# Most accessible heavily melodic shorter work by serious composer in last 50 years?



## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

I am wondering what your top five or even favorite 
piece of modern music that has the cross genre appeal of something like
Luigi Dallapiccola Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux Terza parte? 

Looking for work that is breathtaking in a way that pretty much anyone would like
Debussy's Passepeid for me is like this, but of course written over 100 years ago. 
Looking for work by serious composers (no semantics, please =).


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## binkley (Feb 2, 2013)

How about this?






Maybe a bit of a cheat though -- while Messiaen published the larger piece (Concert à quatre) in the early 1990s, this movement is an orchestrated version of a piece of his for piano and voice from the 1930s.


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2014)

Tan Dun's Internet Symphony is certainly very accessible:






Anthony Ritchie's A Bugle Will Do sounds a bit like the Dallapiccola concerto.






Not really sure I know what you're looking for.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Try Toru Takemitsu perhaps


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

regenmusic said:


> I am wondering what your top five or even favorite
> piece of modern music that has the cross genre appeal of something like
> Luigi Dallapiccola Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux Terza parte?
> 
> ...


I should say that the third part is the only one of interest, as the other
parts of that work are relatively difficult.

Not sure how to make the question much more clear.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

regenmusic said:


> I am wondering what your top five or even favorite
> piece of modern music that has the cross genre appeal of something like
> Luigi Dallapiccola Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux Terza parte?
> 
> ...


Radamés Gnattali is a composer who wrote a lot of very melodic and beautiful music. A sort of Brazilian Gerswhin, his music is a fusion of classical music with the choro and a touch of jazz.

A little miniature for piano:





This is his most famous piece:





and this is another example of his style


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Howard Shore, Lord of the Rings soundtrack?


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2014)

regenmusic said:


> Not sure how to make the question much more clear.


Not sure that would be worth the effort, either.

But here's another question, this one for you: Why in the last fifty years? (And, of course, its corollary: Have you listened to all of the heavily melodic shorter works by serious composers from before 1964?) If the answer to the corollary question is "No" then get to it, why not?

Regardless, here's a heavily melodic shorter work by a serious composer, from within the last _15_ years. (I know you won't quibble about "melodic," will you, given your stated aversion to semantics.)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

C'mon some guy! You know nobody can whistle that one.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

some guy said:


>


great piece, not melodic at all obviously. When I've seen this thread I've thought "brace yourself Regenmusic, it's arriving the avantgarde army". And there it is, never a surprise on this board.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Gould' String Quartet Op. 1. Especially interesting if you're a fan of my man Glenn.


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2014)

The answer would probably be something like Schnittke's "Suite In The Old Style" - but somehow I don't think that's what you want. That's ok. I prefer it integrated into the Symphony No. 1 too.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Some very random selection:

Ligeti -

Piano etudes: Fanfares; Fem

Violin concerto: second movement

Adams - Dharma at Big Sur

Reich -

New York Counterpoint

Variations for Vibes, Pianos & Strings

Piazzolla - Tango Suite

Brouwer - Sonata: III "La Toccata de Pasquini"

Messiaen - Un Sourire

And, of course:

Haas - limited approximations


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

some guy said:


>


Homage to Stockhausen's Oktophonie?


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

Most people are missing the word "shorter" in the tile of my post but
it's still great to check out all these recommendations. I was thinking
Schnittke's 1st movement of the 2nd Concerto Grosso would be the
closest I could come right now, but more like Poulenc's Trois Mouvements 
Perpétuels even though that was written in 1918. To see the former
as a pick illustrates how hard this question is.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Jean Francaix is probably another composer that you should consider if you don't know him already even considering the fact that there are similarities between his music and that of Poulenc, but I know only few works of him and not very short.


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2014)

aleazk said:


> Homage to Stockhausen's Oktophonie?


Sounds like it could be possible, doesn't it? I dunno. Ludger and I have talked about Stockhausen a bit, but he was mostly concerned with how at a certain point Stockhausen decided to devote the rest of his life to just the one, big project. Ludger thought that was maybe not the most artistically fruitful way to have gone. Still, lots of respect for his colleague. Be fair. How could you not?

That opening, though. Reminds me of the opening to _Ameriques,_ which channels the opening to _Rite of Spring_ for a few seconds.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

I think the only thing I will add further to this is that there are myriad melodic composers in the last 50 years - you might want to look to USA composers, or minimalism or choral music for instance. But the likelihood of someone on here finding the exact right piece for you is low. Take some time and experience the joy of exploring - you ever know what you might find!


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

I'm not looking for any right piece like a miracle from one person. Just suggestions.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Yoshimatsu. Heavily lyrical. I see you mentioned Debussy, as Yoshi also played around a bit with whole tone harmonies.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

You might be interested in Kevin Volans, a composer I've become interested in recently. I find the most memorable melodies I recall from him are in his String Quartet #2 "Hunting: Gathering" (1987), though I think there are other works by him that I've come to prefer. Another composer I've been listening to lately as a result of his recent decease is Peter Sculthorpe; his "Irkanda IV" (1961, so just outside your range) in particular is a very attractive work.

Volans: 




Sculthorpe: 




A general tip is to have a look at recordings by the Kronos Quartet (to whom the Volans piece was dedicated). They tend to record works with "crossover" appeal, that for example bridge divides between classical, jazz, world music, etc. Many of their recordings include works with interesting melodic content.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

some guy said:


> Regardless, here's a heavily melodic shorter work by a serious composer, from within the last _15_ years. (I know you won't quibble about "melodic," will you, given your stated aversion to semantics.)


