Contemporary piano music that we like

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Been listening to a fair bit of it recently and I have wondered if there are any pieces we can recommend each other. It could be for any number of pianos, piano and electronics etc. so long as the piano is the most significant instrument in the composition.

One I like a lot is Spahlinger's Farben der Frühe

https://www.youtube.com/v/vLd9L-dpkpA

[Chronochromie]

There's this little gem by Sciarrino, in memoriam his friend and mentor Luigi Nono: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuTSpAQUqjA

[aukhawk]

What do we mean by contemporary?  Music by composers still living?  That would exclude Messiaen's Oiseaux and Stockhausen's Mantra - both of which I like very much - but would at least allow in Glass' 20 Etudes though I would only nominate 14 of those as 'like very much'.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

What do we mean by contemporary?  Music by composers still living?  That would exclude Messiaen's Oiseaux and Stockhausen's Mantra - both of which I like very much - but would at least allow in Glass' 20 Etudes though I would only nominate 14 of those as 'like very much'.

Well, recent compositions. The more recent, the more 'contemporary' I guess. I wouldn't call anything from the 80s as contemporary, for example. Nor even the early 90s, I guess. I get a sense that music from the early 90s and earlier have already begun to form some kind of repertoire of relatively well known works as opposed to others which are getting less performance and less acknowledgement. I'd probably say the first book of Ligeti's etudes are the earliest I would post in this thread, but I won't stop anyone from posting stuff they feel is 'contemporary' for them because the years they have grown up in.

[San Antone]

Chris Dench's Piano Sonata   

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Chris Dench's Piano Sonata

A great piece! It blew me away when I first heard it a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/v/uvy2rf8hspU

[San Antone]

A great piece! It blew me away when I first heard it a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/v/uvy2rf8hspU

He agreed to my request for an interview with voluminous responses - here is the interview, which is more like an autobiographical essay.  The last half is about the sonata, very interesting stuff.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

He agreed to my request for an interview with voluminous responses - here is the interview, which is more like an autobiographical essay.  The last half is about the sonata, very interesting stuff.

Thanks; I'd be interested to read. I spoke to him quite a bit about the sonata as it was being composed. I haven't read his thoughts post-completion.

[San Antone]

Thanks; I'd be interested to read. I spoke to him quite a bit about the sonata as it was being composed. I haven't read his thoughts post-completion.

The stuff he gave me for the sonata is basically what he has on his website.  But the earlier questions, where he was spontaneously, talking about his life and background, and process, is the most interesting.

[Trout]

Ligeti's Etudes aside, here are three massive, hugely ambitious, contemporary solo piano pieces:

Hersch - The Vanishing Pavilions
Dillon - The Book of Elements
Finnissy - The History of Photography in Sound

I really like that Dench work a lot too.

In terms of concertos, the Furrer is absolutely incredible. Other favorites include ones by López López and Steen-Andersen. Harvey's Bird Concerto with Pianosong is pretty good too, but goes on for a bit too long, imo.

Oh and Haas's limited approximations for 6 micro-tonally tuned pianos and orchestra!

[some guy]

Radulescu, Clepsydra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJNmcSwHk0

Andrea Neumann, Inner piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EODoJckh5vY

[andolink]

A favorite of mine:

Alexander Goehr: Symmetry Disorders Reach for piano Op. 73 (2002)

[amw]

Radulescu, Clepsydra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJNmcSwHk0

Andrea Neumann, Inner piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EODoJckh5vY

These are good answers.

I can't think of very much piano music from the 21st century that I'm extremely enthusiastic about.

[Ainsi la nuit]

The six piano études by the composer Unsuk Chin, composed between 1995-2003, are definitely worth a listen to anyone interested in contemporary piano music. I think they have been recorded commercially at least twice, and various performances of the whole set and individual pieces can be found on YouTube.

The music is imaginative, adventurous and always hugely rewarding - something that can be said of Chin's work in general. I'm eagerly looking forward to more music by her!

[Monsieur Croche]

Well, recent compositions. The more recent, the more 'contemporary' I guess. I wouldn't call anything from the 80s as contemporary, for example. Nor even the early 90s, I guess. I get a sense that music from the early 90s and earlier have already begun to form some kind of repertoire of relatively well known works as opposed to others which are getting less performance and less acknowledgement. I'd probably say the first book of Ligeti's etudes are the earliest I would post in this thread, but I won't stop anyone from posting stuff they feel is 'contemporary' for them because the years they have grown up in.

Contemporary is often highly relative.  "One" should keep in mind that "The contemporary era" in classical music is 1975 - present, so think to qualify (which you've here done) your usage of the word.... best up front in the OP, lol.


Best regards.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Contemporary is often highly relative.  "One" should keep in mind that "The contemporary era" in classical music is 1975 - present, so think to qualify (which you've here done) your usage of the word.... best up front in the OP, lol.


Best regards.

I know that you love to educate us about the significance of the years 1975 to present as being 'the contemporary era'

But I like a subjective approach as well. I think people tend to understand 'contemporary music' means to them, and we can all tell what is obviously incorrect.

Do you have any music to contribute, by the way?

[PeterFromLA]

I recommend the Piano Etudes from a number of folks: Ligeti, Glass, and Chin, as already mentioned up thread. In addition, I enjoy the Etudes by Pascal Dusapin, which I hear as brilliant jewels of sound, and the Two Etudes by Polish composer, Pawel Szymanski, which are really unusual in their union of post-modernity and JS Bach.

A wonderful composer for the piano is Tristan Murail. He was a student of Olivier Messiaen and that French lineage really sounds throughout his solo piano pieces, including the work he wrote in homage to his teacher, "Cloches d'adieu, et un sourire... in memoriam Olivier Messiaen." Take a listen to his "Les travaux et les jours" from 2002 as well.

Mark Andre has a number of works that feature piano along with other instruments, such as als I, als II, AB II, and durch. They emerge from the orbit of Grisey and Lachenmann, and teeter in that netherworld between noise and music... sonic is what I'd call them, I guess. Quite fascinating but not what most would consider "classical music."

Edited to add: I confined myself to works/cycles completed in the past 25 years, and did not address piano concertos... there are several good ones (Abrahamsen, Furrer, and Murail, for starters).

[Kontrapunctus]

Chris Dench's Piano Sonata

Thank you for bringing this to my/our attention. It's quite a piece. I just downloaded a hi-res FLAC version from his site.

For more conservative writing, I like Carl Vine's Sonatas, particularly No.1.