# Who are your top ten composers with substantial works after 1900



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

I will accept any composer who has at least 5 substantial works after 1900.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

Gustav Mahler
Dimitri Shostakovch 
Igor Stravinsky
Richard Strauss
Leonard Bernstein
Sergei Prokofiev 
Philip Glass
John Adams
Steve Reich
PDQ Bach


This doesn't seem that hard?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Ravel
Bax
Strauss
Vaughan Williams
Moeran
Takemitsu
Gubaidulina


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

prlj said:


> Gustav Mahler
> Dimitri Shostakovch
> Igor Stravinsky
> Richard Strauss
> ...


you were pretty damned quick; let us wait for the other responses to judge yours; i would not have any issues with your choices even with Bach


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

Strauss
Mahler
Stravinsky
Rachmaninov
Sibelius
Ravel
Bax
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Bartók


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

justekaia said:


> let us wait for the other responses to judge yours;


Why are we judging?


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

prlj said:


> Why are we judging?


i think we are doing this at every second of our lives; nothing wrong with that


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Sibelius
Stravinsky
Shostakovich
Mahler
Debussy
Ravel
Rachmaninov
Ligeti
Kokkonen
Saariaho

Edit: I changed Strauss to Rachmaninov


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

My overall favorites today:

1. Mahler
2. Sibelius
3. Prokofiev
4. Debussy
5. Elgar
6. Shostakovich
7. Rachmaninoff
8. Ravel
9. Scriabin
10. Bartók

This said, it should be noted that I don't have much experience with contemporary classical music and it's composers.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Debussy
Schoenberg
Bartók
Prokofiev
Messaien
Ginastera
Ligeti
Bacevich
Pärt
John Adams


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## advokat (Aug 16, 2020)

Strauss
Rachmaninov
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Kabalevsky
Lloyd
Poulenc
Durufle
Wetz
Schmidt


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Roger Knox said:


> Debussy
> Schoenberg
> Bartók
> Prokofiev
> ...


Fabulous choices. I love them all. But is John Adams the last great composer?


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

justekaia said:


> Fabulous choices. I love them all. But is John Adams the last great composer?


No, but honestly I haven't kept up; I'm sure there are plenty of composers born after 1950, and especially after 1975, who should be in there. But I can't call them favourites if I haven't heard their music. As for John Adams I find his music hit and miss -- Harmonielehre I like, Grand Pianola Music I don't. I would need to think a lot more to decide my most recent top composer.


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Too many to list, have to go post-1950
Messiaen
Boulez
Ligeti
Lutoslawski
Wolpe
Carter
Ferneyhough
Murail
Dutilleux
Radelescu
Riley


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Roger Knox said:


> No, but honestly I haven't kept up; I'm sure there are plenty of composers born after 1950, and especially after 1975, who should be in there. But I can't call them favourites if I haven't heard their music. As for John Adams I find his music hit and miss -- Harmonielehre I like, Grand Pianola Music I don't. I would need to think a lot more to decide my most recent top composer.


Great and honest reply. Harmonielehre is indeed a masterpiece, Like Shaker Loops and many other pieces.
The real question is why you have not bothered to keep up. And i agree Adams is hit and miss. I just keep the hits whether it is Bach, Beethoven or Adams.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Elgar
Rachmaninoff
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Walton
Finzi


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I'll limit my top ten to composers who composed all or most of their major works within the 20th century:

1. Igor Stravinsky
2. Arnold Schoenberg
3. Olivier Messiaen
4. Dmitry Shostakovich
5. Serge Prokofiev
6. Banjamin Britten
7. Aaron Copland
8. Samuel Barber
9. Charles Ives
10. Paul Hindemith


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Mahler
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Ravel
Stravinsky
Strauss
Reich
Lutoslawski
Schnittke
Boulez


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## Terrapin (Apr 15, 2011)

1. Mahler
2. Sibelius
3. Shostakovich
4. Prokofiev
5. Bartok
6. Weinberg
7. Myaskovsky
8. Rachmaninov
9. Villa-Lobos
10. Elgar


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

1. Mahler
2. Bartok
3. Shostakovich
4. Stravinsky
5. Nielsen
6. Sibelius
7. Schoenberg
8. Schnittke
9. Debussy
10. Berg


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

No particular order:

Weinberg
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Myaskovsky
Pettersson
Mahler
Strauss
Dutilleux
Schnittke
Ravel


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Which threshold deems a musical work as trivial or insubstantial?
By which yardstick do we measure substance?