I like the piece very much, but what validates this to be regarded as "classical music" or modern art music if you will? Why isn't this "just" electronic music? Does this have any ground in the classical tradition?
I'm trying to understand because it seems rather arbitrary to me.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

DeepR said:


> I like the piece very much, but what validates this to be regarded as "classical music" or modern art music if you will? Why isn't this "just" electronic music? Does this have any ground in the classical tradition?
> I'm trying to understand because it seems rather arbitrary to me.


We're living in a post-structuralist society mannn, labels are just so last century dude!

In all seriousness, electronic music really began with classical composers; Varese, Bayle and others. Those at the cutting edge of electronic music can thus be said to be part of that tradition; but what separates them from independent electronic music producers would be that they compose works for acoustic, orchestral forces as well, and who draw on the compositional practices of the CCM scene. Its a bit tricky to really single out individual pieces of music as 'classical' or 'non-classical'; they make more sense in the context of a composer's wider work.


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

I would strongly recommend this tiny and beautiful (and highly melodic) piece:


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

schuberkovich said:


> I would strongly recommend this tiny and beautiful (and highly melodic) piece:


A melody he later used as the basis for the second movement of his violin concerto:


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

The cello concerto is the best piece on this album, but it's long. You could try "Insight" or "Frozen River Flows", both between 5 and 10 mins. Janine Jansen plays on it, so that's a bonus


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2014)

DeepR said:


> I like the piece very much, but what validates this to be regarded as "classical music" or modern art music if you will? Why isn't this "just" electronic music? Does this have any ground in the classical tradition?
> I'm trying to understand because it seems rather arbitrary to me.


DeepR, where in my post do I say that this should be regarded as classical music or even as modern art music? So I'm supposed to defend an assertion I never made? That seems quite arbitrary, to me.

And why "just"?


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

You didn't, but I assumed as much considering the name of the subforum and topic we are posting in. 
But don't waste your energy, Jobis reply was already helpful.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

This should tick all three boxes: melodic (beautifully so), short (a tad under 13 minutes) and a serious composer, Howard Skempton.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

techniquest said:


> This should tick all three boxes: melodic (beautifully so), short (a tad under 13 minutes) and a serious composer, Howard Skempton.


Yes, this is the best one I've heard so far in this thread, but haven't had the time
to go through all the suggestions. It's hard when you yourself are a composer,
to be critical of other composers on a public forum. It's obvious the history of
classical music has had intense wars, and I imagine if they had the internet, there
would be some pretty humorous flame wars going on. I will say that I think Schnittke
would have been much greater if he steered a little bit away from the dissonances.
Also, modern composers that are "cute" like in a movie soundtrack way I don't find
very appealing. There doesn't seem to be much to come back to, perhaps like in 
ways with people that tend to be superficial don't leave much of a lasting loyalty in
their relationships.


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2014)

I still don't understand the "in the last 50 years" part of it.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

some guy said:


> I still don't understand the "in the last 50 years" part of it.


It doesn't look like a metaphor to me. I take it literally, and it becomes quite understandable.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2014)

It doesn't look like a metaphor to me, either.

And I don't understand why the original poster wants accessible and melodic music from the past fifty years. There's plenty of accessible and melodic music from before that time, plenty that the original poster probably has not heard.

Aside from the suggestions made so far, there's quite a large amount of music from that past fifty years that regenmusic would not find either accessible or melodic. The most characteristic musics, the defining musics of this period are neither accessble nor melodic in any traditional sense, just as was true with Tchaikovsky and Bizet and Berlioz and Beethoven and Mozart and so forth. Though it is cool that so many people report as liking the Brümmer. Sweet! 

It just appears to me that regenmusic wants something anomalous, something uncharacteristic of the time frame s/he has chosen. And since the music of Tchaikovsky and Bizet and company has had enough time to become perfectly melodic--to our ears--it just seemed off somehow to chose a time frame recent enough so that the characteristic musics of the time are not yet perceived as accessible and melodic.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

some guy said:


> It doesn't look like a metaphor to me, either.
> 
> And I don't understand why the original poster wants accessible and melodic music from the past fifty years. There's plenty of accessible and melodic music from before that time, plenty that the original poster probably has not heard.
> 
> ...


It doesn't seem that bizarre a request to me, I think you are slightly over-thinking things, someguy. It is possible to be modern and melodic, the avant garde doesn't represent all music!
Also anomalous music is, for better or worse, remarkably common these days.

Might as well plug a composer I know personally:


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2014)

Jobis said:


> ...the avant garde doesn't represent all music!
> Also anomalous music is, for better or worse, remarkably common these days.


Yes. I'm aware.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

some guy said:


> It doesn't look like a metaphor to me, either.
> 
> And I don't understand why the original poster wants accessible and melodic music from the past fifty years. There's plenty of accessible and melodic music from before that time, plenty that the original poster probably has not heard.
> 
> ...


I don't know. Maybe he's trying to ease his way into the scary stuff. Find some modern composers who still retain a noticeable amount of traditional melody, then segue into the deranged ones.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2014)

We can always hope....


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Try some of Lera Auerbach's violin/piano preludes. I say some as she follows the Schnittke line, so some are very dark but some are quite folksy and tuneful. The gmaj and amin of the top of my head.
Also the first mov of this (which is actually my least fav mov - the other are awesome! - but the most traditionally tuneful)


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