# The 80 Best Known (?) & Currently Living (as of 1/27) Classical(-ish) Composers...



## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

*The 80 Best Known (?) & Currently Living (as of 1/27) Classical(-ish) Composers...*

I compiled this list, courtesy of Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_20th-century_classical_composers). If you can think of another 20 living composers(worth mentioning) we can make it an even 100.

The oldest is 98, the youngest is 51. The oldest living composer currently is Turkish composer lhan Usmanbaş, who was born in 1921 and is 100 years old on the button. I've never heard of him, and he didn't make the list, but bravo for reaching 100! Too bad Schnittke didn't live as long as his countryman Shchedrin has... he'd be uncontested king of the the hill perhaps.

Anyway, which of these composer do you like? Which do you think will go down in history as one of the "greats"? How many have your heard of/not heard of? Do you detect any interesting patterns? What does this list suggest (if anything) positive or negative of the current state of Classical music?

*Ned Rorem* (1923), American [Our Town, 3 Symphonies; Violin Concerto; Air Music]
*György Kurtág* (1926), Hungarian [Játékok; … feuilles mortes…; In Nomine; Bach Transcriptions]
*Thea Musgrave* (1928), Scottish [Turbulent Landscapes; Horn Concerto]
*George Crumb* (1929), American [Ancient Voices of Children; Black Angels]
*Sofia Gubaidulina* (1931), Russian [Offertorium; Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion]
*Per Nørgård* (1932), Danish [Symphony No. 3; Symphony No.6; Voyage into the Golden Screen]
*Rodion Shchedrin* (1932), Russian [Concerto for Orchestra "Naughty Limericks; The Hump-backed Horse; Carmen Ballet; Not Love Alone]
*John Williams* (1932), American [Jaws; Star Wars; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Superman; The Empire Strikes Back; Indiana Jones; E.T.; Jurassic Park; Schindler's List; Harry Potter]
*Lalo Schifrin* (1932), Argentinian [Mission: Impossible; Cool Hand Luke; Dirty Harry; Enter the Dragon]
*Harrison Birtwistle* (1934), English [The Mask of Orpheus, Silbury Air]
*Chen Gang* (1935), Chinese [Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto (collaboration with He Zhanhao)]
*Arvo Pärt* (1935), Estonian [Tabula Rasa; Fratres; Summa; Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Briten; Spiegel im Spiegel; Für Alina; Symphony No. 3]
*Terry Riley* (1935), American [In C; Rainbow in the Curved Air]
*Aulis Sallinen* (1935), Finnish [Sunrise Serenade; Some Aspects of Peltoniemi Hintrik's Funeral March The King Went Riding]
*La Monte Young* (1935), American [The Well-Tuned Piano; Trio for Strings; Compositions 1960]
*Steve Reich* (1936), American [Music for 18 Musicians; Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ; Desert Music; Different Trains]
*David Del Tredici* (1937), American [Child Alice; Final Alice]
*Philip Glass* (1937), American [Einstein on the Beach; Akhenaten; Violin Concerto]
*Valentyn Silvestrov *(1937), Ukrainian [Symphony No. 5]
*Howard Blake* (1938), English (The Snowman; Violin Concerto)
*William Bolcom* (1938), American [Songs of Experience; Songs of Innocence; Graceful Ghost]
*Gloria Coates* (1938), American [Music on Open Strings]
*John Corigliano* (1938), American [Symphony No. 1; The Red Violin; Altered States; Pied Piper Fantasy]
*John Harbison* (1938), American [The Great Gatsby; The Flight into Egypt]
*Joan Tower* (1938), American [Sequoia; Fanfare for Uncommon Woman]	
*Leo Brouwer* (1939), Cuban [Ojos brujos; El Decaméron negro; Un dia de Noviembre]
*Ellen Taaffe Zwilich* (1939), American [Flute Concerto]
*Meredith Monk* (1942), American [Dolmen Music; Turtle Dreams; Volcano Songs]
*Gavin Bryars*(1943), English [Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet; Doctor Ox's Experiment]
*Brian Ferneyhough *(1943), English [Etudes Transcendantales]
*Morten Lauridsen *(1943), American [O Magnum Mysterium]
*Joseph Schwantner* (1943), American [Aftertones of Infinity; A Sudden Rainbow; ]
*Vangelis *(1943), Greek [Chariots of Fire; Bladerunner; Missing; Antarctica; 1492; Alexander]
