Best Modern Composers

[jancivil]

well, if you are one with an emotional investment in the trance or what-have-you genres, and an entrenched POV that is the opposite of mine anyway, I think that my doing the research for you just to prove a point would be a colossal waste of my time.

I would however point to somewhere other than Western Europe if you want to look at some music history for realsies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_de_Machaut (actually 14th c it appears.)

Some Hungarian music of the 13th century

the Vedic chants of circa three millennia ago

generally language-derived musics...


before the tyranny of the bar-line

[nuffink]

And that stuff's what you dance to is it?

[Muff Wiggler]

before the tyranny of the bar-line

i haven't read, well, anything at all in this thread.

but that line is pure awesome

[vurt]

william orbit
brett dean

two composers whos works ive seen performed live and not nipped out for a cig at any point

[vurt]

oh, damon albarn too, if were going to include modern opera that is

[vurt]

there is music from the 13th century that so far outstrips this hunch-to-the-metronome excuse for rhythm you got in some of this amped-up dancefloor action, that you'd think it was 8 centuries ahead not behind, if you were dealing in the technology of thought.

but even so, somewhat irrelevant.
the thread asks for modern composers, not any compositions from any era that can be compared in any way.
so even if it is a fact, which is of course debatable due to tastes amongst other things, it is entirely misplaced.

[JediMind]

I love this topic. Thank you, memyselfandus!

A personal favorite would probably be Elliot Goldenthal (Alien 3 Score)
I've seen some nice mentions, like James Horner (A Beautiful Mind - I love that movie)
And Shostakovich, which sadly died (Piano Concerto No. 2 )

And who could forget Samuel Barber? (Adagio for Strings and his Violin Concerto)

Keep posting. I'll be sure to listen

[BERFAB]

Early in the thread, a lot of people named Philip Glass. I've listened to his stuff for years (decades now, actually) and I can't for the life of me figure out the key to his popularity. I've concluded that the emporer truly has no clothes in his case and that there's probably a big 'fringe/hip' factor when it comes to his notariety.

What am I missing here? Can someone please enlighten me?

Honestly, I'm not a hater, but this is one of those things that I just don't 'get.'

Cheers
-B

[meeks]

I'm going John Adams...love it.

[herodotus]

I am a fantastic dancer, I just don't require a metronome to keep time is all. This is the basis for my objection, BEAT subs for RHYTHM. I like a lot of African rhythm for instance, it makes me want to get a real groove on.

Hunching isn't always actual dancing, IMO.

So go on then, give us a clue. Name a piece of 13th century music that "far outstrips this hunch-to-the-metronome excuse for rhythm you got in some of this amped-up dancefloor action, that you'd think it was 8 centuries ahead not behind".

Just for the hell of it, I am going to kind of agree with jancivil here.

'Kind of' because I far prefer the music of a few centuries later to the early days of Machaut and the Ars Nova.

But Ockeghem and Des Prez did do some things with rhythm that would confuse the hell out of many people living today. And although the nature of their music precludes 'dancing' in the 'drunk and in a club' sense, that doesn't change the fact that it is often much more rhythmically complex than most music that does pass the 'makes people want to shake it' litmus test.

Most of the principles of this ancient music could easily be incorporated into 'dance' music without interfering with anyone's frenzied rump grinding.

It might, though, make it more interesting to listen to the next day, after the hangover has worn off.

[Murky]

Early in the thread, a lot of people named Philip Glass. I've listened to his stuff for years (decades now, actually) and I can't for the life of me figure out the key to his popularity. I've concluded that the emporer truly has no clothes in his case and that there's probably a big 'fringe/hip' factor when it comes to his notariety.

What am I missing here? Can someone please enlighten me?

Honestly, I'm not a hater, but this is one of those things that I just don't 'get.'

Cheers
-B

I think Glass's earlier works "Music in Twelve Parts" and Einstein are more interesting than his later more pop-ish works. Even some of his re-recorded works don't have the energy of his first attempts. Although Reich and Adams are more consistent in their creative output, serious music isn't always fun music. Perhaps Hollywood Killed the Minimalist Star (if you have seen the movie the Truman Show you will get the joke, he is one of the keyboard players in the studio). So, if I am having dinner, I listen to the "Truman Show", if I want to learn something musically, give me "Twelve Parts". (Although, I am sure the Truman Show contributed more to paying the mortgage.)

[BERFAB]

Early in the thread, a lot of people named Philip Glass. I've listened to his stuff for years (decades now, actually) and I can't for the life of me figure out the key to his popularity. I've concluded that the emporer truly has no clothes in his case and that there's probably a big 'fringe/hip' factor when it comes to his notariety.

What am I missing here? Can someone please enlighten me?

Honestly, I'm not a hater, but this is one of those things that I just don't 'get.'

Cheers
-B

I think Glass's earlier works "Music in Twelve Parts" and Einstein are more interesting than his later more pop-ish works. Even some of his re-recorded works don't have the energy of his first attempts. Although Reich and Adams are more consistent in their creative output, serious music isn't always fun music. Perhaps Hollywood Killed the Minimalist Star (if you have seen the movie the Truman Show you will get the joke, he is one of the keyboard players in the studio). So, if I am having dinner, I listen to the "Truman Show", if I want to learn something musically, give me "Twelve Parts". (Although, I am sure the Truman Show contributed more to paying the mortgage.)

So now I'll have to watch the Truman Show again to figure this out...

Meantime, I still think that any kid can loop the same 5 notes and still come up with something at least as interesting as any of the Glass masterworks. Where's the genius? The artists and composers that I truly admire never leave me with the feeling that "...I could do that..."


As it happens, I have a dozen or so of his discs at my disposal, and am listening to Glassworks as I type this. I keep hoping for insight...

[vurt]

Early in the thread, a lot of people named Philip Glass. I've listened to his stuff for years (decades now, actually) and I can't for the life of me figure out the key to his popularity. I've concluded that the emporer truly has no clothes in his case and that there's probably a big 'fringe/hip' factor when it comes to his notariety.

What am I missing here? Can someone please enlighten me?

Honestly, I'm not a hater, but this is one of those things that I just don't 'get.'

Cheers
-B

i was in a similar boat, not really seeing the attraction, it wasnt until i saw him and his ensemble that it clicked.
yes id imagine anyone of us could come up with a repetition for 5 or 6 instruments, but to actually perform these pieces in perfect time with all the intricate changes here and there for the different players. well that is kind of humbling
even now though, id say i appreciated his compositions rather than consider myself a fan, i can listen to it but i have to be in the right frame of mind, its not something i have on my mp3 player with the risk of random play

[The Chase]

I love Phillip Glass but I wouldn't rate him among the great composers of classical antiquity. To me Philip Glass is about as complex as Muse or Radiohead, which I love more than, say, Beethoven or Bach, but I wouldn't say they are remotely more musically intelligent, if one were to try and objectify such a thing.

[jopy]

I didn't notice these two being mentioned yet, but maybe some people here might like John Tavener:

http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/John_ ... /23874.htm

or Gavin Bryars:



Both are still alive.