And on what grounds?
For instance, is Alfred Schnittke, who died in 1998, still contemporary or now merely classical? Presumably, Sir John Kenneth Tavener, who is still with us, is (still) contemporary?
Interested to hear your comments.
Thanks
steve
As with most other artforms, I guess that if they're still active, they count as contemporary. It helps if they're on, or near, the cutting edge, but that's not a prerequisite. For example, the architect Quinlan Terry, who creates neo-classical pastiches masquerading as buildings, could be regarded as a contemporary architect, because he's still working - even if he works in a defiantly non-modernist or non-contemporary idiom.
I've no idea who Ken Tavener is, but John Taverner is still going and could be counted as a contemporary composer.
So could Boulez, Reich and Glass. But Cage and Messaien could not, as they're no longer with us, or active.
Maybe.