Modern Music Recordings Recommendations

[Mark]

When it comes to classical music, I admit that my knowledge of works written from about 1955 onwards starts to get very patchy indeed. More so, my listening experiences with works from that year to the present one. So I'm starting this thread as means for we beginners in this huge area of 'modern' or 'contemporary' music to receive guidance from those here who are 'in the know'.

What works would someone who loves 20th century British chamber music, for example, be best advised to sample? Where would a lover of Schumann, Brahms or Dvorak turn for something symphonic and scintillating from the last half of the last century? And so on ...

Looking forward to getting some great recommendations that will broaden my mind as much as my record collection.

Thanks in advance.

[lukeottevanger]

I'm not sure this is exactly what you are asking for, and I will give more thought to your question when I have time later, but a few pieces spring to mind, because each reinterprets older music in a relevant, contemporary  light, which I think can in turn provide a 'way in' to other contemporary works which lack these references. Sometimes this falls under the heading 'post-modernism', but not always.

So if, for instance, the particular brand of weltschmerz and death-ridden nostalgia of Mahler's 9 and 10 are important to you, you could try the string quartets of Peter Ruzicka, some of which are structured around the most lyrical moments of those works, but are all the more touchingly intimate for their chamber setting, and which very movingly fragment these Mahler-moments, surrounding them with rootless, searching, scurrying modernistic music whose character and purpose is thus explained more explicitly than is sometimes the case. A very good route in, even if these are not cornerstone works.

Tom Ades is also a figure who might well draw more than a few in - his Sonata da Caccia for oboe, horn and harpsichord is strongly linked to his love of Couperin and will appeal to all who love the French Baroque, whilst at the same time being a resolutely contemporary work. His string quartet Arcadiana is an utter masterpiece, and gives us a series of visions based around traditional ideas of 'the Arcadian' - Elgarian England, Watteau-esque landscapes, etc etc. Again, Ades manages to summon of the essences of his various sources - Nimrod-style Elgar, Schubert, tango..... - with complete assurance and yet without meaningless copying - he makes them relevant to 'now', vital and new.

Similar to Arcadiana in some respects is the Viola Concerto by John Woolrich, which is also a desperately nostalgic and lyrical survey of some previous music visions (Mozart, Monteverdi, Schumann, Wagner and others) linked by themes of Wind, Sea and Farewell. It is essentially a long sequence of desolate, fragmented commentary - exquisitely beautiful, though. Other Woolrich workswhich have a similar tone include Ulysses Awakes (Monteverdi) and The Theatre Represents a Garden: Night (Mozart). Both haunting and very beautiful pieces.

In a similar vein again is Robin Holloway (who was Ades' teacher, and who share[d] a London house with Woolrich, I think - I've heard interesting stories about this.....). In his best works Holloway uses the musical past in a marvellous way - I'd recommend his Second Concert for Orchestra (there are three, I think) to those who love an orchestral spectacular - this is one of the finest pieces of orchestral writing of the last few decades, I think, and it really means something (though I can't put my finger on what). Chopin's Barcarolle and Parry's Jerusalem, amongst other things, float in and out of vision between Nibelung-like choruses of anvils (which were, however, inspired by a visit to Morocco or somewhere similar, IIRC). Those who want to hear Bach seen through a prismatic vision pointing in all sorts of directions - Scarlatti, Grainger, Enescu, Dowland, Nancarrow, Schubert and a 'history of music in 3/4 time' amongst many other things - ought to try out Holloway's rejigging of the Goldberg's for two pianos. Bypassing (for now) his Violin Concerto (with a Faure song at its heart), those who are primarily interested in solo-violin-and-orchestra (and we know there are such!) ought to try his gorgeous and memorable Romanza for Violin and Small Orchestra

Judith Weir is another figure (and with Ades and George Benjamin another alumnus of my own alma mater, King's College Cambridge) who works in a broadly similar vein - an investment in the NMC twofer of her chamber music will pay rich dividends. It is a really, really fine disc, and instantly attractive and individual.

