Contemporary Classical Works That Are Worth Your Time
I was at dinner with some friends the other night; and we got to talking about the continuing analog vs. digital debate. I don't have much to say about that, but I would like to note that I can hear orchestral detail in much greater depth in digital records than I can in analog ones. That's just my observation.
One of my friends seemed suprised to learn that there are still composers out there writing classical music: that it wasn't just the realm of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Given the history of classical music during the last century, particularly in the mid-century where the atonal and serial music were the most popular among composers, if not the general public. It seems a number of people think classical music is dead. Happily, there are new works being written all the time. A lot of them I don't know; not for lack of interest, but lack of publicity. Classical music has little, if any, which is a great pity.
So, I thought about it, and here are 8 contemporary classical composers, and compositions, that are worth a listen:
1. John Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, 1986:
The earliest composition on this list. It’s a gang-buster of a piece! Adams has written many important contemporary pieces, like The Chairman Dances, that are all based in the minimalist style of the 70’s and 80’s.
=================
2. John Corigliano, Tarantella, Movement 2 from Symphony No. 1 “Of Rage and Remembrence,” 1988-1989
This piece is gut-wrenching. If you don’t think classical music is relevant anymore, listen to this.
Per the composer:
“The second movement (Tarantella) was written in memory of a friend who was an executive in the music industry. He was also an amateur pianist, and in 1970 I wrote a set of dances (Gazebo Dances for piano, four hands) for various friends to play and dedicated the final, Tarantella movement to him. This was a jaunty little piece whose mood, as in many tarantellas, seems to be at odds with its purpose. For the tarantella, as described in Groves Dictionary of Music, is a "South Italian dance played at continually increasing speed [and] by means of dancing it a strange kind of insanity [attributed to tarantula bite] could be cured. " The association of madness and my piano piece proved both prophetic and bitterly ironic when my friend, whose wit and intelligence were legendary in the music field, became insane as a result of AIDS dementia.
In writing a tarantella movement for this symphony, I tried to picture some of the schizophrenic and hallucinatory images that would have accompanied that madness, as well as the moments of lucidity. This movement is formally less organized than the previous one, and intentionally so, but there is a slow and relentless progression toward an accelerated "madness." The ending can only be described as a brutal scream.”
============================
3. Mason Bates, Mothership, 2011
Another very recent piece, and one that’s a lot of fun. It features solo improvisations by clarinet, violin, cello, and trumpet; as well as instruments and electronics you don’t normally hear in orchestral works.
=========================
4. Jennifer Higdon, Blue Cathedral, 1999
This is one my favorite pieces of all now; and I only discovered it a couple of months ago. Written to commemorate (and on commission), the death of her brother, this piece is simply meditative and beautiful. It also features solos by the clarinet (the instrument her brother played) and flute (which the composer plays).
================================
5. Roberto Sierra, Fandangos, 2000:
This composer is new to me, so I don’t have much to say. This piece is inspired by the fandangos of Antonio Soler and Luigi Boccherini.
I=================================
6. Michael Daugherty, “Lex,” Movement 1, from ‘Metropolis” Symphony, 1991:
Daugherty won this year’s Grammy for Best Composition with Tales from Hemingway, but he’s been composing for a long time. This piece, inspired by the Superman comics is just fun all around. The movement titles pretty much say it all; Lex, Krypton, MXYZPTLK, Oh, Lois!, and Red Cape Tango. He also wrote a companion piece for woodwinds and percussion, titled Bizarro. Also good, a short composition for bassoon and chamber ensemble called Dead Elvis.
=============================
7. John Luther Adams, Become Ocean, 2013, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2014 and the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2015:
John Luther Adams (no relation to the other Adams) has also been at work for a long time. This piece, winner of many awards, was inspired by the notion of the oceans rising:
Per the composer:
"Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean."
=============================
8. Nathaniel Stookey, The Composer is Dead, with words by Lemony Snickett, 2009
Normally, I hate classical works that have narration. It always seems to me the words distract from the music, which is always the more important thing. This piece is quite the exception. Light-hearted like other classics like Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, or Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. It is also a fun who-done-it? mystery, played out among the instruments of the orchestra. Fun, and full of orchestra in-jokes (especially if you're ever played in one!), this is a new classical classic. Apparently, the CD comes with a book of some kind, which I have not seen.
