# Favorite works 2010-2019



## Alonso (Feb 1, 2019)

Like many of you, I enjoy both contemporary classical music and making lists, so I was wondering if we could maybe manage to put together a list of great musical works composed very recently, let's say from 2010 onwards. Let me start the thread with some suggestions: 

2010

OPERA

Wolfgang Rihm: Dionysos (2009-10) 

ORCHESTRA

Erkki-Sven Tüür: Symphony No. 8 (2010)

CONCERTOS

Kaija Saariaho: D'Om le Vrai Sens, clarinet concerto (2010) 
Harrison Birtwistle: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2009-10)

ENSEMBLE

Hèctor Parra: Early Life (2010)
Hèctor Parra: Equinox (2010)

CHAMBER MUSIC

Wolfgang Rihm: 11. Streichquartett (1998/2010) 
Brian Ferneyhough: Sixth String Quartet (2010) 
Bent Sørensen: Schattenlinie (2010)
James Dillon: String Quartet No. 6 (2010)

VOCAL SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

Harrison Birtwistle: Angel Fighter (2010)

CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA

Tristan Murail: Les Sept Paroles, for orchestra, chorus and electronics (2010)

2011

OPERA

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Anna Nicole (2011

ORCHESTRA

Per Nørgård: Symphony No. 8 (2011) 
Hèctor Parra: Caressant l’horizon (2011)

CONCERTOS

Rebecca Saunders: Still, violin concerto (2011)

VOCAL SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

Tigran Masurian: Requiem, for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and string orchestra (2011)

CHAMBER MUSIC

Harrison Birtwistle: Trio for violin, violoncello and piano (2011) 
Wolfgang Rihm: 13. Streichquartett (2011)

2012

OPERA

George Benjamin: Written on Skin (2012) 
John Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary (2012) 

ORCHESTRA

Wolfgang Rihm: Symphonie "Nähe fern" (2011-12) 

CONCERTOS

Tristan Murail: Le Désenchantement du Monde, piano concerto (2012) 
Pascal Dusapin: Aufgang, violin concerto (2011-2012) 
John Adams: Absolute Jest (for string quartet and orchestra) (2012) 

ENSEMBLE

Brian Ferneyhough: Liber Scintillarum, for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, cello (2011–12) 

CHAMBER MUSIC

Jürg Frey: String Quartet No. 3 (2012)

2013

ORCHESTRA

Detlev Glanert: Weites Land, 'Musik mit Brahms' for orchestra (2013) 
John Luther Adams: Become Ocean, for orchestra (2013)
Magnus Lindberg: Era (2013)
Detlev Glanert: Frenesia (2013)

CONCERTOS

Unsuk Chin: Cello Concerto (2009/2013) 
John Adams: Saxophone Concerto (2013) 
Magnus Lindberg: Cello Concerto No. 2 (2013)

CHAMBER MUSIC

Bent Sørensen: Rosenbad, for piano quintet (2013) 
Brian Ferneyhough: Schatten aus Wasser und Stein, for quarter-tone oboe and string quartet (2013)

VOCAL SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

Hans Abrahamsen: let me tell you, for soprano and orchestra (2013) 
Thomas Adès: Totentanz (2013) 

CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA

Erkki-Sven Tüür: Ärkamine (Awakening) for mixed choir and orchestra (2013)

2014

CONCERTOS

John Adams: Scheherazade.2, dramatic symphony for violin and orchestra (2014) 
Wolfgang Rihm: Piano Concerto No. 2 (2014) 
Wolfgang Rihm: Sound As Will, for trumpet and ensemble (2011/2014) 
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Dialogue (2014), for violin and cello soloists, strings, percussion, harp and piano
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Maya, for cello & chamber orchestra (2014)
Bent Sørensen: Whispering (2014), for recorder and strings
Wolfgang Rihm: Horn Concerto (2013-14)

ENSEMBLE

Bent Sørensen: Pantomime, for piano and ensemble of strings, winds and percussion (2014)
Brian Ferneyhough: Inconjunctions (2014) 

CHAMBER MUSIC

Jürg Frey: extended circular music no. 1, for violin, viola, violoncello, piano (2014)
Jürg Frey: extended circular music no. 3, for viola and piano (2014)
Jürg Frey: extended circular music no. 5, for three instruments (2014)

2015

ORCHESTRA

Sunleif Rasmussen: Symphony no. 2 - "The Earth Anew" (2015) 
Wolfgang Rihm: Über die Linie VIII (2012-2015)

CONCERTOS

Bent Sørensen: Triple concerto: L'Isola della Citta (2015) 
Wolfgang Rihm: Gedicht des Malers (Poem of the Painter), Concerto for violin and orchestra (2015) 
Jörg Widmann: Viola Concerto (2015)
Wolfgang Rihm: Duo Concerto, for violin, violoncello and orchestra (2015)