This is for starters - there is so much there that I don't have time to write descriptions of everything. So if I get a chance to post again, it may have to be more limited to simple connections between old and new, shorn of adjectival waffle.

BTW, anyone still interested in the Mystery Scores Quiz - though it's lost all momentum now Larry's gone, it seems - might want to pay attention to the details of this post 

[Mark]

Wow! Thanks, Luke. Food for thought (and listening) aplenty in your excellent post.

I confess that only two names stood out for me: Ades and Benjamin. I'm overly familiar with neither, but Ades' Arcadiana sounds a pretty good place to begin my adventures in modernity.

[bhodges]

Boy, Mark, between Luke and James, you have months of stimulating listening already.  I would second just about everything they suggested.  The thing about music since 1955 is how varied the composers are.  When someone says they don't care for modern music, my first thought is usually that they are painting an entire era with too broad a brush, since the variety of approaches has truly exploded.  Most composers today feel incredible freedom to explore a vast array of compositional tools, including inventing new ones. 

So just to add a few to the great ones above:

Schnittke: Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977).  This was one of the pieces that put him on the map, and this review mentions Schnittke's own description: "a play of three spheres, the Baroque, the Modern and the banal."  It's like a Baroque concerto gone wild.  I haven't heard this particular recording, but an early one on BIS is still available, with Lev Markiz and the New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, and I like the one below even better, with Heinrich Schiff and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.



Berio: Sinfonia (1968-69).  One of the key works of the sixties, scored for eight amplified voices and orchestra.  It's notable for the middle movement, in which Berio basically took the middle scherzo from Mahler's Second Symphony and then grafted all sorts of other things onto it: Beethoven, Ravel, Bach, Stockhausen, Stravinsky (and don't worry: you don't have to recognize any of these quotations to enjoy it).  The texts are from Beckett's The Unnameable.  Here is a good article describing it.  There are at least three recordings running around.  My favorite is with Chailly and the Concertgebouw (out of print, I think, but Amazon has used ones), but Boulez has a good one, too.  A newer one is with Peter Eötvös (below), which I haven't yet heard but has gotten stellar reviews.



And then you might check out some of Tristan Murail's work, one of the "spectralist" composers.  This CD is quite beautiful, of pianist Marilyn Nonken playing his complete piano works.  It's really beautiful stuff, that sort of makes me think of what Debussy might have composed had he lived in the present.

Here's the cover (below) plus a nice review on MusicWeb.

Above all, have fun!  There's lots of exhilarating music in store for you.

--Bruce

[Keemun]

When it comes to classical music, I admit that my knowledge of works written from about 1955 onwards starts to get very patchy indeed. More so, my listening experiences with works from that year to the present one.

Mark, I am similarly situated, so thank you for starting this thread.  As for what little I can recommend that was composed 1955 - Present, here is a list:

1.  Shostakovich - String Quartets Nos. 8 and 15.
2.  Pettersson - Symphony No. 7
3.  Ligeti - Piano Etudes and Musica ricercata
4.  Part - Tabula Rasa, Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten, Spiegel Im Spiegel,  Da pacem Domine
5.  Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
6.  Finzi - Cello Conerto

There is quite possibly nothing new to you in my little list, but perhaps it will be of use to someone else.   

[bhodges]

Mark, I am similarly situated, so thank you for starting this thread.  As for what little I can recommend that was composed 1955 - Present, here is a list:

1.  Shostakovich - String Quartets Nos. 8 and 15.
2.  Pettersson - Symphony No. 7
3.  Ligeti - Piano Etudes and Musica ricercata
4.  Part - Tabula Rasa, Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten, Spiegel Im Spiegel,  Da pacem Domine
5.  Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
6.  Finzi - Cello Conerto

There is quite possibly nothing new to you in my little list, but perhaps it will be of use to someone else.   