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> Which threshold deems a musical work as trivial or insubstantial?
> By which yardstick do we measure substance?


From reading your posts over the past while I think that you usually answer both these questions implicitly by making good choices, without trying to come up with any threshold or yardstick. In other words I think your questions are rhetorical -- and if you mean there aren't any answers, I agree with you. It's more about experience and taste than about explicit criteria. For the lists of composers on this thread it's the same thing: can I stomach including composer X on the list while leaving out composer Y? And of course there's no exactitude -- tomorrow's list might be different; the list is just a snapshot of what was digestible on August 13 or whatever. Your area of knowledge is very broad and deep, which makes the likelihood of any definitive list of names even less likely. It would be horrible if we had to use some kind of imposed methodology to decide our preferences.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Here's 10 in no particular order and as Roger (@Roger Knox) says above, just assume it'll probably be a different 10 tomorrow.

Messiean
Boulez
Lutoslawski
Britten
UnSuk Chin
Birtwhistle
Shostakovich
Ades
Dutilleux
Tippett


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Gustav Mahler
Arnold Schoenberg
Maurice Ravel
Igor Stravinsky
Harry Partch
John Cage
Lou Harrison
Terry Riley
Steve Reich
John Luther Adams


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

10 is not much for what are effectively 2 or 3 recognisable musical periods but I'll try. Sticking to absolute giants:

Mahler
Sibelius
Debussy
Ravel
Bartok
Stravinsky
Schoenberg
Britten
Kurtag
Carter

But where to put these equally giant composers?

Boulez
Lutoslawski
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
.... and too many others.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Prodromides said:


> Which threshold deems a musical work as trivial or insubstantial?
> By which yardstick do we measure substance?


I consider it logical that our members would choose composers with substantial works. By adding this adjective i just wanted to exclude 19 th century composers with a few minor works in the 20 th century. Mahler straddles the two centuries but our members have correctly considered that he composed substantial works in the 20 th century.
The members are free to use their own yardstick to measure substance. I trust them.


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

1. Sibelius, Jean (1865 – 1957) [Finland] 
2. Respighi, Ottorino (1879 – 1936) [Italy] 
3. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Mario (1895 – 1968) [Italy] 
4. Karłowicz, Mieczysław (1876 – 1909) [Poland] 
5. Perosi, Lorenzo (1872 – 1956) [Italy]
6. Rachmaninov, Sergei (1873 - 1943) [Russia]
7. Delius, Frederick (1862 – 1934) [England]
8. Peterson-Berger, Wilhelm (1867 - 1942) [Sweden]
9. Melartin, Erkki (1875 – 1937) [Finland]
10. Novák, Vítězslav (1870 - 1949) [Czechia] 
*____*
11. Różycki, Ludomir (1884 - 1953) [Poland]


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

If the timeline was 1900-c.1930 I'd just about manage to boil a list down to ten. But 1900-present day - sorry, but there's absolutely no chance...


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

I`ll make a slight swerve by limiting myself only to the composers born after 1900 as #14 and #17 did similar variations before. Because there are just too many...

Shostakovich
Messiaen
Schnittke
Carter
Xenakis
Ferneyhough
Gubaidulina
Saariaho
Boulez
Saygun
This was still quite a challenge...


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Highwayman said:


> I`ll make a slight swerve by limiting myself only to the composers born after 1900 as #14 and #17 did similar variations before. Because there are just too many...
> 
> Shostakovich
> Messiaen
> ...


Great list, which includes women and contemporary composers. I know it is quite a challenge as i did the exercise myself and came up with 93 composers i believe deserve a spot. It is interesting to see how each member finds a way to come up with a list of ten.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Enthusiast said:


> 10 is not much for what are effectively 2 or 3 recognisable musical periods but I'll try. Sticking to absolute giants:
> 
> Mahler
> Sibelius
> ...


