# Are there any optimistic 20th century composers ?



## Faramundo (Jul 16, 2016)

Hi

Although I can feel elated by some late 20th century works (to me Gorecki's 3rd symphony is close to addictive), I wonder why in our age of extreme comfort, so many composers since Arvo Pärt became famous, write works that enhance anxiety, anguish and gloom ; are there optimistic, enlightening works or composers I may have missed ? I've tried Penderecki, Rautavaara, and many things quoted on this forum but I still find very little material that is so "light-hearted" and "invigorating" as what was produced in Haendel's times when Death wa a daily occurence. Pardon my question if it sounds stupid, I'm quite an ignoramus in Classical Music.If the question has already been asked, please tell me in what sub-forum I can read about it, and I'll delete this thread. Thank you all.


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2016)

Hi,
Gorecki's 3rd I love too, but it's not exactly party music is it? :lol:

Elation is in the ear of the beholder....but how's about Andriessen's De Staat?


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2016)

Or how about
Sumera
Musica Profana


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Steve Reich: Nagoya Marimbas





John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine


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## TwoPhotons (Feb 13, 2015)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco tends to be quite optimistic:


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.
Paul Creston's Symphony no. II.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I definitely think you are more likely to find "optimistic" works in the past 30 or so years than mid-century (for obvious reasons).

Several American composers are mentioned above, and they are perhaps more upbeat as a general rule. Eastern European, maybe not so much, but they might quibble with your description of living in "extreme comfort." Religious composers often pour on the anguish nowadays. Pärt and Penderecki they grew up in countries where religion was suppressed.


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## Hildadam Bingor (May 7, 2016)

GreenMamba said:


> I definitely think you are more likely to find "optimistic" works in the past 30 or so years than mid-century (for obvious reasons).


I dunno. Plenty of optimist classical music after World War I and optimistic pop music after World War II. I think classical music just mostly went kind of up its *** c. the '50s for NON-obvious reasons.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Hildadam Bingor said:


> I dunno. Plenty of optimist classical music after World War I and optimistic pop music after World War II. I think classical music just mostly went kind of up its *** c. the '50s for NON-obvious reasons.


I think it would have been a hell of a thing to write a jaunty, sprightly Classical work while living in Europe in the 40s or early 50s. Soviet block composers actually seemed to write a lot of happy stuff (prancing farmers singing the praises of the collective!), but most of it stinks.

Optimistic 50s pop was mostly American, right?


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

This is a really good question. Best I can come up with is to suggest that some of Hindemith's 'Kammermusik' pieces are lively and witty. And Gerald Finzi had his light moments.


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## Hildadam Bingor (May 7, 2016)

GreenMamba said:


> I think it would have been a hell of a thing to write a jaunty, sprightly Classical work while living in Europe in the 40s or early 50s.


Yeah, I mean, theoretically I get it, but the American classical composers weren't much good for optimism then either - Bernstein doesn't count, his classical music only sounds happy when he's blending in jazz (okay, there's the Chichester Psalms, but that's the '60s) - and, conversely, WWI was hell too, and that was immediately followed by Les Six.



GreenMamba said:


> Optimistic 50s pop was mostly American, right?


Here's something pretty much at random from the first Eurovision (1956):


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

You might want to try Joseph Schwantner. He writes a lot of colorful, energetic stuff. And there are a lot of good composers from Finland. Aho, Lindberg, Sallinen. Magnus Lindberg's later stuff is less severe and easier on the ears. And the German composer Wolfgang Rihm's romantic piece Lichtes Spiel may be of interest? Penderecki is dark for the most part, so try some different stuff.


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## Hildadam Bingor (May 7, 2016)

Pat Fairlea said:


> This is a really good question. Best I can come up with is to suggest that some of Hindemith's 'Kammermusik' pieces are lively and witty.