*Péter Eötvös* (1944), Hungarian [Love and Other Demons; Three Sisters; Chinese Opera]
*Michael Nyman* (1944) English [The Piano; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat]
*John Rutter* (1945), English [Shepherd's Pipe Carol; Requiem]
*Howard Shore* (1946), Canadian [The Lord of the Rings; The Hobbit]
*Pēteris Vasks* (1946), Latvian [Lonely Angel; Musica Dolorosa; Musica Serena; Distant Light]
*Nicola Piovani* (1946), Italian [Life Is Beautiful; The Night of the Shooting Stars; Kaos ]
*John Adams* (1947), American [Nixon in China; Shaker Loops, Short Ride in a Fast Machine; Harmonielehre; Grand Pianola Music; Dr. Atomic]
*Philippe Sarde* (1948), French [Barocco; The Judge and the Assassin; The Tenant; Tess; Quest for Fire]
*Kevin Volans* (1949), South African [The White Man Sleeps; Hunting Gathering]
*Libby Larsen* (1950), American [Marimba Concerto]
*Arturo Márquez *(1950), Mexican [Danzón No. 2; La Conga del Fuego Nuevo]
*Joe Hisaishi *(1950), Japanese [Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind; Princess Mononoke; Spirited Away]
*Alan Silvestri* (1950), American [Back to the Future trilogy; Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]
*Wolfgang Rihm* (1952), German [Time Chant; Die Eroberung von Mexico]
*Kaija Saariaho* (1952), Finnish [L'amour de loin; Adriana Mater; La Passion de Simone]	
*Ryuichi Sakamoto* (1952), Japanese [Last Emperor; Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence; Forbidden Colours]
*John Luther Adams* (1953), American [Arctic Dreams; Become Ocean; Become Desert; Become River]
*Georg Friedrich Haas* [1953] Austrian [Double Concerto for accordion &, viola; Violin Concerto]
*Takashi Yoshimatsu* (1953), Japanese [Symphony No. 2]	
*Danny Elfman* (1953), American [Batman; Spider Man; Edward Scissorhands; Dick Tracy; Simpsons]
*Michael Daugherty* [1954], American [Metropolis Symphony; UFO; Niagra Falls]
*Jan Sandström* (1954), Swedish [Motorbike Concerto; Es ist ein Ros entsprungen; Rekviem]
*Toshio Hosokawa* (1955), Japanese [Vision of Lear, Circulating Ocean, Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima]
*Bright Sheng* (1955), Chinese [The Silver River]
*Nikita Koshkin* (1956), Russian [Usher Waltz; The Prince's Toys]
*Richard Danielpour* (1956), American [Margaret Garner]
*Tan Dun* (1957), Chinese [Water Concerto; Hero; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]
*Hans Zimmer* (1957), German [Lion King; Gladiator; Dark Knight; Inception; Pirates of Caribbean]
*Magnus Lindberg* (1958), Finnish [Kraft; Clarinet Concerto]
*Esa-Pekka Salonen* (1958), Finnish [LA Variations; Insomnia]
*James MacMillan* (1959), Scottish [Sacrifice; Veni veni Emmanuel; Confession of Isobel Gowdie]
*Erkki-Sven Tüür* (1959), Estonian [Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto; Searching for Roots]
*George Benjamin* (1960), English [Ringed by Flat Horizon; Octet; At First Light; Sudden Time; Antara]
*Aaron Jay Kernis* (1960), American [Musica Instrumentalis, Lament and Prayer; The Colored Field]
*Mark-Anthony Turnage* (1960), English [Dispelling Fears; Night Dances; Your Rockaby]
*Osvaldo Golijov* (1960) Argentinian [Youth Without Youth; Tetro; Ainadamar; St. Mark Passion]
*Unsuk Chin* (1961), Korean [Alice in Wonderland; Violin Concerto; Fantasie mécanique; Cantatrix Sopranica]
*Lowell Liebermann *(1961), American [Gargoyles; Flute Sonata; Piano Sonata No. 3]
*Michael Torke *(1961), American ["Vanada"; Javelin; Rapture; Ecstatic Orange]	
*Alexandre Desplat* (1961), French [Shape of Water; Grand Budapest Hotel; The Queen; King's Speech]
*Jennifer Higdon *(1962), American [blue cathedral; Percussion Concerto; Violin Concerto]
*Christopher Theofanidis* (1967), American [Rainbow Body; Viola Concerto; Visions & Miracles]
*Michael Giacchino *(1967), American [ The Incredibles; Ratatouille; Super 8; Rogue One]
*Roxanna Panufnik* (1968), English [Westminster Mass; Prayer]
*Fazıl Say *(1970), Turkish [Ballad No. 3; Istanbul Symphony; 1001 Nights in the Harem]
*Eric Whitacre* (1970), American [Cloudburst; Lux Aurumque; Water Night]
*Thomas Adès* (1971), English [Powder Her Face; Asyla; Traced Overhead; The Tempest; Violin Concerto]


