# Good 19th/20th Century composers to check out?



## HarmonKard (Dec 14, 2022)

Hi

Recently discovering the likes of Shostakovich (or is it Schostakowitsch?) and Holst, I wonder if there are other composers from that era (late 19th Century, early 20th Century) who are worth checking out? I like Beethoven, Mozart a LOT, and some others from that era too, but Holst and Shos seem to be more modern, and more in line with what I like to write. Looking for a suggestion or two... thanks!


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## Double Helix (Dec 14, 2022)

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy immediately come to mind
Igor Stravinsky moves more into Modernism, but _The Firebird_ bridges the gap
Edward Elgar worth a listen, as well


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 14, 2022)

There is so much to be discovered!
You may try some lesser known masters such as
Bohuslav Martinu
Edmund Rubbra
Jonathan Leshnoff
Josef Suk
Joseph Marx
Egon Wellesz
… I can add a hundred more names of worthwile composers to check out…


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## Rudianos (Dec 14, 2022)

Prokofiev is great. Love is violin concertos amongst many others that have made it into infamy.

Jean Sibelius also has a very special style Finlandia, start there.

Modern film scoring borrows so much from Holst and Tchaikovsky. Aaron Copland.


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## soundofmaw (Dec 14, 2022)

Check out Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine (late 20th century), Ralph Vaughan Wiiliams’ Sinfonia Antartica, and also the symphonies of Nikolai Myaskovsky. Samuel Barber’s music is also great.


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## Sombreuil (Dec 14, 2022)

_The Rite of Spring _by Igor Stravinsky might be the most influential piece of the last century, so definitely worth listening to.
Also, if you love symphonies, I'd say Gustav Mahler is the obvious choice.


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## borisb2 (Dec 14, 2022)

Debussy La Mer .. another masterpiece that had some impact


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## Double Helix (Dec 15, 2022)

soundofmaw said:


> Aaron Copland’s *Appalachian Spring*, Rachmaninoff’s *Symphonic Dances*. . .


^^ these, for sure ^^



*A couple of years ago I upgraded the stereo in my Macan; when I picked it up, I had with me a _Symphonic Dances_ CD (Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw Orchestra)
It's a workout for *any* audio system


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## polynaeus (Dec 15, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> Hi
> 
> Recently discovering the likes of Shostakovich (or is it Schostakowitsch?) and Holst, I wonder if there are other composers from that era (late 19th Century, early 20th Century) who are worth checking out? I like Beethoven, Mozart a LOT, and some others from that era too, but Holst and Shos seem to be more modern, and more in line with what I like to write. Looking for a suggestion or two... thanks!


Teletone does a series on their YouTube channel called Muse videos where they go into the behind the scenes of their instruments and this one, Vespertone, covers a few artists from that time period and the War of the Romantics that was a fun watch that you may find interesting while on your discovery to composers of that time period and how they can influence art in modernity…


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## proggermusic (Dec 15, 2022)

Some wonderful suggestions already! I look forward to reading more, I hope this thread goes on forever.

My favorite orchestral composer, far and away, is Maurice Ravel, to the point where it can be hard for me to branch out and explore orchestral music by others. My runners-up are Stravinsky and Debussy, both of whom I love, but there's something about Ravel's work that hits me like nobody else in that field.

In a quest to branch out, I recently started listening to more works by Edward Grieg and Gabriel Faure, and I really enjoy both of them as well. Grieg seems hugely underrated, aside from Peer Gynt, and his piano concerto is really phenomenal, probably my favorite after Ravel's.

If anyone has suggestions for a guy who can't get enough of Ravel but also enjoys Debussy, Stravinsky, Grieg, and (later) Faure, please throw them out there!


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## JimDiGritz (Dec 15, 2022)

I was going to add Mahler and Grieg but was beaten to the punch.

If you want some really massive symphonic stuff from that period I've just discovered Anton Bruckner...


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## youngpokie (Dec 15, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> Grieg seems hugely underrated, aside from Peer Gynt, and his piano concerto is really phenomenal


If you like Grieg piano concerto, I would love to know what you think of Saint-Saëns piano concerto #3…


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 15, 2022)

You may really enjoy the music of Henri Dutilleux, if not now then eventually. He is sort of the next generation of Debussy and Ravel.