Your list is remarkable and gives an idea about your preferences which is the purpose of the exercise. You correctly state that we are dealing with possibly 3 musical periods. I will probably select 4 composers of my favourite period and 3 of the other two.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Let's name those 5 substantial works too.
In no particular order:

1. Mahler (Symphonies 5, 6, 9, 10, Das Lied von der Erde)
2. Sibelius (Symphonies 4, 5, 7, Tapiola, Violin Concerto)
3. Nielsen (Symphonies 4, 5, 6, Clarinet Concerto, Wind Quintet)
4. Shostakovich (Symphonies 4, 8, 10, 15, 1st Violin Concerto)
5. Elgar (Symphonies 1 and 2, Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, Falstaff)
6. Berg (Wozzeck, Lulu, Violin Concerto, Lyrische Suite, Kammerkonzert)
7. Schoenberg (Gurrelieder, Kammersinfonie no. 1, Mozes und Aron, Variations for Orchestra, String Quartet no. 2)
8. Debussy (La Mer, Preludes book 1, Pelleas et Melisande, Jeux, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp)
9. Strauss (Salome, Elektra, Vier Letzte Lieder, Metamorphosen, Oboe Concerto)
10. Schmidt (Symphonies 2, 3, 4, Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln, Beethoven Variations)


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

justekaia said:


> Your list is remarkable and gives an idea about your preferences which is the purpose of the exercise. You correctly state that we are dealing with possibly 3 musical periods. I will probably select 4 composers of my favourite period and 3 of the other two.


I'm not sure I have a favourite period so I was just looking for those who seemed to me to be the biggest giants. And now I am kicking myself because I missed out the great Messiaen.


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## brucknerian (Dec 27, 2013)

1. Claude Debussy - I find La Mer timelessly mesmerising; Celibidache / Munich did a particularly amazing interpretation.
2. Olivier Messiaen - Religious ecstasy, heavenly sublimity, Eastern sensuality and unique use of the tonal system. Vingt Regards and Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà.
3. Alfred Schnittke - Deep, dark, sarcastic but human. His symphonies re-interpret the classical tradition in interesting and poignant ways. The Symphony No 2 I find especially engrossing, as a kind of "portrait of Sankt Florian with Bruckner influences".
4. Gyorgi Ligeti - If you haven't seen it, go watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. The music of Atmospheres and Lux Aeterna sounds somehow ancient and from before time itself.
5. Lili Boulanger - All of her works exhibit extraordinary talent, especially given her age, but my personal favourite is the Buddhist Prayer, which is spiritual, emotional and fills me with a strange and tender nostalgia.
6. John Luther Adams - Become Ocean puts me in a higher state of mind. This music isn't particularly sophisticated, studied or hip, but it speaks of a mind deeply connected to nature.
7. Alexander Scriabin - The Poem of Fire has accompanied me on several late night jogs and, combined with the endorphins, taken me to a higher plane
8. Bela Bartok - Bartok channels the spirit and genius of folk music in a way that us city dwellers can connect with. The Concerto for Orchestra I find most enchanting, especially the Celibidache / Munich performance.
9. Takashi Yoshimatsu - Listened to many of his Symphonies while working. I find the easy-going minimalism combined with jazzy harmonies relaxing and good for mental focus.
10. Aram Khachaturian - As with Ligeti, I discovered this composer from the film 2001, but actually the whole Gayane ballet is worth a listen, not only the Adagio. What an aural feast! The eastern harmonies / tones on a grand orchestral scale give a feeling of timelessness and awe.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Sibelius
Vaughan Williams
Debussy
Ravel
Moeran
Respighi
Mahler
R. Strauss
Rachmaninoff
Prokofiev


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

What is the point of listing composers if you don't include what you believe to be some of their better works? This doesn't help anyone who wants to explore 20th century music. At least RoberJTh could be bothered.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

starthrower said:


> What is the point of listing composers if you don't include what you believe to be some of their better works? This doesn't help anyone who wants to explore 20th century music. At least RoberJTh could be bothered.