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

*Adolphus Hailstork* (American, born 1941) and *Vivian Fung* (Canadian, born 1975) are two of my favorite living composers who didn't make your list. Hailstork's music is tonal and very listenable, with occasional shades of Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland (what American composer who is tonal, DOESN'T sound a bit like Aaron Copland?). Hailstork's sound is very robust and vibrant and his _American Port of Call_ is a great American masterpiece. Vivian Fung is a generation younger than Hailstork, and Fung is more eclectic borrowing from various cultures and styles. Though I only have one CD of Fung's music, I've also heard many of Fung's works on YouTube; and while Fung's music is challenging at times, it is also interesting if given an even chance.















To answer your question, or one of your questions, I think that of living composers, Philip Glass will probably go down as the most innovative and important of our times. His minimalist style, revolutionized classical music in many ways. I remember that back in the 1980s, critics and snobs called Glass a flash in the pan, a passing fad; and now he is practically the Grand Old Man of American Music. Glass' Symphony #11 is a real barn-burner.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

You know, I've heard of Hailstork. So that's a good one to add.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Ilhan Usmanbaş is actually a very good composer in addition to being a centenarian but he is basically unknown even in his home-country, so it's probably wise to cut him out if this is a list of the 'best-known' composers. I would suggest Heinz Holliger and Helmut Lachenmann to the list. York Höller and Akira Nishimura are personal favourites but I'm not sure of their popularity.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

The youngest name on this list is over 50?


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> The youngest name on this list is over 50?


Well, the list cut off at 1981, and I had not heard of any of the composers from 1972 to 1981, so none listed. They exist, obviously. Christophe Bertrand was listed as born 1981, but he had already died. 

I will give you what WAS listed if you are interested:

Yoshino Aoki (1971), Japanese 
Richard Causton (1971), English 
Carlo Forlivesi (1971), Italian [Requiem]
Michael Hersch (1971), American [Symphony No. 1; Fracta; Arraché]
Klaus Lang (1971), Austrian 
Paweł Mykietyn (1971), Polish	
Takatomi Nobunaga (1971), Japanese [String Quartet]
Guto Puw (1971), Welsh 
Tomomi Adachi (1972), Japanese 
Natasha Barrett (1972), British
Hiba Kawas (1972), Lebanese 
Bappa Mazumder (1972), Bangladeshi 
Kevin Puts (1972), American 
André Ristic (1972), Canadian 
Lera Auerbach (1973), Russian 
Fred Jonny Berg (1973), Norwegian 
J. Ryan Garber (1973), American	[Parabolisms; Resonances]
Nihad Hrustanbegovic (1973), Bosnian-Dutch [Stork suite; Sevdah Medieval Rhapsody]
Mindia Khitarishvili (1973), Georgian 
Andrew March (1973), English [Marine - à travers les arbres]
Jörg Widmann (1973), German [Fantasie for Solo Clarinet; First String Quartet]
Kristoffer Zegers (1973), Dutch 
Ehesuma (1974), Chinese 
Derek Charke (1974), Canadian [Past Winters Solstice, for piano trio]
Julian Cochran (1974), English-born Australian 
Sophie Viney (1974), English [Music of the Spheres]
Tim Benjamin (1975), Anglo-French 
Avner Dorman (1975), Israeli 
Bongani Ndodana-Breen (1975), South African 
Olesya Rostovskaya (1975), Russian [Concert for oboe]
Đuro Živković (1975), Serbian-Swedish 
Ali Ahmadifar (1976), Iranian 
Pritom Ahmed (1976), Bangladeshi 
Svitlana Azarova (1976), Ukrainian-Dutch	[Diagram for 5 cellos]
Tomi Räisänen (1976), Finnish [A Walk Through the Fields of Symmetry]
Frederik Magle (1977), Danish [Concerto for organ and orchestra]
Wu Fei(1977), Chinese 
Daniel Hensel(1978), German 
Jimmy López (1978), Peruvian [Arco de luz]
Tarik O'Regan (1978), British-American 
Mehdi Hosseini (1979), Iranian


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I've heard of most of them.

