Contemporary Classical Composers - new discoveries

Lucas Richman: 3 movement symphony - This Will Be Our Reply, 1988 

Skip to 20:40, third movement (written first, other movements later to fill in)

Full orchestra & chorus   This is a great modern work (like Leonard Bernstein's great works).  I performed at Disney Hall on 8/2019 West Coast Premiere with LAJS/Korean orchestra, 90 singers.  Compare to avantgarde music (which has it's place).  This is emotionally targeting more people, like Bernstein.  This and his 2000 full orchestrated Dachau Lied (also premiere and sung for 2000 students in 2023 with me among the 16 male singers) unavailable due to musician guild restrictions.  Our performance had people on the edge of their seats it was electrifying (studio and LA Phil musicians).  

@mahgister Love the Reindeer Variations, appreciate the Water Concerto but the I do not appreciate the Buddha Passion (opposite of what I want to hear). The soprano wordless "singing" is incoherent to me and the orchestra makes some nauseating sounds. This is my opinion, not a fact. I listened to nearly all of it so I gave it a chance. I love Bollywood musicals but not Indian operas where the singing apparently includes the tones between Western notes.

What to you think about the Maria Newman work?

Apparently, my Lucas Richman piece did not get posted. Here it is: TYRL3428TH (youtube.com) (from 20:40).@

@mahgister I just heard several of the first posts, long dead Armenian composer, Persian song and Feinberg (I already have the Feinberg recording).  All great, especially the Armenian choir.  I read your Pop music interest.  For me, I'm in love with 20th century pop music, 1900 to 1970 and then less so thereafter (my wife enjoys heavy metal up to Led Zeppelin-sounds great in my listening room but I'm not crazy about it).  My pop music extends back to 1900+ dixieland, blues and tin pan alley and nearly all jazz periods including modern compositions (post bop, rock/jazz and country if pre-1960s) and especially close to my heart, Yiddish song.  I have equally eclectic tastes.   Through jazz, I am still discovering new interpretations of classic pop songs both vocal and mostly instrumental.  

@mahgister You are correct. It’s only about the music. As an opera, it’s "stupid." Half the audience left in mid-opera. This was pre-Covid and a full house. The recording of the music sounds great. Compare Glass’s compositions to Newman’s. Which do you prefer? I also love Busoni, Scriabin, some Berg and Webern, etc. I am picky as to music but have a wide era and type of music appreciation that. Most of this forum’s samples I understand but don’t want to hear again. Certainly not a 12 hour? piano work.

I’ve liquidated 18,000 LPs/78s to date because I have a rule, if I don’t desire to hear a recording three times annually, out it goes. I still have about 10,000 LPs and CDs to cull (many opera duplicates as late friends donated classical vocal and operas I already have and boring CDs of very lesser known composers whose music isn’t "special" to me).

Aside-my middle name is Phillip and my last name translates (Yiddish) to glass bottle-maker ergo Philip Glass! I generally dislike his "music." I’d rather my name  be associated closer to Charles Valentin Alkan.

@mahgister I listen overwhelmingly mostly to tonal music. I have now over 51,000 LPs/CDs/78s/R2R with 3,000+ piano CDs 10,000+ LPs alone.

I agree with most of your comments. I also have over 70,000 classical vocal and opera recordings/tracks. Season tickets with over 400 live opera performances.

I prefer modern/current composers with gorgeous melodies and harmonies, mixed jazz/classical genre or other mixed music from choral to orchestral (Aminadav Aloni, Maria Newman, etc). Maria Newman has music which also harkens back to Schoenberg’s brother in law Erich Zeisl (whose music I adore and I was the archival engineer for 11 CD compilations of his pre-1960 recordings for his Vienna Centennial in 2005 thanks to his grandson Randol Schoenberg).

