When you listen to a certain composer, which one seems to have a voice that is very much unrelated to anything else?
I vote for Bartok, often listening to his music it makes me wonder, "now how did he come up with that?" ???
Bartok is good...
But I'd go with Sibelius. And island if ever there was one.
Hugo Wolf, any of his works are definitely "unique".
Einojuhani Rautavaara or Per Nørgård
Mozart gives your body electrolytes back, which water alone can't do.
Instead of composer, I would offer a tandem. Hogwood and AAM. They may not always be my first choice, but I always find them refreshing. I would include Consortium Classicum and Emma Kirkby in this conversation as well.
When I saw the thread title, I thought 'Nielsen'. Though obviously Janacek too of course ( ;D ;D ;D ;D) though he isn't particularly refreshing for me personally, as he is pretty much home turf....
Quote from: G...R...E...G... on December 02, 2007, 04:32:22 PM
I vote for Bartok, often listening to his music it makes me wonder, "now how did he come up with that?" ???
I agree. He's most refreshing.
Carl Nielsen
Per Nørgård
Nielsen and Sibelius, indeed; hard to choose between them. And also Brahms, for me, believe it or not! :D
Bruckner in particular sounds unique. I've only heard a few pieces that sound remotely similar to his work, and two of those were written well after his death.
Quote from: Renfield on December 03, 2007, 03:36:10 AM
And also Brahms, for me, believe it or not! :D
I was going to say Brahms ....... but no one would believe me........ :'(
Quote from: D Minor on December 03, 2007, 05:22:47 AM
I was going to say Brahms ....... but no one would believe me........ :'(
Their problem. 0:)
"Which composer is the most refreshing?"
Herbie von Lifesaver
Actually...
I'm sure it's some modern composer, but I don't know which one.
Well, a number of composers whose work I often find refreshing:
Chopin
Tchaikovsky
Saint-Saëns
Stravinsky
Hindemith
Chávez
Malcolm Arnold.
Serious with a seriously humorous side to him.
Nielsen, Sibelius, Norgard.... runners-up for me 8)
the second runner-up, right before Bartok would be Prokofiev and after him, my list would definetely include Henze, Gorecki, and Glass...
in fact, i'm about to throw on some Gorecki since now that i think about it, that would be most refreshing! 0:)
I find the inward-looking Froberger very refreshing, but I can't handle more than one hour of him at one sitting.
Um ... yeah ... all of the above, actually. ;D
Copland.
Quote from: Bogey on December 03, 2007, 02:57:00 PM
Copland.
I'll second that.
Just listen to "Grovers Corners" from Our Town or "Down A Country Lane".
Biber.
Q
Quote from: Bogey on December 03, 2007, 02:57:00 PM
Copland.
Yes, and Sibelius, especially the 6th symphony.
At the moment, Charles Ives comes to mind. His work is unique, unusual, and entertaining. If I'm feeling a bit bored, jaded, or just plain lazy, I can count on him to jolt me out of my malaise.
Heather
Stravinsky.
Quote from: G...R...E...G... on December 03, 2007, 01:57:18 PM
Nielsen, Sibelius, Norgard.... runners-up for me 8)
the second runner-up, right before Bartok would be Prokofiev and after him, my list would definetely include Henze, Gorecki, and Glass...
Maybe there's a Northern influence here somewhere because the first composer who came to mind was Berwald.
Quote from: Ten thumbs on December 07, 2007, 02:17:12 PM
Maybe there's a Northern influence here somewhere because the first composer who came to mind was Berwald.
I thought of something 2 days ago..... most of the composers mentioned on this thread tend to be a bit isolated...... notice the lack of German composers. Ives, Sibelius, Bartok, Nielsen..... i guess there aren't too many famous composers associated with them compared to, say, the Schumann-Brahms-Strauss-Beethoven-Dvorak etc. group...
Jacob van Eyck
In terms of having a unique voice, Hovhaness comes to mind. But I'm not sure 'refreshing' is an adjective I would choose, and I say this as someone who generally likes his music.
Quote from: glock on August 24, 2025, 03:19:54 PMJacob van Eyck
I'm of two minds here - the most interesting - fresh - sounds I hear always come from pre-Baroque or Contemporary classical.
If I was to nominate specific composers, I think I'd say Ludwig Daser (but most of the Franco-Flemish school would fit here) and, of course, Tine Surel Lange (easily, for me, as the contemporary representative).
First posts ton this thread since 7 Dec 2007, eh? Quoth Mr Spock, "Fascinating!"
To my ears, Stravinsky and Haydn.
Bach
Coca Cola..."a pause that refreshes." 8)
(https://drop.philharmoniedeparis.fr/biographies/compositeurs/Janacek-Leos/Portrait-de-Leos-Janacek%C2%A9Osterreichische-Nationalbibliothek.jpg)
Feldman
Milhaud, I think.
A tough, actually very tough question. Milhaud was a tempting answer, but nope. For me, it's Poulenc, and in particular his chamber work.