ENSEMBLE

Milica Djordjevic: Rdja, for chamber ensemble (2015)

VOCAL SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

George Benjamin: Dream of the Song, for orchestra, countertenor, and female chorus (2015)

2016

ORCHESTRA

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Remembering (2016), for orchestra

VOCAL SOLOIST(S) AND ORCHESTRA

Wolfgang Rihm: Reminiszenz (2016) 

2017

ORCHESTRA

Harrison Birtwistle: Deep Time (2017) 

CONCERTOS

Pascal Dusapin: Outscape, cello concerto (2017) 

ENSEMBLE

Brian Ferneyhough: Umbrations, The Tye Cycle, for ensemble and string quartet (2002-17)

CHAMBER MUSIC

John Luther Adams: Everything That Rises (2017) for string quartet


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

I've been keeping an ongoing list of contemporary pieces that I like, just in case I get a chance to share them, like in this thread here. As a caveat, I haven't really listened to any works composed since 2016 mainly because of the lag time between composition date and recording.

Here's my shortlist of favorites, with bolded pieces being among my favorites of any era:

*Haas: limited approximations (2010)*
*Murail: Les Sept Paroles (2009-10)*
Saariaho: D'Om le Vrai Sens (2010)
Haas: String Quartet No. 7 (2011)
*Moran: Trinity Requiem (2011)*
Shaw: Partita for 8 Voices (2012)
*Abrahamsen: let me tell you (2012-13)*
*Adams, JL: Become Ocean (2013)*
Ablinger: points & views (2014)
Wolfe: Anthracite Fields (2014)
MacMillan: Stabat Mater (2015)
Neuwirth: Le Encantadas (2014-15)*
Gubaidulina: Triple Concerto (2016)

*have only heard excerpts, but they are very promising

I can later post my longer, less-exclusive list of recent pieces that I like.


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## Alonso (Feb 1, 2019)

Thanks Trout! I haven't listened to some of those pieces, although I do know most of them. Among the ones I know, I especially like the work by Abrahamsen. Moran is a composer I have never heard of, so I am quite intrigued!

Here are some other pieces that came to mind:

Detlev Glanert
Requiem für Jheronimus Bosch (2016)

Anders Hillborg
Cold Heat (2010)
Beast Sampler (2014)
Sirens for two sopranos, mixed choir and orchestra (2011)

Bent Sorensen
Mignon (2014)

Luke Bedford
Wonderful Four-Headed Nightingale (2013)


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## Alonso (Feb 1, 2019)

Also:

Johannes Kalitzke
Story Teller, for cello and orchestra (2015/2016)

Jorg Widmann
Once upon a time..., five pieces in fairy-tale style for clarinet, viola and piano (2015)

Gavin Bryars
The Fifth Century (2014)

Harrison Birtwistle
Gigue Machine, for piano (2011)


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Call my list Trout's + the following works:

Richter: _Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons_ (2012)
Perich: _Surface Image_ (2013)
Gibson: _The Four Pillars Appearing from The Equal D under Resonating Apparitions of The Eternal Process in The Midwinter Starfield_ (2014)
Haas: _Concerto Grosso No. 1_ (2014)
Richter: _Sleep_ (2015)


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## Alonso (Feb 1, 2019)

More:

Tõnu Kõrvits 
Moorland Elegies (2015)

Toivo Tulev
Magnificat (2013)

Sergey Akhunov
In Schubert's company, for viola & strings (2012)


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## Alonso (Feb 1, 2019)

Speaking of minimalists:

Steve Reich
WTC 9/11 for string quartet and tape (2010)
Quartet for two vibraphones and two pianos (2013)
Pulse for winds, strings, piano and electric bass (2015)

Philip Glass
String Quartet No. 6 (2013)
String Quartet No. 7 (2014)

David Lang
Death Speaks (2011) 

Arvo Pärt
La Sindone (2005/2015)


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

Alonso said:


> Thanks Trout! I haven't listened to some of those pieces, although I do know most of them. Among the ones I know, I especially like the work by Abrahamsen. Moran is a composer I have never heard of, so I am quite intrigued!


There is an exquisiteness to Moran's music that I really love. His _Trinity Requiem_ honors the 10th anniversary of 9/11, in a way that channels the quieter requiems of Faure and Durufle. The choral writing throughout is somber and beautiful, but the non-choral Offertory is what really puts the work over-the-top for me, even if a large part of the effect was completely serendipitous as the composer has claimed.





I need to hear more of his music, but there are a couple other choral works that I admire. The first part of his delicate _Chant du Cygne_ (1990) is quite Cage-ian before transitioning to a beautiful series of suspended harmonies:





Some of his more recent choral works are a bit more conservative, but no less sublime, like his _Seven Sounds Unseen_ (2006):


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Haven't heard much Moran, so this will keep me busy. Thanks!

