# Modern Day Composers Who Will Most Likely Be Remembered For One Work



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

This thread was suggested to my mind after doing a search for Gorecki on Spotify and YouTube. I was looking for something else to listen to besides the weepy 3rd symphony. But the 3rd dominates media consciousness. And the rest of Gorecki's oeuvre was already eclipsed by his 3rd during the last decade of his life. I did find a recording of no. 2 by Wit on YouTube.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I think various of his other works have a good chance of staying in the (extended) repertoire, such as his string quartets and his harpsichord concerto.


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

His Symphony No. 2 is excellent. I'll take it over No. 3 any day.

Best regards, Dr


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

_Totus Tuus_ is one of my favorite of his choral works. Also, his _Miserere_, which makes effective use of Gregorian-style plainchant.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Yeah, I gave Miserere a listen, as it is included on a CD w/ Schnittke's Requiem.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

Rautavaara will likely be remembered primarily for his Cantus Arcticus; Pendericki for his Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. That latter one is especially annoying, because the eponymous dedication, which is obviously the reason for its acclaim, was only attached to the work after it was a composition contest, and it gives the public a very wrong idea about dissonant works too.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

But it's still a great work though. Just let the sounds wash over you.

And on the subject of Górecki, we'll hear his Fourth Symphony for the first time next April, premiered by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I don't even enjoy Górecki's 3rd. His other works (those that I have heard anyway) are far better in my opinion. So it is probably correct to say only the 3rd will be remembered. Look at poor Pachelbel. 

I'm also afraid John Cage will only be remembered for 4'33". I actually do love that work, whether I take it seriously or as a joke, but the Sonatas and Interludes are very powerful and should be remembered too.

But I shouldn't worry too much. Going back to poor Pachelbel, I could with a minimum of extra effort look up and enjoy other works besides the ubiquitous Canon.


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## GiulioCesare (Apr 9, 2013)

I do think Gorecki will be remembered by his 3rd Symphony, and Cage by 4'33", to the extent that they'll enter one-hit wonder terrotory. 

But then again, I also believe these two particular compositions will be remembered as both the spiritual kickstart (4'33") and the most iconic piece (Gorecki's 3rd) of the music period which will probably end up being known as postmodernism.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2013)

I hope Rautavaara gets remembered for other works beyond Cantus Arcticus


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Gorecki's 3rd is really good, but his other stuff is really good also. I like his string quartets, they're very unique.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

John Adams, for pieces like _Nixon in China_


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Cheyenne said:


> Rautavaara will likely be remembered primarily for his Cantus Arcticus; Pendericki for his Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. That latter one is especially annoying, because the eponymous dedication, which is obviously the reason for its acclaim, was only attached to the work after it was a composition contest, and it gives the public a very wrong idea about dissonant works too.


You don't think the music itself deserves any acclaim? There's more to Threnody than the shrieking dissonance at the intro. I listen to it for the music, not the title. I do think Penderecki will be remembered for more than just that piece. The choral works in particular.

But as some guy has said, things take time, so hopefully the great post war composers will continue to be discovered throughout this century.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> Modern Day Composers Who Will Most Likely Be Remembered *For One Work*





ArtMusic said:


> John Adams, *for pieces like* Nixon in China


...............................................
ok


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

> His Symphony No. 2 is excellent. I'll take it over No. 3 any day.


Me too; and the recording by the Fricsay PO / Tamas Pal on Stradivarius is even better than the Wit recording on Naxos (though both are coupled with _Beatus Vir_).

Michael Nyman will probably be remembered only for 'The Piano Concerto', Hovhaness for 'Mysterious Mountain' and possibly 'And God Created Whales', and Segerstam for being a conductor!


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2013)

Here's a little tidbit about "passive voice" you might not have known: it conceals the actor.

Active voice: "I ate the last cookie." There's the actor right there. "I." But what if "I" don't want to take the blame?

Passive voice: "The last cookie was eaten." Hey presto! I have vanished!!

Similarly with speculations about the future, like the present one. "Will be remembered." The actor has vanished.

