Contemporary Classical Composers - new discoveries


I’ll start with my most recent discovery…Valentin Silvestrov. I’ve been going thru some of this Ukrainian composer’s work and I have to say I’m impressed.
Highly recommend to check out the following albums a starting point…


What are some of your favorites?

128x128audphile1

@czarivey 

while you are at it, can you recommend a Nuevo Tango composer other than Piazzola?  I am definitely interested 

A few more composers:

John Adams.  I love his opera Nixon in China.

Thomas Ades.  Try Tevot, or the Violin Concerto.

Max Richter.   The Four Seasons Recomposed.

Frederic Rzewski.  Marc-Andre Hamelin's recording of his "The People United" is astonishing.

And on the topic of Philip Glass, I prefer many of his later, more sophisticated music in comparison to the early, more minimalistic works.  His operas Orphee (based on the Cocteau film) and Kepler (it rocks!) are particular favorites.  Also the Eighth Symphony, and the first Violin Concerto.

 

My tastes are more along the lines of @mahgister , but I concur with @simonmoon ,, that ultimately taste is subjective and we shouldn’t impose ours on others.

I think one of turn offs for me of the Second Viennese School (SVS) was the dogmatic approach of its adherents.  They loudly argued that tonality dead, that music must inevitably evolve towards serialism, in the same manner that Communism argued that Capitalism was dead and that world economies would inevitably be Red.  It isn’t the music that I necessarily dislike.  Unmoored from these ideological underpinnings, I find a lot of it worth exploring 

Interesting question, @mahler123

Nuevo Tango itself was created by Astor Piazzolla which is mixed with jazz improvisation. I’ve mentioned Dino Saluzzi, but did not mention Daniel Binelli, who took it to the next level mixing Tango with African rhythms. Also he wrote tango symphonies and was playing-conducting those. Daniel Binelli is still alive and even well.

I've mentioned Hans Zimmer, because he indeed modern classical composer for the movie scores and so can be many more.