# Top 10 Young Composers Who Are Redefining Classical Music



## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

http://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...composers-who-are-redefining-classical-music/

Some interesting names, and it shows the direction overall. The "old avant-garde" school of the 1920s, 30s, 40s to 60s experimentalism are now clearly old hat.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

I think this list is geared a little bit too much in the direction of only one or two contemporary trends and is thus woefully uninformed. If I had expected any better, I'd be sorely disappointed.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

In spite of its limitations for me it is still a good article. I am only familiar with two of the composers: Adès and Bates.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

arpeggio said:


> In spite of its limitations for me it is still a good article. I am only familiar with two of the composers: Adès and Bates.


Yes, in spite of its limitations, it's still good that someone's thinking about this somewhere as opposed to yet another top 10 composers of all time list


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

> Perhaps atypically for a classical composer, Cleare cites indie rockers Arcade Fire and The Pixies among her influences...


Ha ha. At least they said "Perhaps."



> Nico Muhly
> Thomas Adès...
> Mason Bates


Aaaaand we're done.

(Probably. The only other one I've heard of is Judd Greenstein, c/o Kyle Gann as usual, whose "Plan of the City" is... I don't know, pleasantly dumb? 



)


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

When I read the bios I reminded myself of all the fuss some of our members have over Alma Deutscher.

According to the bios two these composers were prodigies: Dobrinka Tabakova and Cheryl Frances-Hoad.

Really prodigies are a dime a dozen.

I remember talking about one boy who composed a symphony my orchestra premiered. I mentioned it in the following post: http://www.talkclassical.com/39259-world-premier-cinderella-opera.html#post918187.

Now if Ms. Deutscher wins some of the awards the above young ladies received by the time she is sixteen, I will be impressed.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I have heard of Dobrinka Tabakova and Thomas Ades.
I have even heard Tabakova on radio.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

Rapide said:


> Some interesting names, and it shows the direction overall. The "old avant-garde" school of the 1920s, 30s, 40s to 60s experimentalism are now clearly old hat.


The old avant-garde school was old hat 35 years ago. Now post-minimalism-lite composers like Nico Muhly get Pulitzer Prizes (actually, it's the more talented Caroline Shaw who got one) and listicles on theculturetrip.com, which means _they're_ old hat, which means the old avant-garde school may be subversive again.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Not heard of any of them apart from Ades I'm afraid. And why can't these guys write something like a symphony or Canata? I mean, would JSB ever written somethng With the title of Bubblegum Grass/Peppermint Field, ?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

DavidA said:


> Not heard of any of them apart from Ades I'm afraid. And why can't these guys write something like a symphony or Canata? I mean, would JSB ever written somethng with Bubblegum in the title?


For some reason, composers of my age group have some obsession with being "cute and quirky".


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

DavidA said:


> I mean, would JSB ever written somethng with Bubblegum in the title?


Well, sort of: 




As for this stuff, the worst thing about it is that it automatically makes me more sympathetic to the giggly Postmodernism of the '70s and '80s, just because at least then it was kind of new: http://www.kylegann.com/SimpleSongsaboutSexandWar.mp3 (William Duckworth, "Simple Songs about Sex and War")


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Interesting article, I only knew Adés. Main problem the persistent focus on the Anglo-American world, of course.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

joen_cph said:


> Interesting article, I only knew Adés. Main problem the persistent focus on the Anglo-American world, of course.


Hey man there is fearless leader.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Rapide said:


> http://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...composers-who-are-redefining-classical-music/
> 
> Some interesting names, *and it shows the direction overall.* The "old avant-garde" school of the 1920s, 30s, 40s to 60s experimentalism are *now clearly old hat*.


*groan*

It shows what this carefully selected group of ten is doing, and nothing more. And it shows only what they're doing at a relatively young age. Try instead following the premieres at the various new music festivals. Better yet try looking at what makes them distinct from each other, their individual voice, rather than how they might just conform to some trend.

But if you want/need to believe that we're returning to some mythical Good Old Days, then go right ahead.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

I have music by 7 of the 10 in my collection, and I can definitely say they've all contributed to my enthusiasm for new music.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

I've only seen one of them on University Challenge.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

DavidA said:


> Not heard of any of them apart from Ades I'm afraid. And why can't these guys write something like a symphony or Canata? I mean, would JSB ever written somethng With the title of Bubblegum Grass/Peppermint Field, ?