And since most of my favorite classical music is post 1950, I like quite a few of them. 

These are my favorite off the list:

Thea Musgrave
Per Nørgård
Harrison Birtwistle
Joan Tower
Brian Ferneyhough
Joseph Schwantner
Kaija Saariaho
Magnus Lindberg
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Unsuk Chin
Michael Torke
Thomas Adès

I would add:

Augusta Read Thomas (1964)
Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (1935)
James Dillon (1950)
Olga Neuwirth (1969)
Thomas Larcher (1963)
Anthony Davis (1951) he kind of straddles the line between contemporary classical, and progressive forms of jazz


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Simon Moon said:


> I've heard of most of them.
> 
> And since most of my favorite classical music is post 1950, I like quite a few of them.
> 
> ...


I think I saw Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann on Wikipedia. I don't recall seeing the others. My knowledge of this period is quite limited, so this is educational for me. I think I remember liking the Per Nørgård Symphony No. 3. I've mostly liked the Jennifer Higdon and Lowell Lieberman I've heard, but haven't heard a lot of the rest.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Where's Aho, Abrahamsen, Steen-Andersen, and Adriana Holszky?


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Pascal Dusapin (1955)
Juan María Solare (1966)
Michel van der Aa (1970)
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977)
Daníel Bjarnason (1979)
Kenneth Fuchs (1956)
Missy Mazzoli (1980)
Nico Muhly (1981)
Caroline Shaw (1982)


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

A few more:

Gilbert Amy
Georges Aperghis
Philippe Manoury
Tristan Murail
Salvatore Sciarrino


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

starthrower said:


> Where's Aho, Abrahamsen, Steen-Andersen, and Adriana Holszky?


Aho was listed on Wikipedia and I have heard of him, if only for completing some of the works of Sibelius. I should have put him on there.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Aho
Abrahamsen
Murail
Shaw
Muhly
Dusapin
Steen-Andersen

Are all better known than anyone on the younger half of the list.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

starthrower said:


> Aho
> Abrahamsen
> Murail
> Shaw
> ...


Well, I didn't want to say anything mean about the "youngsters"... but, the bottom half of the list is pretty weak even without those guys.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Hans Abrahamsen (1952) definitely belongs on your list if only because he won the 2016 Grawemeyer Award for the orchestral song cycle 'let me tell you' which has been performed by many major orchestras (LSO, BRSO, Berlin Phil, Cleveland, CBSO ...).


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

christomacin said:


> Well, I didn't want to say anything mean about the "youngsters"... but, the bottom half of the list is pretty weak even without those guys.


We're not talking about quality here, just notoriety. Hopefully some of the younger composers will make their mark on the world.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

starthrower said:


> We're not talking about quality here, just notoriety. Hopefully some of the younger composers will make their mark on the world.


Well, they're past 50 so they'd better get cracking.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Natasha Barrett (1972)
Beatriz Ferreyra (1937)
Francois Bayle (1932)
William Basinski (1958)
Paul Moravec (1957)
Krzysztof Meyer (1943)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

christomacin said:


> Well, the list cut off at 1981, and I had not heard of any of the composers from 1972 to 1981, so none listed. They exist, obviously. Christophe Bertrand was listed as born 1981, but he had already died.
> 
> I will give you what WAS listed if you are interested:
> 
> ...


I've bolded the ones I think are well known enough for this list. If the OP has not heard of them, that is his deficit.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

SanAntone said:


> I've bolded the ones I think are well known enough for this list. If the OP has not heard of them, that is his deficit.


Well, then I think that is the deficit of 99% of the people on this board. How am I supposed to get to know them if no works are recommended to me for most of them? That's on whoever compiled it for Wikipedia.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

christomacin said:


> Well, then I think that is the deficit of 99% of the people on this board. How am I supposed to get to know them if no works are recommended to me for most of them? That's on whoever compiled it for Wikipedia.


All of the composers I've listed are accomplished composers with their works performed by major orchestras or companies.

99% of the people who actively follow new music will know of them and probably heard their music.

What is the purpose of this list?


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

SanAntone said:


> All of the composers I've listed are accomplished composers with their works performed by major orchestras or companies.
> 
> 99% of the people who actively follow new music will know of them and probably heard their music.
> 
> What is the purpose of this list?