But we can always ask, can't we? "Will be remembered by whom?" And the answer (unless you accept "people" or "listeners" as answers) is "people who will have been born after you have already died." Do you really, now, alive, care one whit what someone else's great grand kids are gonna like or not? Of course you don't. (You really don't, do you?)

So what's _really_ going on, here?

Exactly.

(Not again!!!)


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I'll play. (Rather, this game will be played.) 

I believe that in the future Penderecki's St. Luke Passion will be the more familiar work. Outside of the opera world, Britten might be reduced to his War Requiem. Martin might get reduced to his Mass for Double Choir. 

Going back a bit, Szymanowski is getting reduced to his Stabat Mater, and Enescu - we might've thought the Romanian Rhapsodies would be his thing, but it looks like his third violin sonata is going to be it (which is too bad because Oedipe is a masterpiece). Too early to call, but Dallapiccola might become his Il Prigionero. 

But let's face it, you came here for the titillation, and I don't want to disappoint. When the Cold War is no longer in anyone's living memory, Prokofiev will be reduced to Romeo and Juliet and Shostakovich to the 8th string quartet. 

(All this is in the sense that Vivaldi is the Four Seasons or Stravinsky is the Rite or Palestrina is the Pope Marcellus mass. Of course the "true" and "real" classical music fans of the future will always know more than these works. But outside the most devoted circles….)


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Tomaso Albinoni will forever be remembered for a piece that he didn't even compose:
the _Adagio in G minor_.

How ironic.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

starthrower said:


> You don't think the music itself deserves any acclaim? There's more to Threnody than the shrieking dissonance at the intro. I listen to it for the music, not the title. I do think Penderecki will be remembered for more than just that piece. The choral works in particular.
> 
> But as some guy has said, things take time, so hopefully the great post war composers will continue to be discovered throughout this century.


Sorry: I meant fame, not acclaim. 

I like the piece, I do, but it's likely famous because of the dedication. It occasionally gives people the idea that dissonant = sad - that is to say, that the dissonance necessarily represent the tone of the piece, but this is far from always true.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2013)

science said:


> I'll play. (Rather, this game will be played.)



_________________________


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## GiulioCesare (Apr 9, 2013)

ArtMusic said:


> John Adams, for pieces like _Nixon in China_


Or rather _Short Ride on a Fast Machine_. It's often said it's the most commonly played piece by a living composer.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

science said:


> Going back a bit, Szymanowski is getting reduced to his Stabat Mater


That's pretty cheesy prophercy, if you ask me. His 1st violin concerto and string quartets seem to be quite popular with solists/quartets, as far as XXth century music goes. Two of his symphonies at least deserve to be in the repertoire, then there is _King Roger_ being drawn to attantion in recent years, being a masterpiece of XXth century opera. And there is more.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Luciano Berio is well-known for his _Sinfonia_, not much else.

The popularity of Britten's _A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra_ is quite annoying. Considering how much great music he wrote, such as the _War Requiem_, _Symphony for Cello and Orchestra_, _A Ceremony of Carols_, plus a large number of operas and theatrical works.


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## GiulioCesare (Apr 9, 2013)

Celloman said:


> Luciano Berio is well-known for his _Sinfonia_, not much else.
> 
> *The popularity of Britten's A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is quite annoying. Considering how much great music he wrote, such as the War Requiem, Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, A Ceremony of Carols, plus a large number of operas and theatrical works.*


Really? I would have said _Peter Grimes_ is his best known work.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Its not like this is a unique case for modern composers. For most people, Mozart is the first movement of Eine Kleine Nacktmusik, or bits of his Requiem. For most people, Beethoven is dundundun DUN, or the Ode to Joy tune, or the Moonlight Sonata's first movement. For most people, Bach is his Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Among people who actually care about the music, these composers are well known for a variety of great music (some even better than those pieces that are popularly known), and that is the same with modern composers too. People who actually care about Cage will know his Sonatas and Interludes, and his Piano Concerto, and the number pieces. People who really care about Gorecki will probably seek out other things besides his Symphony No. 3 (though I think its a great work, and I'd consider him an awesome composer if that was the only thing he ever wrote).