One of my friends seemed suprised to learn that there are still composers out there writing classical music: that it wasn't just the realm of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Given the history of classical music during the last century, particularly in the mid-century where the atonal and serial music were the most popular among composers, if not the general public. It seems a number of people think classical music is dead. Happily, there are new works being written all the time. A lot of them I don't know; not for lack of interest, but lack of publicity. Classical music has little, if any, which is a great pity.
So, I thought about it, and here are 8 contemporary classical composers, and compositions, that are worth a listen:
1. John Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, 1986:
The earliest composition on this list. It’s a gang-buster of a piece! Adams has written many important contemporary pieces, like The Chairman Dances, that are all based in the minimalist style of the 70’s and 80’s.
Click to view=================
2. John Corigliano, Tarantella, Movement 2 from Symphony No. 1 “Of Rage and Remembrence,” 1988-1989
This piece is gut-wrenching. If you don’t think classical music is relevant anymore, listen to this.
Per the composer:
“The second movement (Tarantella) was written in memory of a friend who was an executive in the music industry. He was also an amateur pianist, and in 1970 I wrote a set of dances (Gazebo Dances for piano, four hands) for various friends to play and dedicated the final, Tarantella movement to him. This was a jaunty little piece whose mood, as in many tarantellas, seems to be at odds with its purpose. For the tarantella, as described in Groves Dictionary of Music, is a "South Italian dance played at continually increasing speed [and] by means of dancing it a strange kind of insanity [attributed to tarantula bite] could be cured. " The association of madness and my piano piece proved both prophetic and bitterly ironic when my friend, whose wit and intelligence were legendary in the music field, became insane as a result of AIDS dementia.
In writing a tarantella movement for this symphony, I tried to picture some of the schizophrenic and hallucinatory images that would have accompanied that madness, as well as the moments of lucidity. This movement is formally less organized than the previous one, and intentionally so, but there is a slow and relentless progression toward an accelerated "madness." The ending can only be described as a brutal scream.”
============================
3. Mason Bates, Mothership, 2011
Another very recent piece, and one that’s a lot of fun. It features solo improvisations by clarinet, violin, cello, and trumpet; as well as instruments and electronics you don’t normally hear in orchestral works.
=========================
4. Jennifer Higdon, Blue Cathedral, 1999
This is one my favorite pieces of all now; and I only discovered it a couple of months ago. Written to commemorate (and on commission), the death of her brother, this piece is simply meditative and beautiful. It also features solos by the clarinet (the instrument her brother played) and flute (which the composer plays).
================================
5. Roberto Sierra, Fandangos, 2000:
This composer is new to me, so I don’t have much to say. This piece is inspired by the fandangos of Antonio Soler and Luigi Boccherini.
I=================================
6. Michael Daugherty, “Lex,” Movement 1, from ‘Metropolis” Symphony, 1991:
Daugherty won this year’s Grammy for Best Composition with Tales from Hemingway, but he’s been composing for a long time. This piece, inspired by the Superman comics is just fun all around. The movement titles pretty much say it all; Lex, Krypton, MXYZPTLK, Oh, Lois!, and Red Cape Tango. He also wrote a companion piece for woodwinds and percussion, titled Bizarro. Also good, a short composition for bassoon and chamber ensemble called Dead Elvis.
=============================
7. John Luther Adams, Become Ocean, 2013, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2014 and the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2015:
John Luther Adams (no relation to the other Adams) has also been at work for a long time. This piece, winner of many awards, was inspired by the notion of the oceans rising:
Per the composer:
"Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean."
=============================
8. Nathaniel Stookey, The Composer is Dead, with words by Lemony Snickett, 2009
Normally, I hate classical works that have narration. It always seems to me the words distract from the music, which is always the more important thing. This piece is quite the exception. Light-hearted like other classics like Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, or Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. It is also a fun who-done-it? mystery, played out among the instruments of the orchestra. Fun, and full of orchestra in-jokes (especially if you're ever played in one!), this is a new classical classic. Apparently, the CD comes with a book of some kind, which I have not seen.