Probably not and probably for the same reason composers in his time didn't use an iPhone.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

I sampled the music and to be honest, it all sounds so trendy, predictable and underwhelming—like indie music filtered through an orchestra. The avant garde composers of the past would tear these 'innovative young composers' to pieces; Xenakis would've likely preferred cuddling up to a hand granade than letting this crud invade his ear canal(s).


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

A sublime piece by a great young composer:


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

Morimur said:


> A sublime piece by a great young composer:


Much color,intimacy and passionate rhythm.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

Morimur said:


> I sampled the music and to be honest, it all sounds so trendy, predictable and underwhelming-like indie music filtered through an orchestra.


In fairness, Thomas Adès is trendy, predictable and underwhelming in a completely different way. (New Complexity made neo-tonal seems to be the essential idea.) Though at the age of 44, he doesn't really belong on a list of "young composers" anyway.



> A sublime piece by a great young composer:


On the other hand, this doesn't seem to me clearly any better than the composers on that list.

I don't know of any young classical composers today whose work I'd call sublime. I sort of enjoy Caroline Marçot (it may help that I can't understand the words), Caroline Shaw (it definitely hurts that I can understand the words), and Bernd Richard Deutsch (though he's pushing 40 himself).









http://carolineshaw.com/hear/partita-for-8-voices/





But I don't know that I could swear in a court of law that any of them are better than Adès. And Adès isn't all that good! Anyway, there's no Taylor Swift among them, that's for sure.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

10 coposers you can predict will do nothing to Richannes Wrahms simply by looking at the title of their pieces.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Richannes Wrahms said:


> 10 coposers you can predict will do nothing to Richannes Wrahms simply by looking at the title of their pieces.


Would any composer do anything for you if you simply looked at the title of their pieces?


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

In fairness, "Bubblegum Grass/Peppermint Field" in particular makes me yearn for old-fashioned titles like "Piano Sonata" or "Cello Concerto #2." They just don't write 'em like that anymore.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

GreenMamba said:


> Would any composer do anything for you if you simply looked at the title of their pieces?


Satie, probably.

But of course RW's point is not that titles reveal when a piece is good, but rather that they reveal when a piece is bad.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

Harold in Columbia said:


> I don't know of any young classical composers today whose work I'd call sublime. I sort of enjoy Caroline Marçot (it may help that I can't understand the words), Caroline Shaw (it definitely hurts that I can understand the words), and Bernd Richard Deutsch (though he's pushing 40 himself).


This article places the threshold at 1971 (mostly because she was just itching to include Thomas Ades)

With that in mind, I might have done something like:

Mark Barden
Natasha Barrett
Aaron Cassidy
Bernd Richard Deutsch
Jason Eckardt
Arturo Fuentes
Yann Robin
Saman Samadi
Simon Steen-Andersen
Agata Zubel

Now of course, we've lost the hip pop influences, but you'll find those integrated much better by older composers such as Bernhard Lang, Wolfgang Mitterer, or Thomas Kessler. And then, although they may be older, Francisco Lopez, Olga Neuwirth, and Richard Barrett (especially taking into account his involvement with Evan Parker, Ute Wassermann, FURT, and fORCH...) are aging 10x better than these folks.

EDIT #2: UGH, I forgot Kourliandski too. Definitely a top 10. There are so many great new composers better than these 10; I must apologize for being unable to keep track of them.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

Richannes Wrahms said:


> 10 *coposers* you can predict will do nothing to Richannes Wrahms simply by looking at the title of their pieces.


:lol:

Not sure if _co-posers_ is intentional, but it kinda works for me.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

Are any of those who are unhappy with the article willing to give their own insight on what the main directions of current classical music are, in their opinion?
Names of composers are welcome but I'd also like to read about the characteristics of their music (as long as it's not too technical ).
It'd be extremely useful.
If something like this already exists in other threads, please point them out to me.
Thanks in advance!


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

Stavrogin said:


> Are any of those who are unhappy with the article willing to give their own insight on what the main directions of current classical music are, in their opinion?
> Names of composers are welcome but I'd also like to read about the characteristics of their music (as long as it's not too technical ).
> It'd be extremely useful.
> If something like this already exists in other threads, please point them out to me.
> Thanks in advance!