Its the same case with pop music. If you don't care much about Gorillaz, you'll probably only know them for Clint Eastwood or Feel Good Inc., whereas somebody who is a more enthused listener will seek out more of their music.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

some guy said:


> Here's a little tidbit about "passive voice" you might not have known: it conceals the actor.
> 
> Active voice: "I ate the last cookie." There's the actor right there. "I." But what if "I" don't want to take the blame?
> 
> ...


The topic shouldn't be taken too seriously. Inspired with a bit of sarcasm, as the 3rd symphony by the first composer mentioned has already overshadowed his other works even for the present generation. Of course this would never apply to an inquisitive, egalitarian connoisseur of modern music like yourself. 

"Will be remembered by whom?" As I alluded to in the original post, the current streaming outlets. And the myriad record labels who all issue recordings of the same work, while neglecting many others.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Celloman said:


> Luciano Berio is well-known for his _Sinfonia_, not much else.


I think his _Folk Songs_ is more often performed.

http://www.universaledition.com/performances-and-calendar#composer=54


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

GiulioCesare said:


> Or rather _Short Ride on a Fast Machine_. It's often said it's the most commonly played piece by a living composer.


Really? Too bad. It struck me as a rather derivative, uninteresting piece of music.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Mahlerian said:


> http://www.universaledition.com/performances-and-calendar#composer=54


I was going to say Arvo Part for his Tabula rasa, but this leads me to believe that his Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten is the overwhelming favorite at the moment.

So: Part for the Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten!


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## Guest (Oct 26, 2013)

starthrower said:


> "Will be remembered by whom?" As I alluded to in the original post, the current streaming outlets.


You've lost me. One, an _outlet_ cannot remember (or forget) anything. Two, you refer to the outlets as current. Current is not the future. Current is the present.

So I should have asked "When?" as well? When "will [they] be remembered? Now? But "now" would be "are being remembered." And if it's "are being remembered" then that's an entirely different thread.



Blancrocher said:


> Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten is the overwhelming favorite *at the moment*.*


Or maybe not.

*Emphasis mine.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

some guy said:


> You've lost me. One, an _outlet_ cannot remember (or forget) anything. Two, you refer to the outlets as current. Current is not the future. Current is the present.
> 
> So I should have asked "When?" as well? When "will [they] be remembered? Now? But "now" would be "are being remembered." And if it's "are being remembered" then that's an entirely different thread.
> 
> ...


You crack me up, some guy! There are people who program music at these sites. But anyway, I'm entertained by your parsing prowess.


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## Guest (Oct 26, 2013)

Yes. Just a little harmless hypallage on your part.

But still, which is it to be? Are we talking about now or about the future? 

You may be entertained that some people can distinguish between the present and the future, but the question (at least for those of us who can) remains.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Gorecki has only been dead for three years. You figure it out.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Bernstein has been dead longer _(that sounds odd)_ -- o.k. Bernstein is earlier deceased, but I'm guessing for Leonard it will be _West Side Story_, followed by the _Chichester Psalms_, maybe _Candide (original non-revised version, but of course)_ for a Lenny "fringe" group.

For the general public and general programming, did Aaron Copland ever compose anything but _Fanfare for the Common Man_ and _Appalachian Spring_?

Is there any great sea-shift in the greater (or lesser) unwashed that we should expect other than similar with some current composers and what later will be repeatedly consumed of their works? I think not.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Speaking of Bernstein, I never thought about picking up any recordings until very recently (now waiting for some guy to interject and question me on the meaning of very recently). But I bought the Columbia recordings, and the three symphonies on DG.

You can have West Side Story. I'll take On The Waterfront; Candide; Trouble In Tahiti; Age Of Anxiety; Kaddish. I haven't had time to listen to the other stuff yet. The Columbia box includes only the overture to Candide. I have a suite on a 2-CD Essential Bernstein on DG, but I'd like to hear the whole thing.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

starthrower said:


> The Columbia box includes only the overture to Candide. I have a suite on a 2-CD Essential Bernstein on DG, but I'd like to hear the whole thing.


_The Recording_ is the premiere recording, with the original cast, Barbara Cook, etc. 
Of all of Bernstein's works, I think Candide the most perfectly complete "what Bernstein was."


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