Your Top 5-10 2016 Releases With Newly Composed Music

[nathanb]

Golly gee this stuff excites me. I'm listening to my new Richard Barrett double album today.

See thread title. Let's say, must contain music composed in the 21st century to pass, and must be released in 2016. I'll do a list soon, although obviously this will change as the year progresses.

[Mirror Image]

This is definitely NOT my kind of poll.

[The new erato]

I'm listening to my new Richard Barrett double album today.

Any relation to Syd?

[amw]

Honestly there don't seem to be a lot of 2016 releases in general that I'm excited for? Like I'm going to get the Barrett and the Radulescu on Mode, and probably the BA Zimmermann on Wergo, and I already picked up Finnissy vocal music on Metier.... but like those are basically the only releases this year so far I'm getting, of any repertoire. Everything else I've bought or looked at is older stuff. (and only one piece on the Barrett disc counts as "contemporary".) Idk. Dry year for record companies, maybe.

[EigenUser]

Golly gee this stuff excites me. I'm listening to my new Richard Barrett double album today.

See thread title. Let's say, must contain music composed in the 21st century to pass, and must be released in 2016. I'll do a list soon, although obviously this will change as the year progresses.

I hate to break it to you, but most people here would rather listen to their 30th Ravel/Mahler/Beethoven recording than discover/learn anything new ( right? I know). To be fair, I'm not really one to speak since I am not all that familiar with contemporary music. The farthest my usual listening goes is up to Boulez (and some Ades, I guess).

That being said, I should change that. Let me ask my two usual questions for determining what to listen to:
1. What is generally considered the most important work written in the past, say, five years or so? (This question might be difficult/impossible to answer for very recent repertoire).
2. What is your favorite work written in the past five years or so?

Since you mentioned the school of new complexity, let me ask you a third question: What piece would you recommend for someone like me who doesn't at all understand this movement in music?

[Brian]

This is definitely NOT my kind of poll.

False! You and Bruce inspired me to listen to this:



and I really enjoyed it. 2002, 2004, and 2009, so the works composed qualify, and the album was released last month. I'll quote & link to Bruce's remarks:

Qigang Chen is a fascinating composer - not well-known in the United States, but well worth exploring. He combines a variety of techniques - very fluidly - for a unique sound. In 2009 I wrote about that Virgin release for Juilliard - a marvelous recording. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.juilliard.edu/journal/yin-and-yang-modern-chinese-music

--Bruce

Nate, Qigang Chen was (I think) Olivier Messiaen's very last composition student. He studied with Messiaen in 1984-88.

[EigenUser]

False! You and Bruce inspired me to listen to this:



and I really enjoyed it. 2002, 2004, and 2009, so the works composed qualify, and the album was released last month. I'll quote & link to Bruce's remarks:

Nate, Qigang Chen was (I think) Olivier Messiaen's very last composition student. He studied with Messiaen in 1984-88.

Yeah, Chen is great! (Although, I don't know much of his work.) About a year and a half ago I saw the National Orchestra of China (I forgot their exact name) play in Philadelphia. The main attractions for me were the Ravel G major (with Yuja) and Tchaik 5. The first piece they played, however, was Chen's Wu Xing ("The Five Elements") and it ended up being my favorite piece that evening (though all of it was superb). I'm going to try the album you posted, assuming I can get it on Spotify.

EDIT: Damn, I can't find that on Spotify. They only seem to have two albums of his (one of which has the piece I saw in Philly).

[nathanb]

I hate to break it to you, but most people here would rather listen to their 30th Ravel/Mahler/Beethoven recording than discover/learn anything new ( right? I know). To be fair, I'm not really one to speak since I am not all that familiar with contemporary music. The farthest my usual listening goes is up to Boulez (and some Ades, I guess).

That being said, I should change that. Let me ask my two usual questions for determining what to listen to:
1. What is generally considered the most important work written in the past, say, five years or so? (This question might be difficult/impossible to answer for very recent repertoire).
2. What is your favorite work written in the past five years or so?

Since you mentioned the school of new complexity, let me ask you a third question: What piece would you recommend for someone like me who doesn't at all understand this movement in music?

I'd have to think about these questions a little more, and I have to go into work shortly, but, not in the last ten years, I would say that Georg Friedrich Haas' Limited Approximations is both a favorite and a landmark achievement in forging new ground in concert music. I will come up with something more comprehensive and detailed later, but I can assure you that some notable composers would include not only Haas and Barrett but also Steen-Andersen, Mahnkopf, Andre, Ablinger, Billone, Neuwirth, Lang, Mitterer, Kessler, and so on...

[North Star]

Yeah, Chen is great! (Although, I don't know much of his work.) About a year and a half ago I saw the National Orchestra of China (I forgot their exact name) play in Philadelphia. The main attractions for me were the Ravel G major (with Yuja) and Tchaik 5. The first piece they played, however, was Chen's Wu Xing ("The Five Elements") and it ended up being my favorite piece that evening (though all of it was superb). I'm going to try the album you posted, assuming I can get it on Spotify.

