Pick of the Decade

[CallMePaul]

There is an interesting article on Anna Thorvaldsdottir in this month's Gramophone, so I will be interested to hear some of her music. Some of the choices seem rather predictable even if there are a few names that I do not know - I had not heard of Cassandra Miller until earlier this morning, for example,.

May I take the liberty of making my own selection? This would be: -
Tonu Korvits (b 1969) - Moorland Elegies (2015). This year sees his 50th birthday on 9 April, so it would be great to hear more of this leading Estonian composer's varied musical output. Moorland Elegies is a setting for women's voices and strings of 9 poems of Emily Brontë, set in the original English. I am not aware of any British performances but it would be a good choice for an experienced women's choir.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxc_BqhWd8w

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Pick of the Decade

Apologies for the scrappy Thread title - I wanted to make a clear differentiation with the H&N, "New Year, New Music Thread". Following from CallMePaul's nomination of Korvits' Moorland Elegies as a work written in the last ten years that has particularly earned his admiration, this Thread is open to all Forumistas. No need to confine yourself to just one - but perhaps keep lists to no longer than ten nominations.

Surely we can do better than the offerings of the Beeb presenters?

[Lat-Literal]

How about Symphony 'Humen 1839' co-written by Zhou Long and Chen Yi?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's difficult for me to narrow down to just ten pieces by ten different composers - there is so much Musical activity and creativity around that inspires me with optimism. I'll go for pieces written since 2009 that have stunned me with their power, lyricism, eloquence, liveliness, impudence, and drama - that reveal new (to me) sonorities and new ways of showing what Music might be - whose composers show a deep engagement with the Art Forms that are collectively called, regarding them as serious and essential manifestations of human thoughts and aspirations - and (in the case of some of the more familiar names) a willingness to keep exploring; to avoid being content to keep churning out the same sort of stuff that brought them to attention in the first place.

So

Ferneyhough: Sixth Quartet (2010)
Sciarrino: Carnaval (2012)
Barrett: Close-Up (2013-16)
Saunders: Yes (2018)
Birtwistle: Deep Time (2016)
Frey: Grizzana (2009)
Cassidy: The wreck of former boundaries (2016)
Languillat: Flagellation du Christ (2016)
Harrison: Vessels (2012)
Smith: Cantelina (2013)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

How about Symphony 'Humen 1839' co-written by Zhou Long and Chen Yi?

It's from 2009, so it "fits"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1Ivo405lM

[Lat-Literal]

It's difficult for me to narrow down to just ten pieces by ten different composers - there is so much Musical activity and creativity around that inspires me with optimism. I'll go for pieces written since 2009 that have stunned me with their power, lyricism, eloquence, liveliness, impudence, and drama - that reveal new (to me) sonorities and new ways of showing what Music might be - whose composers show a deep engagement with the Art Forms that are collectively called, regarding them as serious and essential manifestations of human thoughts and aspirations - and (in the case of some of the more familiar names) a willingness to keep exploring; to avoid being content to keep churning out the same sort of stuff that brought them to attention in the first place.

So

Ferneyhough: Sixth Quartet (2010)
Sciarrino: Carnaval (2012)
Barrett: Close-Up (2013-16)
Saunders: Yes (2018)
Birtwistle: Deep Time (2016)
Frey: Grizzana (2009)
Cassidy: The wreck of former boundaries (2016)
Languillat: Flagellation du Christ (2016)
Harrison: Vessels (2012)
Smith: Cantelina (2013)

Oh - I thought it was just symphonies which are a bit of a rare breed these days.

This provides more scope!

Widely regarded as one of Chinas leading composers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Zhou Long writes music that is consistently compelling. The Rhyme of Taigu revives the spirit of Chinese court music from the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), drawing on traditional percussion instruments. Symphony Humen 1839, co-composed with Chen Yi, vividly commemorates the public burning of over 1000 tonnes of opium, an event that was to lead to the First Opium War between Great Britain and China. All three works, written in the first decade of the 21st c., receive here their world premiere recordings. Conducting the New Zealand Symphony is the young, fast rising Singapore-born, Russian and American trained Darrell Ang, who has gained widespread attention for his compelling podium authority and authoritative readings of the core symphonic repertoire especially the great masterpieces by French and Russian composers, in addition to being one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary Asian symphonic music.......………..https://www.amazon.com/Zhou-Long-Che.../dp/B00V872ICM

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Oh - I thought it was just symphonies which are a bit of a rare breed these days.