And yet, 99% of even Classical listeners have still never heard of them. Quite frankly, few outside of our bubble have even heard of too many of the 80 I DID list. Not saying I haven't heard of them (I may even rather like some of them), but very few have. So now more people know them. Why would you have a problem with that? Can't you go on Wikipedia and add this information yourself? That is within your power to do, I believe.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

christomacin said:


> And yet, 99% of even Classical listeners have still never heard of them. Quite frankly, few outside of our bubble have even heard of too many of the 80 I DID list. Not saying I haven't heard of them (I may even rather like some of them), but very few have. So now more people know them. Why would you have a problem with that? Can't you go on Wikipedia and add this information yourself? That is within your power to do, I believe.


All of the composers I listed have articles on Wikipedia, and I am not interested in editing a Wikipedia list - I keep my own lists. And I thought this thread was for living composers we like and think will go down in history (whatever that means). The composers I've listed are all ones I like and I do feel their work has garnered significant attention from the Classical music community, otherwise I would not have heard of them myself.

I am not sure what your purpose is, but I have dozens of other composers I could list but if I have to run your gauntlet of ignorant arrogance, it is not worth participating in this thread.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

*William Kraft* (1923)


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> *William Kraft* (1923)


He's another one for the 90 Club.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

The Wikipedia list is generally a good list, but it snubs a bunch of important, known contemporary, living composers: Peteris Vasks being among its most glaring omissions, but also Anders Hillborg, Robin Holloway, Poul Ruders, Alexander Goehr, & Bent Sørensen, among those not already mentioned by others,

--Peteris Vasks (1946):

















--Anders Hillborg (1954):

























--Robin Holloway (1943):








https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN 9228









--Poul Ruders (1949):

















--Bent Sørensen (1958):









--Ivan Moody (1964): Simeron: 




--Alexander Goehr (1932): 




--Harri Vuori (1957):






























Charlotte Bray (1982): 













Colin Matthews (1946): 









David Matthews (1943): 




Yehudi Wyner (1929): 




Dobrinka Tabakova (1980): 









Sadly, Oliver Knussen, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Ib Nørholm, Martin Boykan, Elliott Carter, Alan Stout, Christopher Rouse, & Jouni Kaipainin have all passed on in recent years, while Paavo Heininen passed away just last week.

The Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha is also in the 90s club, having been born in 1926: 



.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Josquin13 said:


> The Wikipedia list is generally a good, comprehensive list, but it snubs a bunch of important, known contemporary, living composers: Peteris Vasks being among its most glaring omissions, but also Anders Hillborg, Robin Holloway, Poul Ruders, Alexander Goehr, & Bent Sørensen, among those not already mentioned by others,
> 
> --Peteris Vasks:
> 
> ...


Peteris Vasks was on there... pretty sure he was. I know he certainly was on the list I compiled. (I made a few additions of my own before posting).


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1930

*David Amram*
*Theo Loevendie*
*John Scott*
*Romuald Twardowski*
*Nancy Van de Vate*


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Sorry, I now see Vasks is on your list. I checked twice before I posted, & somehow missed him both times. It's late...


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Josquin13 said:


> --Alexander Goehr (1932):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mustn't forget our Manchester alumni https://nmc-recordings.myshopify.co...goehr-piano-concerto-symphony-in-one-movement

... and get a load of all the Cerha on Kairos! https://www.kairos-music.com/people/friedrich-cerha


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1933

*Nico Fidenco*
*Quincy Jones*
*Yves Prin*
*Tôn-Thất Tiết*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Alexandra du Bois* (1981)






*Katherine Balch* (1991)






*Chaya Czernowin* (1957)






*Luca Francesconi* (1956)






*Enno Poppe* (1969)






*Rebecca Saunders* (1967)


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1934

*Paul Glass*
*Vinko Globokar*
*Dave Grusin*
*Bernard Rands*
*Gianfranco Reverberi*
*Christian Wolff*


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> 1933
> 
> *Nico Fidenco*
> *Quincy Jones*
> *Tôn-Thất Tiết*


Oh, yes. I certainly know Nico Fidenco. I've seen a lot of Spaghetti Westerns.





and this is hard not to love:


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1935

*Gerald Busby*
*Carlo Martelli*
*Michel Portal*
*Rolf Urs Ringger*
*Bruno Zambrini*


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

christomacin said:


> Frederik Magle (1977), Danish [Concerto for organ and orchestra]


You guys get 3 guesses as to what this composer offers us.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> You guys get 3 guesses as to what this composer offers us.


