20th century classical music recommendations

Try  ... 

Stockhausen -- Stimmung

Ligeti -- Piano Etudes

Reich -- Drumming

Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time"

Britten's "Billy Budd"

Arron Copland "Appalachian Spring"

Penderecki "Devils of Loudon"

Stravinsky "Pulcinella"

Bernstein "Candide"

Schoenberg "Transfigured Night"

I'm no expert, so take this with an appropriately-sized grain of salt:

Carl Nielsen -- 4th and 5th symphonies

Peter Schulthorpe -- Requiem (actually 21st century)

Paul Moravec

Is it fair to include Gavin Bryars on this list?

20th century music must include Shostakovich;

Symphonies no. 1, 4, 5,8, 10, 13, 14 ,

String Quartets no. 3, 4, 8, 15

Age of Gold suite

Sonata for viola and piano

Hindemith "Mathis der Maler"

Poulenc Trio for Trumpet, Trombone and Horn

Percy Grainger plays Percy Grainger

Respighi Ancient Airs and Dances

I personally enjoy George Gerschwin, but I doubt you would not know his music already.

Using your examples as jumping-off points:

Stravinsky/Prokofiev - As mentioned before, Shostakovich is a giant, though rarely the cheeriest of composers. Symphonies 5 and 8 (Haitink) are killers, and the solo piano work 24 Preludes and Fugues (Nikolayeva) are wonderful by any century's reckoning.

Strauss - Try Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances. Vespers,  and Liturgy of St John Chysostom (the latter two will also appeal to bits of you that like Part and Taverner). On the lighter side of Strauss, try Respighi - Pines and Fountains of Rome, Ancient Airs and Dances, The Birds, Three Botticelli Paintings, etc. They might sound like Hollywood soundtracks but they stole a lot from him!

Rautavaara - SIbelius, symphonies and his tone poems. and Peteris Vasks - he's Latvian and has that mix of melody and edge that Rautavaara has. There's a cd called Message on Amazon resellers for £3.99 that's a bargain.

Part/Taverner - Try Martin Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna (the Polyphony version). It should melt the coldest of hearts.

And you really really should have some Vaughan Williams - my favourite composer of all time, let alone the 20th Century. Try the 1913 version of the London Symphony or a collection CD that has Lark Ascending, Norfolk Rhapsody, Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis as a starter.

My favorite Shostakovitch are the 1st and 15th symphonies, which gives you a chance to hear him in a good mood, which is rare.

A few 20th century masterworks, just outside the well-known areas:

- Poulenc's opera "Les dialogues de Carmelites" is a melodious, neo-romantic opera owing much to Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande. The highly memorable final scene alone is worth the listen

- Walton's cello concerto

- Jolivet's violin concerto

- Ligeti's violin concerto

- Bartok's string quartets (the first is still rather accessible, the others are forbidding but worth the investment)

Then there is Schoenberg's piano concerto, which I've tried to come to grips with but which I suspect was old Arnold's idea of a good laugh.

EJ

Uh. Shoot me. EJS, you reminded me.

Debussy, Ravel

Alban Berg - Violin Concerto

Bartok - Bluebeard's Castle.

Sister xx

If you're feeling really keen you could try delving into "the Rest is Noise" by Alex Ross which is a pretty expansive guide to much of the 20th Century's classial music. I found it a bit dense to read (but there again I'm a bit dense myself) but it certainly covers the ground and a fair few of the recommendations above I recognise from the book.

Oh and if I'm allowed one recommendation myself: Veklarte Nacht - Schoenberg (Transfigured Night)

Alternatively: Start with Mahler and follow the trail?

Thanks everybody... lots of food for thought (or better for listening). Funny that when I sent out the original post I forgot that some of my favourites (Ravel, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams) actually belong to the 20th century ... maybe I was mentally thinking of more "2nd Viennese school" kind of music

A couple of recomendations of my own, one that Gary already mentioned, if you are familiar only with Rachmaninov´s piano music and symphonies try the Vespers or the Liturgy of St John, (both of them vocal music following the Russian Orthodox tradition) they will be a pleasant surprise and the second one that I remembered when Gary mentioned Repighi and made the comparison to Hollywood soundtracks, try Miklos Rozsa`s beautiful violin concerto, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks again 

John Adams,(my fave)  Terry Riley, Harbison for some west coast alternatives.

Also Salonen has a wonderful CD called LA Variations, very progressive works that are short ish.  He's working on some bigger pieces but won't let on what they are. Hopefully an opera.

Jehan Alain (1910-1941) Organ genius.  Along with Marcel Despres, THE great influence on C20th organ composition, the next big leap (IMO) being Messiaen.   Life cut tragically short defending France against the Nazi invasion.  Beautiful new recording of his complete organ works by Lars Notton Birkeland, smaller instrument than the well-known recordings by the composer's sister Marie-Claire, which suits the music.  Cover illustrated by the composers own cartoons.

If you like choral music, try William Lloyd-Webber (father of the cellist Julian and another son), Sacred Choral Music, recorded by the choir of All Saints' Margaret Street W1 'the cathedral of Oxford Circus' where Bill was organist.

You mention Tavener, if you haven't started on him yet, a good collection to start with is 'Innoncence', which is now available very inexpensively on Amazon.