There is no doubt that you are right and i have considered this (adding the 5 best works) before starting the thread which you should consider to be episode 1. As you will have noticed shortlisting 10 composers for such a long period is quite a challenge for most of us.
Once, after a few weeks, we get a better picture of the composers favoured by our members, i will shortlist a certain number of composers and start a new thread about the works that will surprise you. I will consult knowledgeable members to fine-tune the content of the thread, so it is not biased. The purpose of all this is indeed to help our members explore 20 th and 21 st century classical music. If you already have ideas about this plse throw in your stars.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I would remind any explorers to utilize what is already available. Use the search engine to look up 20th century composers. You will find many discussions in the Composer's Guestbook section among others.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

1st period (1900-1945)
-Mahler: Symphonies 3, 9, 10, Kindertotenlieder, Das Lied von der Erde
-Bartok: Music for strings, percussion and celesta, Cto for orchestra, SQ 4 and 5, Bluebeard's Castle
-Stravinsky: Rite of Spring, Petrushka, Orpheus, Ebony Concerto, Oedipus Rex
2nd period (1946-1975)
-Messiaen: Turangalila, Couleurs de la Cité céleste, Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, 20 Regards, L'Ascension for organ
-Feldman: Coptic Light, Le Palais de Mari, SQ 2, Piano and SQ, Rothko Chapel
-Scelsi: Anahit, Uaxuctum, Konx-Om-Pax, SQ 4, Xnoybis for violin
3rd period: (1976-2022)
-Xenakis: Metastaseis, Jonchaies, Syrmos, Akrata, Echange
-Gubaidulina: Stimmen..Verstummen, Offertorium, The Wrath of God, SQ 3, The Canticle of the Sun
-G.F.Haas: Limited Approximations, Dark Dreams, In Vain, SQ 8, Morgen und Abend
-Lucier: Diamonds, Slices, Ricochet Lady, Disappearances for SQ, Crossings
The dates of the periods are not set in stone. They are just meant as an indication. I am also aware that some composers straddle two periods.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

So you're basically asking me for my top 10 composers then. Hardly challenging at all.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Mahler (symphonies 5,6,7,9, LvdE)
Bartok (string quartets, piano concertos etc. everything important is after 1900)
Stravinsky (Le sacre, Petrouchka, violin concerto, symphony in C, symphony of psalms, symphony in 3 mvmts)
Debussy (Preludes I+II, La Mer, admittedly, a favorite like the string quartet is pre-1900 but the overall bulk of his music is not)
Ravel (left hand concerto, string quartet, trio, violin sonata, gaspard de la nuit, tombeau de couperin...)
Prokofiev (piano concertos, esp. 2+3, violin concertos, symphonies 2, 5, 6...)
Berg (Lyric suite, violin concerto, Wozzeck, 3 orchestral pieces op.6, string quartet op.3)
Shostakovich (1st violin concerto, piano trio #2, piano quintet, string quartets, esp. 3,5,7,8...)
Hindemith (Kammermusiken, esp. #1, symphonic metamorphoses, symphony in Eb, "Mathis" symphony, string quartets)
Weill (violin concerto, 7 deadly sins, symphonies 1+2, Threepenny opera, Mahagonny, Happy End)


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Way too many choices!

I'll just say.....

Debussy
Bitten
DSCH
RVW
Ravel
Webern
Berg
Schoenberg
Bartok
Messiaen


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Something similar was compiled by me for another thread at the end of July.
Rather than ponder over substance, I paste below my favorite composers along with 4 works from each.
I submit 12 in case the soundtrack albums by Piccioni and North are to be excluded. If so, then Kupferman would be @ the 10th.