Still must confess I'd never heard of him until this afternoon.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

It appears that composer/conductor Paul Uyttebrouck (b. 1932 & who goes by Paul Uy) is still with us.

Jón Nordal (b.1926) is still with us as well.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> It appears that composer/conductor Paul Uyttebrouck (b. 1932 & who goes by Paul Uy) is still with us.
> 
> Jón Nordal (b.1926) is still with us as well.


So many people these days living into their 90s.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Sally Beamish (1956) has not been mentioned yet. BIS has recorded a considerable number of her works.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I'm taking a rather limited definition of "best known":

- composers likely to be known at least by name by classical listeners in general
- composers who cross over into classical from film, television, etc.

*Debbie Wiseman* (1963) - Many film scores but also concert hall works, would be among most prominent composers in UK. I've got her score to Wolf Hall, made with the Locrian Ensemble of London.

*Elena Kats-Chernin* (1957) - Many straight classical works (e.g. Wild Swans ballet, also a few piano concertos), some film work. Her Russian Rag is quite popular, judging by the amount of recordings on youtube. Among the most widely known composers from Australia, has worked in Europe a lot.

*Masashi Hamauzu* (1971) & *Nobuo Uematsu* (1959) - contribution to video game music, especially Final Fantasy which in its arranged version (Final Symphony) has been played by orchestras worldwide.



starthrower said:


> Aho
> Abrahamsen
> Murail
> Shaw
> ...


These seem safe bets, plus Lachenmann, Rouders as already mentioned. Probably Cerha too. I didn't realise the man is still with us. A notable composer, and I think he worked on the completion of Lulu.



BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> The youngest name on this list is over 50?





christomacin said:


> Well, I didn't want to say anything mean about the "youngsters"... but, the bottom half of the list is pretty weak even without those guys.





starthrower said:


> We're not talking about quality here, just notoriety. Hopefully some of the younger composers will make their mark on the world.


Maybe when they reach 50? I think of composing as being like architecture. By the time practitioners get serious recognition, they're usually well beyond that age nowadays.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Donnacha Dennehy (1970, Ireland, Gra agus bas, That the night come) deserves a mention as well.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Sid James said:


> Maybe when they reach 50? I think of composing as being like architecture. By the time practitioners get serious recognition, they're usually well beyond that age nowadays.


With everyone and their uncle living to 90+ these days 50 is the new 20 maybe?


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## VoiceFromTheEther (Aug 6, 2021)

Sid James said:


> Maybe when they reach 50? I think of composing as being like architecture. By the time practitioners get serious recognition, they're usually well beyond that age nowadays.


The same goes for Nobel Prizes, now very much a show of retroactive recognition


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Sadly, the Dutch composer, Louis Andriessen, also passed away recently, in July 2021. We've lost a lot of notable contemporary composers in the past five years.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

christomacin said:


> With everyone and their uncle living to 90+ these days 50 is the new 20 maybe?


I don't know about that, but people are definitely living (and working) longer than they did when the retirement age was fixed at 65.



VoiceFromTheEther said:


> The same goes for Nobel Prizes, now very much a show of retroactive recognition


Could be, although I haven't really been paying too much attention.



Josquin13 said:


> Sadly, the Dutch composer, Louis Andriessen, also passed away recently, in July 2021. We've lost a lot of notable contemporary composers in the past five years.


Mikis Theodorakis too, who would probably be eligible for the list, given his work in film and the concert hall. The Sirtaki must be one of the best known tunes from the movies, at least of its period.


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

Coach G said:


> *Adolphus Hailstork* (American, born 1941) and *Vivian Fung* (Canadian, born 1975) are two of my favorite living composers who didn't make your list. Hailstork's music is tonal and very listenable, with occasional shades of Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland (what American composer who is tonal, DOESN'T sound a bit like Aaron Copland?). Hailstork's sound is very robust and vibrant and his _American Port of Call_ is a great American masterpiece. Vivian Fung is a generation younger than Hailstork, and Fung is more eclectic borrowing from various cultures and styles. Though I only have one CD of Fung's music, I've also heard many of Fung's works on YouTube; and while Fung's music is challenging at times, it is also interesting if given an even chance.
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Augustus Hailstork is composer of the week this week on BBC Radio 3: Link He must still be alive because he's chatting to the presenter on the phone!


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