Contemporary composers. Please help.


Hello,

I would greatly appreciate any help with contemporary (20-21st century) classical music. At this point my favorites are:
Alfred Shnittke, Arvo Part, Steve Reich.
Glass, Adams, Xenakis are not in that heavy rotation.
Tried Shoenberg and Stockhousen, so far they are beyond my understanding.

Thank you,
Sergey.
lsd13
Lsd13,

Which Ligeti pieces have you acquired? He had quite a range of compositions and styles, from his early works which are reminescent of Bartok, to his electronic compositions and then to certain elements of the minimalist schools (he admire Reich and Riley).

I have a couple of additional suggestions. If you like solo piano music, look for the works composed for player piano by Conlon Nancarrow. These are unique works that are unplayable by a human.

From your list of likes, I would guess that you would like spare, contemplative works. You might find Ludovico Einaudi interesting, though it is a bit on the tuneful and "easy listening" side, and you appear to be much more adventurous. Still, worth checking out.
I got the Ligeti Works from Sony, box set. Chamber Music, Strings, piano and mechanical music are great! Opera and the vocals are not just my cup of tea. It matter of personal taste and has nothing to do with great composer.
Couple of days ago I rediscovered Pandora. Highly usefull radio. Customized according to your guys advices it is a great tool to dicover new music.

Thanks again.