Greatest Living Composer
Posted by: Todd A on 06 June 2001
Who do you think are the greatest living composers today? Now, for all of you absolute relativists who would maintain that there can be no “greatest”, or that attempting to rank something as abstract and subjective as Art itself is foolish, I must ask who thinks Hummel wrote music as good as Beethoven’s? No one? Okay, back to the question.
I offer up the following names:
Pierre Boulez
Elliot Carter
Gyorgy Ligeti
Henri Dutilleaux
I am convinced that all four of these august gentlemen will be more highly thought of 50 years or more from now than they currently are. Last I checked they are pretty well respected today. Of course, there may be and undoubtedly are others I missed. So please, more names. Also, given the advanced age of the personages I named, can anyone think of younger composers of great skill. You know, the ones below 50 or so? It almost appears that there could be a serious dearth of truly high grade, new classical music in coming years.
Incidentally, I am not ranking my four selected composers, nor do I feel that ranking is necessarily appropriate, it’s just that I recognize that some composers are better than others, and that posterity recognizes relatively few names. And by the way, Hummel is underrated, even if he is not as good as Beethoven.
Posted on: 06 June 2001 by Andrew Randle
Anyone familiar with the works of Paul Schutze?
Stuff like: Site Anubis, New Maps of Hell.
Andrew
Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;
Posted on: 06 June 2001 by JamH
I think this is great idea for forum.
Hello Sproggle,
Sorry to say Xenakis died early this year. I think Berio is still alive.
You like Kraftwerk -- so do I -- so don't forget Karlheinz Stockhausen who influenced them a lot.
All the best,
James H.
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by John C
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Nigel Cavendish
How about film scores e.g. John(?) Williams, or whoever did "The Big Country" or the "Fistful of Dollars" spaghetti westerns, or Michael Nyman or, if you want to include Kraftwerk, any krautrock or Chris deBurgh or...?
Or do you mean composers in the "classical" idiom?
cheers
Nigel
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Pete
I won't pretend I'm well enough versed in current composers to come up with a serious stab at "best", but will simply note I've always rather enjoyed Arvo Pärt's stuff when I've come across it.
Pete.
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Nigel Cavendish
is it?
[This message was edited by Nigel Cavendish on THURSDAY 07 June 2001 at 13:42.]
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Nigel Cavendish
on this bit of the forum
cheers
Nigel
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Pete
Quite a bit by Raymond Scott, though it wasn't actually written for the cartoons, but simply adopted for use therein.
His "Square Dance For 8 Egyptian Mummies" can be heard on the new Mr. McFall's Chamber CD, "Upstart Jugglers", which I've just got and is very good indeed. It's half of a double release with "Revolucionario" which highlights tango music, much by Piazolla. Both recommended, and you can get them here.
Pete.
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Peter Litwack
How about Peter Maxwell Davies?
Posted on: 07 June 2001 by Cheese
Arvo Pärt - the interesting point about him is that it's downright impossible to say it's classical or jazz or fusion or avantgarde or whatever.
Cheese - may all beings be happy 
Posted on: 08 June 2001 by David Sutton
I hope these gentlemen are still alive, but I would want to add:
John Tavener
Henryk Gorecki
Alan Hovhaness
John Rutter
David
Posted on: 09 June 2001 by Edot
He died so he is out of the running. He was quite prolific. I don't like many of his compositions but some are quite good, esp. a disk with Mysterious Mountain coupeled with a Lou Harrison piece that I believe is conducted by Davies. Hovhaness and Harriso n were heavily influenced by far eastern music including Gamalan.l
Posted on: 09 June 2001 by Ron The Mon
Gunther Schuller
And he's definitely alive because I saw him
conduct his "Paul Klee" themes with the DSO
last Sunday.
Ron The Mon
Posted on: 03 December 2001 by JamH
Agree with lots [not all] of last posting !!
Think Steve Reich should also be included.
Posted on: 04 December 2001 by Matthew T
Of living composers that I have heard I have liked and could be great, one day...
Arvo Part
James MacMillan
Anyone with any recommendations for Ligeti as a starting point?
cheers
Matthew
Posted on: 04 December 2001 by David Hobbs-Mallyon
The Requiem is probably the best place to start. Firstly it's a great work, and secondly you've probably heard a section of it from 2001. Atmospheres and Lux Aeterna (also used in 2001) are also excellent.