Skempton is another name that keeps popping up which I want to explore...


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Alonso said:


> Sergey Akhunov
> In Schubert's company, for viola & strings (2012)


Sergey Akhunov is one of my favorite contemporary composers. His works are in the tradition of romanticism, but every piece sounds fresh and new. Last year, an excellent double-disc album Victor Hugo's Blank Page was released, which compiles his recent chamber works.

SOTTO VOCE (2016) for percussion, piano and string quartet


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Portamento said:


> Call my list Trout's + the following works:
> 
> Richter: _Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons_ (2012)
> Perich: _Surface Image_ (2013)
> ...


That work of Gibson is extraordinary. I listened to an impressive work of another Young's pupil, Michael Harrison's Harmonic Constellations (2016) for violin, pre-recorded violins and sine tones, which explores just intonation harmonies. (BTW, I recently got a copy of Young's The Well Tuned Piano DVD, have been listening to the incredible work in better sound, finally.) I love Richter's Sleep a lot. Perich is very interesting.

Other memorable works from the last decade I liked:
Wolfgang von Schweinitz: Plainsound Counterpoint (2010) for double bass
Scott Worthington: Even the Light Itself Falls (2012) for clarinet, percussion, and double bass
Daniel Lentz: Pacific Coast Highway (2014) for three pianos 



Michael Byron: the ultra violet of many parallel paths (2016) for two pianos https://michaelbyron.bandcamp.com/album/the-ultra-violet-of-many-parallel-paths
Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (2017) https://firehouse12records.com/album/pillars
Scott Worthington: Orbit (2018) http://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/orbit


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

Excellent thread!


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

Here is my longer list of pieces I like. There are many TC members I would like to thank (including some here in this thread!) for introducing many of these composers and pieces to me. 

Adamek: String Quartet No. 2 "Lo que no' contamo'" (2010)
Adams, JL: Four Thousand Holes (2010)
Akhunov: Big Elegy to John Cage (2010)
Bryars: Piano Concerto "The Solway Canal" (2010)
Haas: limited approximations (2010)
Lerdahl: String Quartet No. 3 (2008-10)
Manoury: Tensio (2010)
Murail: Les Sept Paroles (2009-10) 
Norman: The Companion Guide to Rome (2010)
Posadas: Del reflejo de la sombra (2010)
Reich: WTC 9/11 (2009-10)
Robin: Vulcano (2010)
Saariaho: D'Om le Vrai Sens (2010)
Steen-Andersen: Double Up (2010)
Stroppa: Let me Sing into your Ear (2010)

Adams, JL: The Wind in High Places (2011)
Anderson: The Discovery of Heaven (2011)
Dusapin: Aufgang (2008-11)
Glass: Partita for Solo Violin (2010-11)
Haas: String Quartet No. 7 (2011)
Karkowski & Furudate: World as Will IV (2011)
Moran: Trinity Requiem (2011)
Murail: Le désenchantement du monde (2011)
Schweinitz: Plainsound Counterpoint (2010-11)

Abrahamsen: String Quartet No. 4 (2012)
Mazzoli: Song from the Uproar (2012)
Richter: Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons (2012)
Schafer: String Quartet No. 12 (2012)
Shaw: Partita for 8 Voices (2012)

Abrahamsen: let me tell you (2012-13)
Adams, JL: Become Ocean (2013)
Billone: Sgorgo Y. N. Oo (2013)
Byron: In the Village of Hope (2013)
Cerha: Nacht (2012-13)
Fujikura: Sparking Orbit (2013)
Norman: Play (2013; 2016)
Posadas: Kerguelen (2013)

Ablinger: points & views (2014)
Chin: Clarinet Concerto (2014)
Hillborg: Beast Sampler (2014)
Murail: Un Sogno (2014)
Steen-Andersen: Piano Concerto (2014)
Wolfe: Anthracite Fields (2014)

Abrahamsen: Left, alone (2015)
MacMillan: Stabat Mater (2015)
Neuwirth: Le Encantadas (2014-15)
Richter: Sleep (2015)
Sørensen: Triple Concerto "L'Isola della Citta" (2015)

Chin: Le Chant des Enfants des Étoiles (2015-16)
Gubaidulina: Triple Concerto (2016)
Haas: String Quartet No. 9 (2016)
Haas: Trombone Concerto (2016)
Ramnath: Amrit (2016)
Saunders: Skin (2015-16)


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I don't know why but I am not a great fan of listening to substantial works on YouTube so I often only hear works when they have been selected for a commercial recording. Also, I see much in the lists above that are by minimalist composers and I am not a great fan of the various minimalist approaches. So given all that I can forgive myself for only having heard a few of the works listed so far:

Dusapin: Aufgang (2008-11)
Abrahamsen: String Quartet No. 4 (2012) and Let Me Tell You (2012-13)
Haas: Trombone Concerto (2016)
Saunders: Skin (2015-16)

All impressive.

