# Active composers that compose orchestral music



## BRHiler

I'm always looking for new composers to check out and listen to. My main source for these are Naxos CD's (a good, cheap CD is a great way to find new composers!) and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The BMOP are fantastic if you don't know about them. 

So, my current favorite active composers are: (no particular order)

Christopher Rouse
Michael Colgrass
Richard Danielpour
Thomas McKinley
Aaron Jay Kernis
Jennifer Higdon
Joan Tower
John Harbison
James MacMillan

I'm always looking for new peeps to check out, so hook me up!


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## Radames

If Eric Champagne's 1st Symphony gets recorded check it out. I heard it premiered up n Montreal and it was very good.


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## Guest

Plenty of active composers, but with nearly all the big names pushing 80 or so, I will probably need to reference this thread in 5 years


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## Radames

I loved Maxime Goulet's piece What a Day. I was at this concert.


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## Radames

Hmm - not many posts here. I can add some more. Kevin Siegfried used to compose for the Nashua Symphony. His stuff is quite good - and accessible. I remember Three Songs for a New World in 2008. Dennis Gougeon wrote a beautiful piece based on Quebec folksongs called Écoutez mon histoire. That premiered in Montreal in 2008.


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## jimsumner

I'd add John Corigliano, Michael Daughtery, John Adams and Thomas Ades.


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## Alypius

BRHiler, Given your initial list, let me recommend a couple. jimsumner had recommended Michael Daugherty. Two of his might suit your taste, _Fire and Blood_ (a great violin concerto, one of the best of the new century), also _Route 66_ (a fun orchestral work in the style of Bernstein) -- and both are inexpensive Naxos releases.

















jimsumner also mentioned John Adams. He's one of the finest contemporary American composers. Early in his career, he used a minimalist vocabulary but not long after moved in very different directions. Two of his most famous works, _Harmonielehre_ and a brief fanfare entitled _Short Ride in a Fast Machine_, appeared on a superb (and award-winning) recording by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (the CD is a little pricey but it's worth it; the download is standard price):










If you enjoy those by Adams, consider:
_Century Rolls_ (piano concerto)
_Dharma at Big Sur_ (violin concerto) (coupled with a homage to Ives: _My Father Knew Charles Ives_)
_Nixon in China_ (opera, perhaps his most famous work)
_City Noir_ (orchestral work - hints of Gershwin; just premiered in May, 2014)
_Naive & Sentimental Music_ (symphonic poem)


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## BRHiler

Alypius,

I have those Daugherty CD's and love them! He is one composer I tend to watch for CD releases. I am also a big John Adams fan. My favorite piece of his is _On the Transmigration of Souls_, but also love Short Ride. I don't have that CD, but have heard that this recording of Short Ride is really slow. I saw MTT do Short Ride on PBS last year (?), and if it was as slow as that, then I probably won't invest in this recording. I do like Edo de Waart's and Simon Rattle's recordings of Short Ride. I'll check out those other pieces!

I found a new composer the other day, Soren Nils Eichberg. His 1st and 2nd symphony CD is fantastic!


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## Alypius

BRHiler said:


> Alypius,
> 
> I have those Daugherty CD's and love them! He is one composer I tend to watch for CD releases. I am also a big John Adams fan. My favorite piece of his is _On the Transmigration of Souls_, but also love Short Ride. I don't have that CD, but have heard that this recording of Short Ride is really slow. I saw MTT do Short Ride on PBS last year (?), and if it was as slow as that, then I probably won't invest in this recording. I do like Edo de Waart's and Simon Rattle's recordings of Short Ride. I'll check out those other pieces!
> 
> I found a new composer the other day, Soren Nils Eichberg. His 1st and 2nd symphony CD is fantastic!


BRH, The reason to buy that MTT recording is not for _Short Ride_, which is just a fanfare (though the SF Symphony does a fine job of it); it's for the superior performance of _Harmonielehre_, which is symphonic-length, and in fact, a de facto symphony. See the discussion by Tom Service:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/mar/11/symphony-guide-john-adams-harmonielehre-tom-service
This recent performance is superior to the previous version by Edo de Waart (from the 1980s). Since you enjoy Adams, _Dharma at Big Sur_ is not to be missed. Here's the 2nd movement -- it's simply thrilling.






And here's the new work, _City Noir_ (the premier release was just a couple of weeks ago):






********
Two others:

Lera Auerbach (b. 1973), _Symphony #1_




I haven't found this on CD yet. Her only release on CD that I've found is her performance of her _Preludes & Dreams_.

Dobrinka Tabakova, _Suite in Old Style_ & _Cello Concerto_ (You asked for orchestral. These are somewhat smaller scale: for chamber orchestra). These are on her debut record, _String Paths_ (ECM, 2013)


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## KenOC

Alypius said:


> And here's the new work, _City Noir_ (the premier release was just a couple of weeks ago):


_City Noir _has been available on DVD since 2009, from Dudamel's inaugural concert with the LA Phil. The Nonesuch recording I think you're referring to is the first CD release and has the first recording (in any format) of Adams's Saxophone Concerto.