Ah, no - that was the unintended hybrid offshoot from the (unrelated) "Ten Symphonies" Thread.

This provides more scope!

Go on, Lats; Let yersel' go!

[Richard Barrett]

I'll have to give this some careful thought and I'm sure I'll come up with a few more, but to set the ball rolling here are some that spring to mind:

John Croft (b 1971), ...che notturno canta insonne (2015) for orchestra - actually, several of Croft's works might find their way into my list.
Steven Kazuo Takasugi (b 1960), Sideshow (2015), a music-theatre piece for ensemble and electronics, maybe somewhat in the tradition of Kagel but that's no bad thing in my book
Eliane Radigue (b 1932), Occam Ocean (ongoing cycle) for various instruments
Mark R Taylor (b 1961), Aftermaths (2014) for solo piano - just released on a new CD from another timbre, played by Teodora Stepančić
Enno Poppe (b 1969), Speicher (2013) for large ensemble
George Lewis (b 1952), Memex (2014) for orchestra
Georges Lentz (b 1965), Caeli enarrant..., an enormous cycle of works for different forces, begin at the end of the 1990s and almost complete

More to follow...

edit: just noticed fg's post - we have no composers in common - excellent!

[Joseph K]

I need to write down some of these names and works and check them out...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

edit: just noticed fg's post - we have no composers in common - excellent!

[teamsaint]

I need to write down some of these names and works and check them out...

I’d suggest that if we find any links on Youtube, Spotty, etc, we share them on here.

Enno Poppe . Speicher,

is available on Apple Music and Spotify.

And some of the Georges Lentz works will be in the Naxos Library.

Bryn Harrison. Vessels.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f5bnLAXyKos

[Lat-Literal]

Ah, no - that was the unintended hybrid offshoot from the (unrelated) "Ten Symphonies" Thread.


Go on, Lats; Let yersel' go!

You are not going to find my first of two groups of selections at all groovy.

Andrew York - Letting Go (geddit!)

plus

Roxanna Panufnik - Celestial Bird (including Nunc Dimittis)
Errollyn Wallen - Principia (performed at the London Paralympics)
Peter Sculthorpe - Thoughts of Home (from the now completed Gallipoli Symphony)
Samuel Jones - New Concerto for Violin
Elena Kats-Chernin - Unsent Love Letters : Meditations on Erik Satie

Osvaldo Golijov - Sidereus (yes, I know, but I like it)
John Corigliano - Conjurer : Concerto for Percussionist and String Orchestra
Dobrinka Tabakova - Dyptich for Organ (although I like String Paths even more)
Michael Berkeley - Tango!
Will Todd - The Call of Wisdom (for the Diamond Jubilee)

Mason Bates - Mothership (so ludicrously over the top it is beyond parody)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFh7LAFel4w

…..and Vladimir Godar's "Matar" needs mentioning even though it is just outside the time period.

Among others, we sadly lost Elsa Marie Pade and Halim El-Dabh but I doubt there were new compositions from them.

I must try to do better in my next post.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

You are not going to find my first of two groups of selections at all groovy.
...
I must try to do better in my next post.

I think that only writing posts that Forumistas will think will please me will set dangerous and unwelcome new precedents for the Forum, Lats.

[Lat-Literal]

I think that only writing posts that Forumistas will think will please me will set dangerous and unwelcome new precedents for the Forum, Lats.

That is very good to hear.

My second group is likely to be starting with the remarkable (return of) Gordon Crosse about whom we might well find agreement.

If so, it will be in this post which will be developed slowly in the coming hours.

As here:

Gordon Crosse - Orkney Dreaming
Elliott Carter - Epigrams
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Missa a Cappella
Kristoffer Zegers - Pianophasing II and III
Octavio Vazquez - Gaude
David Del Tredici - Bullycide
Bongani Ndodana-Breen - Winnie The Opera
John Zorn - The Urmuz Epigrams
Harrison Birtwistle - Angel Fighter
Michael Finnissy - John The Baptist

[Serial_Apologist]

Helen Grime: Near Midnight, for Orchestra (2013)