Some current trends:

- Logical progression from the exploration of sound by Lachenmann, Grisey, and so on. Simon Steen-Andersen furthers the study of extended techniques by amplifying smaller sounds that would normally not find their way into compositions. Mathias Spahlinger and John Luther Adams both have pieces that use the tam tam in novel, non-percussive ways. Pierluigi Billone introduces new sounds by entirely new instruments with his percussion piece for four automobile springs and glass bowl. It's actually a really good piece, and yes, I was skeptical too.

- Multimedia works. Michel Van Der Aa, Anna Clyne, Enno Poppe, Pierre Jodlowski, and so on all employ interactive video in various works.

- Elements from pop art that actually work. Bernhard Lang has employed loop generators and turntables into massive orchestral works; Wolfgang Mitterer uses a more pop-friendly sort of electronics as well as samplers; Olga Neuwirth adapted a recent(ish) film in an operatic setting; and Thomas Kessler included Saul Williams in one of his works, and surprise surprise, they actually work. The "Arcade Fire transcribed in a classical score" thing, on the other hand, is just nauseating.

- Collaboration with jazz and electronic musicians; see Richard Barrett, Bernhard Lang, etc.

And then of course, the New Complexity school, the spectral school, and the whole "manipulating field recordings" group of guys are not out of ideas.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

^ Thanks. Very. Much.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

Spectral music, just intonation, and what Kyle Gann calls totalism and grid-pulse post-minimalism all seem to me to be still, for the moment, fresh enough that when I hear new examples I don't immediately feel short of oxygen.


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## sloth (Jul 12, 2013)

Two composers that I really like:

Christophe GUIRAUD:


__
https://soundcloud.com/c-g-tellemake%2Fle-d-chir-rent-chantant-encore

Natalia PROKOPENKO:


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https://soundcloud.com/prokopenko_natalia%2Fniflheim-for-ensemble-2013


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I've definitely heard music of 8 of them (I'm not sure if I've ever heard Bjarnason or Frances-Hoad). Many of these composers are often played on Q2 Music (New York contemporary station). I do like a number of works by several of them and especially like Ades. Obviously this group does not define contemporary music, but any information about young composers is a plus in my mind.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

For the record, I wrote my last post in a hurry and was going to delete it for fear of misrepresenting something, but Stavrogin seemed not to mind... Possible additions and addendums later...


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

Here's a half-hour long grid-pulse post-minimalist piece in seven movements, written by an old guy back in 1987 - "Echo Park" by Paul Epstein, for those of you playing at home - supposedly influenced by the Beach Boys and the Beatles (though you could have fooled me), certainly as accessible as anything by the young whippersnappers on the list under discussion, and better:






That said, I've now actually listened to the bubblegum piece, and it's not bad.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

sloth said:


> Natalia PROKOPENKO:
> 
> 
> __
> https://soundcloud.com/prokopenko_natalia%2Fniflheim-for-ensemble-2013


That's pretty good.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

COAG's "New Generations" thread might be worth a (re)read for anyone interested in this subject and looking for recommendations. And begins from a more positive OP than here.

http://www.talkclassical.com/31712-new-generations.html


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Rapide said:


> http://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...composers-who-are-redefining-classical-music/
> 
> Some interesting names, and it shows the direction overall. The "old avant-garde" school of the 1920s, 30s, 40s to 60s experimentalism are now clearly old hat.


Interesting names. And yes, I agree the 1950s, 60s experimentalism are now old music (not that there is anything wrong). It's over fifty years old, just like when Bach finished his Mass in B minor versus Haydn's Creation, or Haydn's Creation versus Bruckner's. Fifty years is a long time and classical music do moved on in terms of development.


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## Guest (May 4, 2016)

As far as explaining the ways in which this list is limited, it might be a helpful point to make that I would not be surprised if this chick wrote for Pitchfork. You know, that website where the mark for 10/10 music is Radiohead, and most stuff falls short, but hey, if the music makes a good soundtrack for taking pictures of latte art with your iPhone and sending them straight to Instagram, that's probably enough to get an 8.


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