If we're going as far back as Hindemith, then we've got PLENTY - Satie and Ravel, Milhaud, Poulenc, some of neoclassical Stravinsky - not much in Germany or Russia, maybe, but, well, that was a weird time for those countries.


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## Hildadam Bingor (May 7, 2016)

As others have mentioned, a good half of minimalism and post-minimalism is giddy as a grasshopper - Terry Riley, Steve Reich (Schindler's List The Musical notwithstanding), William Duckworth, Meredith Monk to an extent, much by the bad composer named after the founding father from New England (the good one's more a melancholy type).

Ditto a lot of post-spectral music (in a way that somehow tells you they're better than you, but that's all French comedy - see Moliére).


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Some cheerful Hindemith. There are good recordings under Abbado on EMI, and Chailly on Decca.






Stravinsky's octet.






Janacek's Sinfonietta conducted by Mackerras


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

20th century? Stravinsky's Jeu de cartes.


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## satoru (May 29, 2014)

How about Australian composers, Carl Vine (1954-) and Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014)? I find their music more optimistic.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

American composers Charles Ives, Howard Hanson, Aaron Copland, and John C. Adams are all often chipper. Even the Russkies like Prokofiev and (gasp!) Shostakovich can crack a smile once in a while.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

No 20th century music is just depressing, I'm going back to hating life 

Seriously this is a horrifically terrible use of words. Isn't it just like asking is there any "nice" 20th century music? I get mountains of positive pleasure from many composers who are "dissonant" or percussively heavy, it comes back to aesthetics and tastes. I don't want to listen to fluffy music in major keys much, especially not all day.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Yes, Ligeti was quite the optimistic chap.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

dogen said:


> Hi,
> Gorecki's 3rd I love too, but it's not exactly party music is it? :lol:
> 
> Elation is in the ear of the beholder....but how's about Andriessen's De Staat?


The optimism in that makes me want to stick my head in the oven.

Some Allan Petterson - quick!


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

I find Poulenc a very optimistic composer. At least compared with other composers of that century.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

Check out Louis Happyniceman's "Jolly Symphony Of Mellow Inspirational Happiness". It was pretty jolly and optimistic, check that out!


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## Faramundo (Jul 16, 2016)

Keep them coming, keep them coming my friends; many exciting stuff in your posts : Steve Reich is great in Nagoya Marimbas, John Adams impressive, Janacek quite surprising too, and Hindemith, never thought he could send like Frank Zappa, even Lindberg has precious moments, thank you all but do not stop that thread please !! Yeah I grew up in the 70's to the sounds of Zappa, Chick Corea's Return to Forever and Weather Report; Classical came late in my life : Ravel's "concerto pour violon et piano" made me cry when Daddy died paralysed in 2010, and I listen to more and more classical, I've got 10 inches of CD's by Haendel and Telemann, I was stunned by a live concert of Shostakovitch's music, I'm only beginning to sort out what I like from what leaves me cold : many of your posts point to very interesting stuff, thank you.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Nyman is basically a sentimental composer, but some of his works are quite rapturous.

In Re Don Giovanni





Water Dances - Stroking





MGV 5th Region


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Michael Gordon: Yo Shakespeare





Marc Mellits: Groove Machine





Julia Wolfe: Reeling


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

String quartets from south and north America.

Peter Garland: String Quartet No. 2, "Crazy Cloud" (1994)





Virgil Thomson: String Quartet No. 2 (1932/57)





Villa-Lobos: String Quartet No. 6 (1938)


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Though there sometimes are other layers, *Malcolm Arnold*´s music generally has an easy divertimento-undercurrent (eg Flute Concertos 



 , Symphony 5 



 ); the same applies to *Jean Francaix *(Octet); a good deal of *Carl Nielsen *(Wind Quintet, Serenata in Vano 



), etc.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Most everything Jean Francaix composed is perky. And I like his perkiness.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

An optimistic 20th Century composer? Well, there's always Hoffnung


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

There's the blues, and there's Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.


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