There are some listed so far that I will definitely search out and that I am interested to hear about. But there are so many works by the same composers - Murail, Saariaho, Hillborg, Neuwirth - that are earlier and that I have yet to listen to. So much good music is produced these days!

I do wonder whether the intention in the OP is to say that something significantly different has happened in the last ten years or is it just a (very worthwhile) desire to celebrate recent arrivals?

A composer I could add to the list is the Canadian, Linda Catlin Smith:

Cantilena (2013); Piano Quintet (2014); Drifter (2009); Ricercar (2015) and Far From Shore (2010).

All are on this album


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2019)

hello alonso, your thread is absolutely great and although you do not get massive responses i guess you will quality responses which is what matters; being a murail fan i was surprised to see the seven words, which is a great work and had not heard it before (because it is only available on YT); there is a great interview with murail, in french unfortunately, wherein he explains he explains the work and his agnosticism; i also immensely enjoyed gibson's four pillars; i am of course a fan of la monte young and gibson is a great example which shows how you can further develop musical concepts; my concern with tc in general and with ccm in particular is that we do not develop and communicate our knowledge or knowledge from other sources that explain the content or the musical characteristics of the works we mention; basically it ends up in name-dropping which is helpful because we are encouraged to listen;
but it is really not sufficient if we want to make ccm legendary on tc; so plse let me know what you think


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

I have the 1st set of the Canadian composers series from Another Timbre (5 CDs). Linda Catlin Smith's music was a great finding to me. Her works are quiet and sparse, in which I think there may be Feldman's influence, but they are more sensuous and serene. The solo piano album Thought and Desire, played by Eve Egoyan, is another excellent collection of her compositions.

The other disc from the Canadian series I particularly like is Harmony, just intonation chamber works of Marc Sabat composed in 2008-2012. Jack Quartet beautifully plays the slow moving, strangely melancholic music.








Euler Lattice Spirals Scenery (2011)
Claudius Ptolemy (2008)
Jean Philippe Rameau (2012)


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2019)

hi alonso, 
i think we have common ground; i do not understand why you do not answer my posts;i have been listening to xenakis since 1964; i love gibson's four pillars and many other contemporary pieces; my major interest in life is contemporary classical music; i have probably the biggest collection of ccm on the planet which includes stockhausen licht, klang, all recorded music by xenakis, scelsi, gf.haas, etc; i also have two sound engineers who work on improving the sounds of recorded music; my collection includes 200 contemporary composers; each month i add one; i recognise a similar interest in favourite composers; yes i have all the pieces you have recommended from 2010 onwards; all of them are great, but i could list many other compositions;


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

tortkis said:


> I have the 1st set of the Canadian composers series from Another Timbre (5 CDs). Linda Catlin Smith's music was a great finding to me. Her works are quiet and sparse, in which I think there may be Feldman's influence, but they are more sensuous and serene. The solo piano album Thought and Desire, played by Eve Egoyan, is another excellent collection of her compositions.
> 
> The other disc from the Canadian series I particularly like is Harmony, just intonation chamber works of Marc Sabat composed in 2008-2012. Jack Quartet beautifully plays the slow moving, strangely melancholic music.
> 
> ...


I was eyeing that set some time ago. Thanks for the reminder!


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Now we're talking! Great thread.

This is why I joined TalkClassical. To discover new contemporary composers. Not to read the negativity toward contemporary music that tends to infiltrate most threads on contemporary music. 

There has already been plenty posted that I am not familiar with. Plenty to listen to later.

Here are a few of mine:

Erkki-Sven Tüür: Symphony No. 8 (2010)
Brian Ferneyhough: Sixth String Quartet (2010)
Magnus Lindberg: Cello Concerto No. 2 (2013)
Magnus Lindberg: Aventures (2013)
Kalevi Aho: Violin Concerto No. 2 (2015)
Augusta Read Thomas: EOS (Goddess of the Dawn), A Ballet for Orchestra (2015)
Augusta Read Thomas: Cello Concerto No. 3 – Legend of the Phoenix (2012)
Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (2012)
Andrew Norman: Switch (2015)
Thomas Adès: Polaris (2010)
Thomas Ades: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2018)

This is a partial list. I might post more later.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

I'd like to suggest Jennifer Higdon's Viola Concerto (2015). I'd love to recommend her Violin Concerto as well but it was composed a year or so before 2010.


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## PeterFromLA (Jul 22, 2011)

Not sure how I missed this thread. Will study the posts when I get a chance and respond with any works that haven't been mentioned that ought to have been. p.


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