More great suggestions.  I almost mentioned the Gorecki myself.

--Bruce

[lukeottevanger]

I just want to clarify that the pieces I discussed earlier were not meant to constitute a list like, for instance, the fine list of post 1955 recommendations that James gave. I don't claim that the pieces I recommended are all major works; in fact they were just the first things that sprang to mind (more have done so during the day) as fitting your description of pieces which might appeal to someone who already has an interest in a particular area of pre-modern music. Hopefully later I will have time to add some more suggestions.

[Mark]

I'm overwhelmed. Thank you all.

I've heard about 2% of what's been mentioned so far, so my mouth is watering with the prospect of so much new music to explore. Let's just say eMusic is going to be comprehensively trawled over the coming months.

[bhodges]

I'm overwhelmed. Thank you all.

I've heard about 2% of what's been mentioned so far, so my mouth is watering with the prospect of so much new music to explore. Let's just say eMusic is going to be comprehensively trawled over the coming months.

  Just as an aside, I tried to choose three composers completely different from one another, so "if you don't care for one, you might like the next."  Truly, there is an enormous range of styles during this period, which is one of the things that makes it so exciting.

--Bruce

[Grazioso]

1955 Onwards: A Random List of Some Discs I Like

Rautavaara


(The 3rd symphony sounds like 20th-century Bruckner)

Pärt



Nørgård



Pettersson:

(one of the greatest symphonies, imo)

Rorem:

(2 of the 3 are post 1955)

Messiaen:



Kokkonen:

[Fëanor]

When it comes to classical music, I admit that my knowledge of works written from about 1955 onwards starts to get very patchy indeed. More so, my listening experiences with works from that year to the present one. So I'm starting this thread as means for we beginners in this huge area of 'modern' or 'contemporary' music to receive guidance from those here who are 'in the know'.

What works would someone who loves 20th century British chamber music, for example, be best advised to sample? Where would a lover of Schumann, Brahms or Dvorak turn for something symphonic and scintillating from the last half of the last century? And so on ...

Looking forward to getting some great recommendations that will broaden my mind as much as my record collection.

Thanks in advance.

Mark,

I applaud you interest in 20th century (and later  ) music.  In the last couple of years I have begun to explore the contemorary subgenre myself, but I must say that the earlier recommendations in this thread will be a big help to me in furthering my interest.

By "20th century British chamber music" I assume you're referring to the likes of Alwyn, Arnold, Bax, Bridge, Britten, Moeran, and Tippett?  I'm somewhat familiar with their works myself, and enjoy them a lot.  Nevertheless they don't have a lot to do with the atonal style which, IMO, is worthwhile, even necessary, to explore to have a rounded knowledge of classical music today.

In the area of chamber music, I recommend (in particular) Elliot Carter and Gyorgy Ligeti for some atonal exposure.  I have heard 4 of 5 of Carter's quartets and they are great, (in my untutored opinion).

Did any one mention Olivier Messiean?  His "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" is a great chamber masterpiece; (it's not strictly atonal).

[bhodges]

In the area of chamber music, I recommend (in particular) Elliot Carter and Gyorgy Ligeti for some atonal exposure.  I have heard 4 of 5 of Carter's quartets and they are great, (in my untutored opinion).

Did any one mention Olivier Messiean?  His "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" is a great chamber masterpiece; (it's not strictly atonal).

Elliott Carter's string quartets are well worth getting to know, and get more interesting the more you listen to them.  That Messiaen quartet is very moving, and also well worth a new listener's time.

Just thought of another CD that a beginner might like: Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians.  I have the ECM recording below, but there are two more recent: on Nonesuch with a group of new music specialists that also includes Steve Reich in the ensemble, and a recent release on Innova by the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble that has been getting excellent reviews.



--Bruce

[Mark]

Mark,

I applaud you interest in 20th century (and later  ) music ... By "20th century British chamber music" I assume you're referring to the likes of Alwyn, Arnold, Bax, Bridge, Britten, Moeran, and Tippett?

