Greatest living composer? Including 'recently' deceased!

[Beef Oven!]

Some if us already do.



(And it ain't Ades.)

[Beef Oven!]

I would suggest Wolfgang Rihm.

I kinda did, already.

[MrGongGong]

I listened to Ades' opera The Tempest recently - and was surprised to (quite) enjoy it.

The whole enterprise comes perilously close to being sunk, though, by its dreadful libretto.

Can't think of another work that shares that characteristic ? term


And anyway the answer to the question is obviously

Trevor Wishart, Alvin Lucier, Hidergard Westerkamp, Eliane Radigue, George Crumb, La Monte Young, Salvatore Sciarrino, Pauline Oliveros, Ryoji Ikeda and and and and Bucks Fizz

[Beef Oven!]

I listened to Ades' opera The Tempest recently - and was surprised to (quite) enjoy it.

The whole enterprise comes perilously close to being sunk, though, by its dreadful libretto.

I like this work too, but the libretto is not full of dread - I disagree .

[Black Swan]

Your post is interesting. I personally like Ades work very much.

[Mary Chambers]

I listened to Ades' opera The Tempest recently - and was surprised to (quite) enjoy it.

The whole enterprise comes perilously close to being sunk, though, by its dreadful libretto.

Totally agree about the libretto.

[Mary Chambers]

Some if us already do.

Some sort of special insight? How clever. I don't think I have that

[VodkaDilc]

I suppose Boulez is the obvious choice - though his music is not to my taste.

Until 1971 it was an easy question, but there's been no single towering figure like Stravinsky since then.

[Lat-Literal]

Can't think of another work that shares that characteristic ? term


And anyway the answer to the question is obviously

Trevor Wishart, Alvin Lucier, Hidergard Westerkamp, Eliane Radigue, George Crumb, La Monte Young, Salvatore Sciarrino, Pauline Oliveros, Ryoji Ikeda and and and and Bucks Fizz

I would probably want to use the word good rather than great but time will tell.

Birtwistle has to be on the list. I have an early association with Gordon Crosse so would want to mention him. Rautavaara. Elsa Marie Pade is now 90. Oliveros. Part. Morricone. Glass. Reich/Adams/Riley. Ferneyhough. Berkeley. Alberga. LMY. Turnage. Nyman. There must be many more good ones but these are my initial thoughts on a Monday morning.

I do like what I have heard of Penderecki. I need to learn more about Boulez and Ades.

And what I will do is take this thread as a cue for my next few posts on Latin America!

[DracoM]

Certainly go with Rautavaara. Maybe add Fagerlund?

[Lat-Literal]

Certainly go with Rautavaara. Maybe add Fagerlund?

Well, that's interesting because in attempting to separate out the sheep and the goats - not that I dislike any that I have mentioned but I may well have a personal preference for some who would not be genuine contenders for the ultimate accolade - I was going to tentatively suggest that Rautavaara and Birtwistle were among the few serious challengers to Penderecki. And then I would probably agree to Penderecki all the same. I don't have the knowledge to comment on Fagerlund but will find it interesting to follow up on that one.

A further thought is Maxwell Davies and if we are going to include the recently deceased a la Carter then it might be worth bearing in mind that Henri Dutilleux died in May 2013.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Until 1971 it was an easy question, but there's been no single towering figure like Stravinsky since then.

Really, Voddy? What is it about Jurg Frey's work that stops you from thinking that it isn't the work of a "towering figure"?

I don't know who is the greatest living composer as I haven't heard them all - the joy of Huddersfield is that it presents the Music of so many towering Musical imaginations that are otherwise generally ignored in das land öhne much interest in Musik. For myself, there are many composers living today whose work I find as valuable, inspirational, awe-inspiring and exciting as (almost) any from previous eras - to give some names (and avoiding current contributors to the Forum):

Boulez (I often miss him out, he is so obviously a "classic" for me that I find it difficult to believe that others still doubt its validity); Birtwistle; Lachenmann; Wolff; Ferneyhough; Sciarrino; Barrett; Billone; Lang; Rebecca Saunders; James Saunders*; Cassidy; Schubert ... and literally dozens of others who have either written individual works that I find remarkably powerful or whose work I don't know beyond a couple of pieces - I'm eager to hear more Frey and Ullmann at this year's Festival (only four more weeks to go!) as well as those who I'd not even heard of before.

The variety and quality of Music being produced today is something we should be shouting from the rooftops - it demonstrates that, in spite of what we've done to each other over the centuries, we're still here as a species, still exploring and creating, still VALID.



(* - Composers James and Rebecca Saunders are not related, although James is married to Soprano Rebecca, which led to an interesting few seconds when (composer) Rebecca telephoned James, and (soprano) Rebecca answered the 'phone. "Hello, I'm Rebecca Saunders"! - Spartacus in miniature!)

[vinteuil]

... and noone has yet mentioned Ludovico Einaudi - or Eric Whitacre, or Karl Jenkins...

[Lat-Literal]

... and noone has yet mentioned Ludovico Einaudi - or Eric Whitacre, or Karl Jenkins...

Yes.

Eric and Einaudi rippled in my waves but I thought that I had better not in this instance!

...........ditto Tavener minus an "R", 1944-2013.

As for Tony Biggin.............!

Mind you, I still want to hear A Sussex Overture in full - my best bet remains Eine.

Here is that commercial radio style edit yet again..........genuinely luvverly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQYq2-8z3l8

[ahinton]

... and noone has yet mentioned Ludovico Einaudi - or Eric Whitacre, or Karl Jenkins...

They hadn't until you just did!...

Bearing in mind #27, is Karl Jenkins related to his compatriot the other K Jenkins, one wonders?...