1. *Charles Koechlin*: Le buisson ardent, Les heures persanes, Ballade, Quintette

2. *Giacinto Scelsi*: Uaxuctum, Aion, Ohoi, Yamaon

3. *André Jolivet*: Symphonie No.3, Cinq danses rituelles, Suite Delphique, Missa Uxor Tua

4. *Richard Rodney Bennett*: L'Imprecateur, Spells, Symphony No.1, Violin Concerto

5. *Aarre Merikanto*: Pan, Juha, Genesis, Fantasy for orchestra

6. *Alex North*: Symphony for a New Continent (from "Africa" album), The Bad Seed, Les Miserables (1952), The Children's Hour

7. *Karol Szymanowski*: "Song of the Night", Violin Concerto No.1, King Roger, Stabat Mater

8. *Maurice Ohana*: Livre des Prodiges, Office des Oracles, Chiffres de Clavecin, Quatuor No.3

9. *Arne Nordheim*: Spur, Greening, Epitaffio, Colorazione

10. *Jón Leifs*: Geysir, Baldr, Reminiscence du Nord, Hafis

11. *Piero Piccioni*: Una tomba aperta ... una bara vuota, Il faro in capo al mondo, Lo straniero, Il demonio

12. *Meyer Kupferman*: Jazz Symphony, Wings of the Highest Tower, Tuba Concerto, Three Faces of Electra


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Roger Knox said:


> In other words I think your questions are rhetorical -- and if you mean there aren't any answers, I agree with you.


Yes, I was contemplating unnecessarily over substance. I had already listed 4 compositions by each of my Top 16 only 2 weeks ago, so I repeat them in this here thread.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

haziz said:


> Elgar
> Rachmaninoff
> Sibelius
> Shostakovich
> ...



Forgot to include Nielsen.


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## MusicInTheAir (Apr 21, 2007)

justekaia said:


> I will accept any composer who has at least 5 substantial works after 1900.


1. Mahler
2. Shostakovich
3. Debussy
4. Ravel
5. Prokofiev
6. Sibelius
7. Poulenc
8. Bartok
9. Copland
10. R. Strauss


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Debussy
Satie
Stravinsky
Shostakovich 
Messiaen
Vaughan Williams
Sibelius
Mahler
Prokofiev
Roussel


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Forster said:


> Debussy
> Satie
> Stravinsky
> Shostakovich
> ...


i was waiting for that one with satie; smart choices


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

haziz said:


> Forgot to include Nielsen.


plse note that you can edit easily by clicking on the three dots on the top right


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

No particular order.

Elliott Carter
Charles Wuorinen
Arnold Schoenberg
Joan Tower
Bela Bartok
Stefan Wolpe
Alban Berg
Luciano Berio
György Ligeti
Krzysztof Penderecki

With all lists of this type, ask again in a week, and several of these may be different. Milton Babbitt, Joseph Schwantner, Sofia Gubaidulina, Bruno Maderna, Harrison Birtwistle, and quite a few others could make the list.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Gustav Mahler
Richard Strauss
John Cage
Luigi Nono
Pierre Boulez
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Wolfgang Rihm
Georg Friedrich Haas
Chaya Czernowin
Malin Bång


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## Montarsolo (5 mo ago)

Saint-Saens, Rachmaninoff, Respighi, Mahler, Shostakovich. That's it.


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## evans.winner (5 mo ago)

Rachmaninoff
Ravel
Debussy
Prokofiev
Stravinsky
Shostakovich
Messiaen
Bartok
Barber
Vaughan Williams

That about accounts for 90% of my favorite music.

Honorable mention to Saint-Saens who wrote a lot after 1900 but I'm not sure how much of it counts as "significant."


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## dbcrow (Mar 25, 2013)

Why is Hindemith not getting any love? Not a single mention!


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## evans.winner (5 mo ago)

dbcrow said:


> Why is Hindemith not getting any love? Not a single mention!


Well, you've mentioned him 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally find Hindemith a composer who is easy to respect -- but hard to love.

I liked the Harmony of the World symphony, but it's been a long time since I listened to it.


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## tobias.mostel (6 mo ago)

1,. Puccini (Tosca, Mme Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, Gianni Schicchi,(with Suor Angelica and Il Tabarro),Turandot!
2. Richard Strauss Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, 4 Last Songs, etc. 
3. Frederic Rzewski.
4. Ligeti
5. Lutoslawski
6. Penderecki 
7.John Cage
8. Eliot Carter
9. Joey Bonatakis
10. Alban Berg (Wozzeck and Lulu)


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