Contemporary Classical fans -- anyone???

[Feanor]

I won't say "contemporary" classical music is necessarily my favorite overall, but I do enjoy listening on a regular basis. I'm hoping some others can share this interest and can provide me and others with listening suggestions.

I'm NO expert on this genre, (nor any other), but I think the term, "atonal" tends to describe most of the music the comprises the genre.

A few of my favorite composers are:

• Elliott Carter
• Harrison Birtwistle
• George Crumb
• Krzysztof Penderecki
• John Cage
• Arvo Pärt (minimalist)

I might mention that I'm less fond of, (though still occasionally listen to):

• John Adams, (minimalist, not usually atonal)
• Philip Glass, (minimalist, not atonal)
• Karlheinz Stockhausen
• Iannis Xenakis

My recent listening has included:

 

[Al M.]

Hi Bill,

thanks for starting this thread. I am a huge fan of Stockhausen, in fact if asked who are the three composers of all time that I most admire it would have to be J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Stockhausen.

I have a Stockhausen page:

http://home.earthlink.net/~almoritz/stockhausenreviews.htm

which also leads to other composer pages of mine, Rihm, Maxwell Davies and Barrett (upper right hand corner).

I will be going to the Stockhausen KLANG festival in NYC this weekend:

http://analogarts.org/klangnyc/

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/18/met-breuer-karlheinz-stockhausen-klang-sound-new-york

Al

 

[Feanor]

Hi Bill,

thanks for starting this thread. I am a huge fan of Stockhausen, in fact if asked who are the three composers of all time that I most admire it would have to be J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Stockhausen.

I have a Stockhausen page:

http://home.earthlink.net/~almoritz/stockhausenreviews.htm

which also leads to other composer pages of mine, Rihm, Maxwell Davies and Barrett (upper right hand corner).

I will be going to the Stockhausen KLANG festival in NYC this weekend:

http://analogarts.org/klangnyc/

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/18/met-breuer-karlheinz-stockhausen-klang-sound-new-york

Al

Thanks for you comments and links, Al.

I ought to give Stockhausen more of a chance. I do have several recordings -- right now I'm listening to 'Gruppen' and enjoying it ...

 

[Feanor]

This evening's listening was mostly 'contemporary' classical ...

Conlon Nancarrow: Sonatina (1941)

Wolfgang Rihm: Time Chant (Gesungene Zeit) for violin and orchestra (1992)

Magnus Lindberg: Grand Duo for clarinet and chamber orchestra

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Cantilena, for oboe & string quartet (1992)

Iannis Xenakis: Diamorphoses for 2-track tape (1957)

Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for Victims of Hiroshima (1959)

 

[Feanor]

This evening I quite enjoyed listening to this Witold Lutoslawski piece ...

Symphony No. 3 (1973) ~ Antoni Wit / Polish National Radio Symphony

 

[CPP]

I'm not a classical listener but what is the difference between Contemporary Classical and Ambient Classical.
[h=2][/h]

 

[Feanor]

I'm not a classical listener but what is the difference between Contemporary Classical and Ambient Classical.
[h=2][/h]

Well perhaps others could more fully illucidate the difference than I can, and I hope they will.

As for "Contemporary classical", Wiki says, "Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s to early 1990s, which includes modernist, postmodern, neoromantic, and pluralist music.[1] However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 musical forms. However I personally tend to use contemporary classical a bit more broadly to include "atonal" forms that happen to predate 1945.

I had to look up "ambient music" on Wiki and this is what it says: "Ambient music is a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. Ambient music is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual",[2] or "unobtrusive" quality". From my POV this isn't much different than Elevator Music.

OK, so I suppose Ambient Classical is where Ambient and Classical overlap. Maybe this happens most often in case of Contemporary Classical, so maybe Ambient Classical is effectively a subcategory of Contemporary.

 

[ACHiPo]

I'm not a fan of contemporary classical, but recently I came across several outstanding recordings from Yarlung Records that fans will most certainly enjoy. I like more traditional, approachable music, but Bob Attiyeh and his team have really done amazing work using purist recording techniques in multiple media. I purchased their catalog of 8 LPs and they are all exquisitely recorded and pressed.

http://www.yarlungrecords.com/

 

[Feanor]

I'm not a fan of contemporary classical, but recently I came across several outstanding recordings from Yarlung Records that fans will most certainly enjoy. I like more traditional, approachable music, but Bob Attiyeh and his team have really done amazing work using purist recording techniques in multiple media. I purchased their catalog of 8 LPs and they are all exquisitely recorded and pressed.

http://www.yarlungrecords.com/

Thanks, those Yarlung recording look like they might be quite interesting. CD would be my medium; I've had no interest in LPs these twenty years of more.

 

[Bruce]

Can't leave out this

Bruce

 

[Feanor]

Can't leave out this

Bruce

Yes, it's a good one. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[Feanor]

Can't go wrong with some Elliott Carter; one of America's greatest composers. I listened to a couple of his compositions yesterday evening ...

Symphonia "Sum fluxae pretium spei" ~ Oliver Knussen / BBC Symphony

Double Concerto for harpsichord, piano & 2 chamber orchestras ~ P.Jacobs (h); G.Kalish (p); Contemporary Chamber Ensemble