David
Posted on: 04 December 2001 by Todd A
Etudes, String Quartets, Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto, Horn Trio
Posted on: 04 December 2001 by David Hobbs-Mallyon
I think most of the usual suspects have been mentioned. Harrison Birtwistle and John Adams should get a mention.
Personally I think Philip Glass has lost it. I can't think of any of his works in the last 10 years that I've enjoyed. However, both Symphonies 2 and 3 are being played on Radio 3 on Thursday evening, so I'll tune in to see if he can convince me otherwise.
David
Posted on: 04 December 2001 by Peter D
Merle Hagard, hands down.
Posted on: 05 December 2001 by Matthew T
Thanks for the Ligeti recommendations. Any suggestions of worthy recordings to get my hands on would be appreciated, time to go shopping one thinks.
cheers
Matthew
Posted on: 05 December 2001 by JamH
Hello Matthew,
I agree with Todd Arola on which Ligeti
works to start with. Here are some suggested
recordings but first some provisos.
1) Ligeti left Hungary in 1956 [time of the
uprising]. Before that he wrote
'pseudo-Bartok'. After that he studied at
Darmstadt and wrote very advanced serial
[and I think] electronic works. After this
came the period of Lux Aeterna etc. Since
then he has mellowed [in my opinion] and
his later works are more approcable. In the
early days he was a member of 'Fluxus' and
wrote 'Symphonic Poem for 100 Metronomes'.
It' exactly what it says : wind-up [!?] 100
metronomes and let them all tick away untill#
they stop.
2) I personally like piano music a lot so I am
biased towards piano recordings.
Here goes ...
1) Sony had a 'Complete Ligeti Edition' but they
have stopped it. The piano disk of 'Etudes'
and 'Musica Ricerda' by Aimard is super.
2) Also in the sony series is a disk of chamber
music which includes a solo sonata for viola;
some wind pieces and the trio for horn, piano
and ... [I cant remember the 3rd instrument].
3) There is also an arditti string quartet cd
in the sony series with both his string
quartets.
4) There are [I think] 12 or 13 piano edudes
[i.e. book I + book II + first etude of
Book III] on the Sony disk but he has written
a few more since.
5) On DG there is an excellent CD by Boulez with
3 concertos : piano, cello and violin.
6) There are some box sets of Ligeti on Wergo
but I have never heard them.
7) I think there is a DG archive CD of Ligeti
[which is mid price] but I can't remember
the details.
Hope this helps
James H
Posted on: 06 December 2001 by herm
Ligeti with his wonderful Piano Cto (twice recorded by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, on Sony and Teldec) which somehow embodies a lot of his equally wonderful Etudes (Aimard on Sony) is the obvious contender. And Dutilleux wrote a beautiful Violin Cto (Isabelle van Keulen on Koch). Two examples of composers emerging out of the 60's 70's fog to achieve a kind of greatness.
However I'd like to propose Oliver Knussen (born 1952) - not as the greatest living composer, but as a composer you want to listen to. He wrote some very interesting orchestral works (DG recorded); after all he's a conducter too. And I especially like the piano pieces Peter Serkin recorded, the Variations op 24 (RCA) and the Takemitsu memorial piece op 29 (Koch Int). And, incidentally, Peter Serkin is a very interesting musician.
Posted on: 07 December 2001 by Wolf
John Adams is my vote for favorite, best is a horrible concept. they still haven't put out his symphony "Nieve and Sentimental Music" but I went to the Premier and thought I had heard the most amazing piece and went back the next night. Big, broad and mind bending at times
Posted on: 07 March 2002 by herm
CarterWell, Carter is 92 years old right now (b 1908), and seems to be having a great time, composing new pieces like a house on fire and being very affable about it all.
Henze (whose music I have not gotten the hang of yet) has, I think, something like Eight symphonies under his belt now.
Herman
Posted on: 08 March 2002 by stephenjohn
FAO Oseidl
I like what you said about this guy so I went to the Gramophone site and checked out his recordings. I liked what they said about Vom Winde beweint - Bright Sorrow, on Melodyia. So I took a step onto the unknown and ordered it.
I'll let you know
Thanks
Steve