Where I strongly disagree is the horrible (but presumtively great performance) of Philip Glass Akhnaten which I saw to my dismay, live at the LA Opera. From the opening bars where the idea is to create tension, it creates a negative energy like someone clawing their nails on a chalkboard. The ending with the death of the six daughters had no input from them and totally bizarre and uninteresting. No real sung libretto, just noise. The poor dancers rolling balls back and forth on the ground. REAL DRECK!

You want a GREAT new opera-Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. It didn’t have a solo that I could hum or sing but overall, the story, libretto and production were superlative.

Zeisl is not contemporary by age because he died in 1960, like Kurt Weill, another favorite of mine. But Maria Newman is still here. I performed her choral/orchestral works that have not been recorded unfortunately.

Here’s a sample of her throwback to Zeisl (whom I introduced to AFTER she wrote this work).

Le Livre D’Esther in G minor, Op. 38 No. 2: iI. Mordecai - YouTube

Le Livre D’Esther in G minor, Op. 38 No. 2: iII. The Decrees of Esther - YouTube Le Livre D’Esther in G minor, Op. 38 No. 2: iV. Purim (youtube.com)

Le Livre D’Esther in G minor, Op. 38 No. 2: i. The Purification (youtube.com) (nice opening movement-look to other 3 for real excitement. 

Does this remind you of Copland possibly?  She is also a superb violinist and violist.  I have done recordings for the Viklarbo Chamber at non Marlboro venues in Los Angeles.  

So many great current composers of ethnic/religious music that are classical music as well.  Few "classical" music aficionados have heard the breath and depth of modern composition.  I have about 1,000 "modernist" classical music recordings although I tend to prefer those with something I can latch onto.  As to so many forgotten (now revived composers), I started with Alkan in 1965 and then Moscheles (Etudes-Ponti) in 1970

Prior to Omar, my favorite two "modern" operas are from the 1950s, Barber’s Vanessa and Moore’s Ballad of Baby Doe (with Sills 5 arias in my head whenever I think of them). So, this Omar was very special.

While I have heard and appreciate Busoni's Doktor Faust (in my permanent collection) my favorite and my wife's is Boito's Faust (saw it with Ramey) and Gounod Faust (too long for her). 

One of the great Aminadav Aloni's religious oratorios which has a lifetime of jazz and classical compositional attributes (mostly in English and some Hebrew)  with LAJS (LA Phil/studio/amateur orchestra members) 

Kohelet (the Book of Ecclesiastes) by Ami Aloni (youtube.com)

I performed of Maria Newman's choral work premieres at the Los Angeles Cathedral of the Lady of the Angels in 2018 with a chorus of about 100.  It is unfortunate it was not recorded and the acoustics were terrible (two secord reverb at the back of the huge church).  She has written so much beautiful music. 

As to Anna Clyne's cello work is very nice.

As to Takamitsu, I can listen to the shorter works but I won't spend an hour listening to what to me is sophisticated ramblings.  Maybe others will appreciate it more.   

@mahgister I get weepy watching Bogart in In A Lonely Place which stars Bruckner's symphony no.5, 4th movement.  Most Bruckner symphonies have great meaning to me as well.  

I have an acquaintance who is 84 and in feeble condition who needs to dispose of his about 800 to 1000 renaissance choral LPs. I am not an aficionado and if you are interested in an excellent collection at low cost, I can provide you with his contact information.  

For some brilliant religious Jewish choral music composed by a jazz/classical pianist in both lyrical and dramatic vein, this link Aminadav Aloni provides some free and great music.  He was like Beethoven of modern choral Jewish music whereby he used traditional/required thematic lyrics and music structures but developed them in a modern harmonic and rhythmic structure, incorporating jazz, pop and other modern forms. Search – HMSI  The S'Fatai Tiftach 13 choral works begin shrouded in mystery and extend to heartfelt and heartrending beauty.  Always with a hummable melody.

There are other live/current Jewish music composers who compose in grandiose schemes such as Meir Finkelstein (you apparently know Lucas Richman) and all jazz themes (jazz pianist and arranger) Chris Harden and all genres, Michael Issacson.