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## Weston

While he might be too accessible for the general tone of this thread, Tobias Picker is still active. I've been wanting his 2nd Piano Concerto for a while, and his Encantadas for speaker and orchestra is superb, though out of print.


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## BRHiler

You can get the _City Noir_ on I-tunes from a LA Live recording, but I've already ordered the 1st "official" release of the piece and am anxiously awaiting it. And now, you've convinced me to check out the MTT _Harmonielehre_. I have de Waart's and Rattle's recording, but always looking for a new one, and I generally do like MTT's recordings

I'll also check out Auerbach and Tabakova. I've heard of Auerbach, but don't think I've listened to anything specific.

Weston,

I have the CD of the _Encantadas_. I love his _Old and Lost Rivers_.


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## cjvinthechair

Weston said:


> While he might be too accessible for the general tone of this thread, Tobias Picker is still active. I've been wanting his 2nd Piano Concerto for a while, and his Encantadas for speaker and orchestra is superb, though out of print.


Thanks for the 'nudge' towards this composer. Sure you'll know he's well represented on You Tube.


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## Bruce

I think Kzysztof Penderecki is worth checking out. (I believe he's still active). 

I've also heard some recent chamber music of Gary Kulesha which is quite nice. Among others is:

Christos Hatzis
Kelly-Marie Murphy
Nicole Lizée (electronic)
Chris Theofanidis
Adolphus Hailstork (who is still alive, but active?)
Alice Shields
Qu Wei (I rarely see any references to Chinese composers in this forum, but his White-Haired Girl Suite is an interesting fusion of east and west. Wei compiled this suite rather than composed it--he had some input from other composers. But it's an interesting work.)
Pawel Lukaszewski (check his Organ Concerto).


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## BRHiler

I do know some of Hailstork's stuff. Mainly his 2nd and 3rd symphony (which the 3rd is just amazing music!), and his trumpet sonata. I assume he's still active, but I haven't heard anything new from him in awhile.

I do like Theofanidis too, but the only piece I really know of him is _Rainbow Body_ which I really like


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## Alypius

BRHiler said:


> I do like Theofanidis too, but the only piece I really know of him is _Rainbow Body_ which I really like


Over on the "New Generations" thread, there is a discussion about Theofanidis' recent work, a piano quintet entitled _At the Still Point_, a homage to T.S. Eliot's _Four Quartets_. Here's the YouTube:





In Chicago, another new work of his, _Northern Lights_, is going to be performed. This is apparently going to be the world premier. Here's the link:
http://www.grantparkmusicfestival.com/2014-season/northern-lights


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## BRHiler

Got my St. Louis recording of _City Noir_. Fantastic! Brutal in the appropriate spots. Fantastic WW soli in the 1st movement. Great solo playing throughout. Much more involved and exciting than the I-tunes LA Premiere.

Highly recommend it!


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## Rhombic

Jesús Torres is a quite interesting Spanish composer, winner of the Spanish National Composition Award in 2011. He has a special style that is similar to that of Ligeti and, sometimes, is reminiscent of surrealist art. He considers that he "blends traditional techniques with experimental music", and he has composed several concertos, chamber music and music for piano solo.


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## Aaconn

How hard is it now for a composer to become known?


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## violadude

Aaconn said:


> How hard is it now for a composer to become known?


Depends on how good you are and how willing you are to explore current musical trends.


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## Bruce

Allow me to add Esa-Pekka Salonen to this list. He's mainly known as a conductor, but has also written some really fascinating music. His Piano Concerto is quite good, but my favorite disc of his music is a DG release with three works, Foreign Bodies, Wing on Wing, and Insomnia. 

And while I'm visiting this thread, I'd also recommend Valentyn Silvestrov, who has written some fascinating orchestral works. (I'm not as familiar with his chamber music.)

And based only on the strength of his Piano Trio, I'll put in a pitch for Salvador Brotons. This is a lovely trio; Naxos has also released a disc with his 5th Symphony and his Oboe Concerto, which I have not heard yet.


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## echo

Aaconn said:


> How hard is it now for a composer to become known?


i'd be more concerned about getting paid


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## PetrB

echo said:


> i'd be more concerned about getting paid


I wouldn't say they are synonymous, but becoming generally and widely known and getting paid go somewhat hand in hand (In the U.S. of America, anyway, some of that income might be from a grant, or a prize, but pay is pay.)


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## Aaconn

Well for known composers today, are they known by those in involved/keep up with the orchestral field or are they known to the general public?


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## MoonlightSonata

Thomas Ades has written some wonderful orchestral music (and concerti).


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## echo

MoonlightSonata said:


> Thomas Ades has written some wonderful orchestral music (and concerti).


thats just a rumor


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## MoonlightSonata

echo said:


> thats just a rumor


What do you mean? You are either being sarcastic, facetious, or very, very wrong.


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## maestro267

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is still active in his 80th birthday year. His 10th Symphony was premiered in February to a rapturous reception.


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