We’re nearly at the end of the noughties (2000s, zeros, aughts) so it’s time to make some lists – what classical compositions make the grade? Stuff by Golijov? Adés? Adams? Reich? Johnny Greenwood? Maxwell-Davies? Jocelyn Pook? What do you think? We’ve had nine years.
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Couple of centuries too late I’m afraid for classical compositions !
As for art music,the last half-decent ‘serious’ works were written in the 1950′s, since then bubkiss. With the end of the second world-war, music stopped and doesn’t appear to have resumed since. There are a few minor composers around such as Tavener who is at least worth a listen. The rest need to go away and stop annoying us.
There’s what we know now. Time and history will probably judge differently than any answers that we may get here.
I’ll try to limit myself to one composition per composer
here’s my list :
Sequinza XIV for cello by Luciano Berio
Lost Highway by Olga Neuwirth
Les Travaux et les Jours by Tristan Murail
Double (Grido II) by Helmut Lachenmann
Exordium by Brian Ferneyhough
The Corridor by Harrison Birtwistle
St. Francis Preaches to the Birds by Lewis Neilson
Terra Memoria by Kaija Saariaho
Pocket Symphony by Fred Rzewski
I suppose posterity will be the judge of the 21st centuries greatest composers in the end. However, from your list, I would reckon Golijov will prove himself a force to be reckoned with in years to come, while I suspect Peter Maxwell Davies (no hyphen!) is winding down a little now (he’ll be 80 soon, after all), as possibly will Steve Reich. Let’s hope Jocelyn Pook slips by the wayside as I don’t hold her music as having any profound or lasting merit at all.
I will personally be interested to see how Jonny (no ‘h’) Greenwood develops over the next 10 or 20 years, while I am sure Thomas Adès (grave accent, not acute) will continue to astound and enthrall (some people just have more than their fair share of genius!). I love Adams’s music but I wonder if he will be held up as one of the TRUE greats of 21st-century music?
I would add a few names of my own:
Kalevi Aho – a Finn who seems to me to be the true symphonic heir to Sibelius. This century, he has already written many notable works, such as his symphonies 12-14 (2002-07), the Symphonic Dances (2001) and a series of outstanding and important concertos for tuba (2001), flute (2002), 2 cellos (2003), bassoon (2004) double bass, clarinet and contrabassoon (all 2005) viola (2006), oboe (2007) and saxophone (2008).
John Corigliano – the great American hope in my view. Corigliano is a composer with that rare gift – uncompromising music but the ability also to communicate on a basic level. This century, Corigliano has produced his ‘Red Violin’ Violin Concerto (2003), the song cycle ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ (2003), the Third Symphony (2004), the Percussion Concerto (2007) and ‘Winging It’ (2008).
Here’s my big tip for the future: the young British composer Tarik O’Regan. One of the most skilled, inspired and lyrical of the young generation of composers (he’s only 31), I’m putting my money on him to be BIG in a few years time. Some of his most notable compositions come from this side of the millennium (2001 onwards – well, eight years ago he was only 13!) and include: ‘Clichés’ (2002), ‘The Pure Good of Theory’ (2004), ‘Lines of Desire’, ‘Fragments from a Gradual Process’ (both 2005) and ‘Threshold of Night’ (2007).
It would be good to take care on getting people’s names right, by the way – it’s only polite and respectful.
Here are some pieces that I think will be on the “list,” although I’ll admit to being more familiar with some than others…
John Adams — On the Transmigration of Souls; Dr. Atomic
Luciano Berio — Sequenza XIV for cello
Elliott Carter — Cello Concerto; Flute Concerto; I’ve heard good things about his “Sound Fields” for orchestra, but haven’t heard the piece myself
William Bolcom — Symphony # 8
Thomas Adés — You know, I’m sad to say I haven’t heard any of the works he composed in the 21st century yet! But I suspect that there’s some great stuff here. I’m interested to check out his “Tempest” opera
Arvo Pärt — Nunc dimittis
Jennifer Higdon — She’s written a lot of stuff that is on my list to check out, but the most recent piece of hers that I’ve heard is “Blue Cathedral” from 1999. That’s close…but maybe someone else has heard some of her more recent stuff? I’ve liked almost everything of hers that I’ve heard…