EDIT: Damn, I can't find that on Spotify. They only seem to have two albums of his (one of which has the piece I saw in Philly).

Reflet d'un temps disparu appears to be available for listening here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDg1NjkyMDIw.html

[bhodges]

Though there is a Haydn quartet on this disc (Op. 33, No. 2, "The Joke"), the rest of the Spektral Quartet's Serious Business is contemporary. My favorite so far is Many Many Cadences by Sky Macklay (b. 1988), who is finishing her doctorate at Columbia University, and she has written a giddy little piece that is exactly what its title suggests. Here it is, with the score, on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrI39Nf7cj4

[asin]B0189X16RA[/asin]

--Bruce

[bhodges]

I'd have to think about these questions a little more, and I have to go into work shortly, but, not in the last ten years, I would say that Georg Friedrich Haas' Limited Approximations is both a favorite and a landmark achievement in forging new ground in concert music. I will come up with something more comprehensive and detailed later, but I can assure you that some notable composers would include not only Haas and Barrett but also Steen-Andersen, Mahnkopf, Andre, Ablinger, Billone, Neuwirth, Lang, Mitterer, Kessler, and so on...

I'm a fan of the composers bolded above, especially Haas and Neuwirth - and two Langs, Bernhard and Klaus! Haven't heard any 2016 recordings by any of them, but do like their work.

--Bruce

[nathanb]

I'm a fan of the composers bolded above, especially Haas and Neuwirth - and two Langs, Bernhard and Klaus! Haven't heard any 2016 recordings by any of them, but do like their work.

--Bruce

Closest you'll get, to my knowledge, with those bolded names, is Neuwirth's new KAIROS release, which is great, albeit not particularly "classical"; they released her new adventure into film scores, and it's very very good. Also, I believe I saw her name listed in the Donaueschingen Musiktage 2015 program, which would have recordings coming in November, most likely.

Oh yes, and Pierluigi Billone had a string quartet included in the amazing Darmstadt Aural Documents: Box 3 that I was all over with preorders and whatnot. It was one of the highlights, imo.

One more thing: I'm so happy that you listed both Bernhard and Klaus before David Both such fun composers, though, as far as Klaus is concerned, you have a few more options (Jakob Ullmann, Jurg Frey, etc). I was referring to Bernhard originally, what with his inventive ways of actually making loop generators and turntables somehow work well with the orchestra, but Klaus ain't exactly overly conservative.

[vandermolen]

Any relation to Syd?

[5against4]

Closest you'll get, to my knowledge, with those bolded names, is Neuwirth's new KAIROS release, which is great, albeit not particularly "classical"; they released her new adventure into film scores, and it's very very good. Also, I believe I saw her name listed in the Donaueschingen Musiktage 2015 program, which would have recordings coming in November, most likely.

Oh yes, and Pierluigi Billone had a string quartet included in the amazing Darmstadt Aural Documents: Box 3 that I was all over with preorders and whatnot. It was one of the highlights, imo.

One more thing: I'm so happy that you listed both Bernhard and Klaus before David Both such fun composers, though, as far as Klaus is concerned, you have a few more options (Jakob Ullmann, Jurg Frey, etc). I was referring to Bernhard originally, what with his inventive ways of actually making loop generators and turntables somehow work well with the orchestra, but Klaus ain't exactly overly conservative.

I can vouch for the recent Neuwirth release of her 'Goodnight Mommy' soundtrack, really very good indeed. So good, in fact, i scribbled some words about it.

Interesting to see someone so cock-a-hoop about Pierluigi Billone. After my (quite extended) contact with his work at last year's HCMF, i felt inclined to hit someone (preferably Billone) in the face. But maybe there's something i was missing...!

Lang: Bernhard and Klaus trump David every single time.

[5against4]

Just realised this is a poll-related thread, so i'd say among my 2016 favourites so far would be:

• Olga Neuwirth - Goodnight Mommy (Original Soundtrack)
• Fritz Hauser - Different Beat
• Bent Sørensen - Snowbells
• Michael Finnissy - Singular Voices

But my shelf of CDs to review is bulging somewhat, so i imagine this list will expand rapidly in the next few months; some great things coming out at the moment.

[nathanb]

Just realised this is a poll-related thread, so i'd say among my 2016 favourites so far would be:

• Olga Neuwirth - Goodnight Mommy (Original Soundtrack)
• Fritz Hauser - Different Beat
• Bent Sørensen - Snowbells
• Michael Finnissy - Singular Voices

But my shelf of CDs to review is bulging somewhat, so i imagine this list will expand rapidly in the next few months; some great things coming out at the moment.

I do not know Fritz Hauser! Thank you!

[5against4]

I do not know Fritz Hauser! Thank you!

Can't recommend him/this release highly enough! Some links to get you started:
http://www.neurecords.com/different-beat/
https://vimeo.com/150619567

plus my own views about it: http://5against4.com/2016/02/23/new-releases-bernat-vivancos-fritz-hauser/