Symphony #7
Britten War Requiem
Brian Symphony #10
Simpson Haydn Variations Quartet
Schnittke Peer Gynt
Feldman for Piano and String Quartet
Feldman Rothko Chapel
Andriessen De Staat
Stockhausen Stimmung

[kyjo]

Pettersson Violin Concerto #2
Pettersson Symphony #7

Those would be high on my list as well!

[Sergeant Rock]

10 favorite chamber works since WWII

Henning Viola Sonata (2012)
Shostakovich String Quartet #3 F major (1946)
Shostakovich String Quartet #7 F sharp minor (1960)
Boulez Le marteau sans maître for alto and six instruments (1953–55; revised 1957)
Feldman Crippled Symmetry for flute, percussion and piano/celeste (1983)
Prokofiev Violin Sonata #1 F minor (1946)
Britten String Quartet #3 (1975)
Poulenc Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1962)
Wuorinen String Quartet #2 (1979)
Sallinen String Quartet #3 (1969)


Sarge

[Lisztianwagner]

Shostakovich Symphony No.10
Hartmann Symphony No.2
Holmboe Symphony No.8
Rautavaara Symphony No.7
Messiaen Turangalîla-Symphonie
Honegger Symphony No.3
Korngold Violin Concerto
Adams Harmonielehre
Stockhausen Klavierstück X
Schnittke Viola Concerto

[Brian]

chronological, 1945-1975 (other selections in other thread)
Lloyd: Symphony #5 (1947)
Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (1948)
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra (1950-54)
Prokofiev: Symphony #7 C sharp minor (1951-52)
Shostakovich: Symphony no. 10 (1953)
Martinu: Oboe Concerto (1955)
Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses (1956-71)
Bernstein: West Side Story (1957)
Poulenc: Flute Sonata (1957) (also orchestration by Lennox Berkeley, 1973)
Shostakovich: String Quartet #8 (1960)

[kyjo]

Shostakovich Symphony No.10
Hartmann Symphony No.2
Holmboe Symphony No.8
Rautavaara Symphony No.7
Messiaen Turangalîla-Symphonie
Honegger Symphony No.3
Korngold Violin Concerto
Adams Harmonielehre
Stockhausen Klavierstück X
Schnittke Viola Concerto

You like Stockhausen, Ilaria?! Don't worry, we can still be friends! Very nice list BTW. I'm going to include the Rautavaara and Adams works in my list for the post-1975 thread.

[kyjo]

chronological, 1945-1975 (other selections in other thread)
Lloyd: Symphony #5 (1947)
Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (1948)
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra (1950-54)
Prokofiev: Symphony #7 C sharp minor (1951-52)
Shostakovich: Symphony no. 10 (1953)
Martinu: Oboe Concerto (1955)
Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses (1956-71)
Bernstein: West Side Story (1957)
Poulenc: Flute Sonata (1957) (also orchestration by Lennox Berkeley, 1973)
Shostakovich: String Quartet #8 (1960)

Nice list! I especially love your inclusion of the Holmboe, needless to say! You're the second member to list a Lloyd symphony-that's great to see!

[Brian]

Nice list! I especially love your inclusion of the Holmboe, needles to say! You're the second member to list a Lloyd symphony-that's great to see!

Interestingly Vagn Holmboe is the only composer on my 1945-1975 AND 1975-2013 lists!

[Lisztianwagner]

You like Stockhausen, Ilaria?! Don't worry, we can still be friends! Very nice list BTW. I'm going to include the Rautavaara and Adams works in my list for the post-1975 thread.

No, I'm not a great fan of Stockhausen, most of his music (especially the electronic one) still sounds rather strange to me; but he composed very interesting works like the Klavierstück X, Zyklus and Kontakte.

On second thoughts, I could replace the Stockhausen with Martinu's Piano Concerto No.4, I had incredibly forgotten it before....

[kyjo]

Heaven forbid anyone liking something that actually breaks the mold and is different.

I was only joking, James.

[kyjo]

On second thoughts, I could replace the Stockhausen with Martinu's Piano Concerto No.4, I had incredibly forgotton it before....

Ah yes, Martinu's PC 4. A great work. Such imaginative atmospheres and textures are incorporated into this work.