Why, thank you. And yes, while I am interested in the works of the composers you cite, I know these mainly from pre-1955. So yes, I'm looking at exploring music that's rather more, as you put it, 'atonal'.

In the area of chamber music, I recommend (in particular) Elliot Carter and Gyorgy Ligeti for some atonal exposure.

Thanks for these.

[Fëanor]

It's your call, but I personally wouldn't recommend Reich unless of course you like rather one-dimensional, minimal and monotonous music (thats not really modern). Hehehe -- and I thought I was the only one to think so. 
Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time (< this recording is great) is unquestionably one of the greatest and most profound chamber works of the 20th century for sure, and a great recommendation (though is was written in 1940-41 and that's why no one mentioned it!). Carter's quartets are rather patchy IMO, not really organic, somewhat dry and arbitrary, lots of noise and not saying all that much IMO...but perhaps try the Composer's Quartet recording with #1 & #2 on it and see what you think. Agreed:  the Composer's Quarter version is great.
...

See my edits, above.

[Mark]

If that's the case, then you'd best be exploring the canons of Schoenberg, Berg & Webern, or even late Stravinsky first and move on from there...

That's what I expected to hear, but I've been surprised by how much else has been recommended. It's like exploring classical music all over again from the beginning: exciting, but a bit daunting.

[Mark]

For instance; for Schoenberg really give a listen to 5 Pieces for Orchestra (Naxos-Craft), for Berg perhaps the Violin Concerto (Mutter-DG) and for Webern Symphony Op. 21 (Boulez-Sony). 3 monumental works in the vein I think you're currently curious about...

Interestingly, I have the Schoenberg and Berg you mention.

[MishaK]

When it comes to classical music, I admit that my knowledge of works written from about 1955 onwards starts to get very patchy indeed. More so, my listening experiences with works from that year to the present one. So I'm starting this thread as means for we beginners in this huge area of 'modern' or 'contemporary' music to receive guidance from those here who are 'in the know'.

What works would someone who loves 20th century British chamber music, for example, be best advised to sample? Where would a lover of Schumann, Brahms or Dvorak turn for something symphonic and scintillating from the last half of the last century? And so on ...

Looking forward to getting some great recommendations that will broaden my mind as much as my record collection.

Thanks in advance.

Mark,

Why not read Alex Ross's engrossing and immensely satisfying new book "The Rest is Noise" (seems to not be out in the UK, yet, but it's been out in the US since last month. See also here). It takes you on a tour of the music of the entire 20th century and includes the historical, cultural and political context of the works. He also has a list of suggested recordings, as well as some audio clips on his blog to go along with the reading. Reading this will give much more structure to your quest and illuminate the relationships between often seemingly disparate styles and composers.

[Mark]

Thanks, James.

I'm busy downloading everything from that Webern site.

[Mark]

Mark,

Why not read Alex Ross's engrossing and immensely satisfying new book "The Rest is Noise" (seems to not be out in the UK, yet, but it's been out in the US since last month. See also here). It takes you on a tour of the music of the entire 20th century and includes the historical, cultural and political context of the works. He also has a list of suggested recordings, as well as some audio clips on his blog to go along with the reading. Reading this will give much more structure to your quest and illuminate the relationships between often seemingly disparate styles and composers.

I was aware of the book, so let's see if Santa brings it this year.

Cheers!

[PSmith08]

I would second the recommendation for Berio's Sinfonia, especially in the composer's own 1969 recording, if you can bear the absence of the fifth part - for which you'd probably want one of the other recordings on the market, like Boulez' Erato outing.

Of Boulez, I would recommend Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna before Le marteau or Pli selon pli. Really, Rituel tends to be a bit more user friendly than not. Sur Incises is a fine introduction to Boulez' more recent output. If you're willing to fudge the time a bit, the three piano sonatas are incredibly good and very important. Pollini's reading of the 2nd is without peer.