To add a couple other suggestions, Richard Strauss (my favorite work from him might be his opera Salome), and Jean Sibelius' symphonic work named Kullervo. But there's so much, it's like asking "do you know a good ocean i can go swimming in?" lol


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## re-peat (Dec 15, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> If anyone has suggestions for a guy who can't get enough of Ravel but also enjoys Debussy, Stravinsky (...), please throw them out there!



If you like orchestral Ravel, Progger, it’d be a big surprise to me if you didn’t fall for *Manuel de Falla*. Particularly his “El Sombrero de Tres Picos” and from that work the amazing “Danza Final” which *you can listen to in its entirety via this link*. (The work includes more famous dances than this Danza Final — the “Danza de la Molinera (Fandango)” and the “Danza de la Molinero (Farruca)”, to name just two — but to me the orgastic “Danza Final” is unquestionably the musical high-point of the whole piece.

The reason I post the link is because I only know of two good performances (and only one good recording) of this work — I have five different versions myself, and I’ve listened to all the ones on YouTube as well, all of which are either so-and-so, plain bad or completely awful, in my opinion — and it would be a real-real-real shame to start listening to this magnificent piece of music in a version that doesn’t do it full justice.

The two versions that, in my opinion, do justice to the genius of de Falla’s writing are (1) an old one by Igor Markevitch with the Orchestra of the Opéra de Paris (still available in the “Markevitch - The Philips Legacy” box-set), given its age not surprisingly in less than stellar sound, and (2) the one I linked to above, which is much more recent (2008) and very well recorded: Antoni Ros Marbà conducting the Real Filharmonia de Galicia. The tempi in this wonderful version are judged to glorious perfection, I find. Released on Claves Records.

_


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## Snarf (Dec 15, 2022)

Here is a completely arbitrary selection of better and lesser known pieces and composers:












^ Especially the Romanza (mov 3).















[Continued in next post]


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## Snarf (Dec 15, 2022)

[Continued from last post]


























And just for fun:

https://youtu.be/xRG6aSrNsvY



I have a playlist with at least 500 more score videos, if you need more recommendations 🙃


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## wst3 (Dec 15, 2022)

Let's see... my favorites are probably Barber and Copland - can't explain it, just is. But I'd be lost without (in no specific order) Sibelius, Debussey, Dvorzak Ravel, Holst, Satie, Mahler, Vaughn Williams, and wait - can we include folks like Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, and their contemporaries?

Just too much good music to listen to it all!


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## wsimpson (Dec 15, 2022)

Sombreuil said:


> _The Rite of Spring _by Igor Stravinsky might be the most influential piece of the last century, so definitely worth listening to.
> Also, if you love symphonies, I'd say Gustav Mahler is the obvious choice.


Mahler 1 is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard.


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## HarmonKard (Dec 15, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> I can add a hundred more names of worthwile composers to check out…








.....



Thanks all!

Yeah, not a fan of The Rite of Spring, nor Copeland (esp A. Spring), nor Claire De Lune, and Symphonic Dances, and the like. All very mediocre in my book. Unlike, Beethoven's 5th, 9th, Mozart's 40th and 41st, Bruckner's Symphony No. 0, and so on. But hey, personal preference, right? 

But I like many of the suggestions, and will check them out!

Thanks again.


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## JohnS (Dec 15, 2022)

Wagner, Mahler, Strauss (Richard), Bartók, Szymanowski...
Oh man, huge hole to dig...
And once your musical language expands, prepare to come back and appreciate the ones now judged as 'mediocre'. 😀


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## Great Zed (Dec 15, 2022)




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## Snarf (Dec 16, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> Yeah, not a fan of The Rite of Spring, nor Copeland (esp A. Spring), nor Claire De Lune, and Symphonic Dances, and the like. All very mediocre in my book. Unlike, Beethoven's 5th, 9th, Mozart's 40th and 41st, Bruckner's Symphony No. 0, and so on. But hey, personal preference, right?


"Mediocre", seriously? And then listing two of the most overplayed composers (who write in completely different idioms) plus what is generally considered Brucker's worst symphony? You are tripping, my man!


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## mikrokosmiko (Dec 16, 2022)

If you like shostakovich, definitely check some colleagues as Prokofiev (romeo y Julieta, scythian suite, the piano concertos...) and Kachaturian (violín concerto, piano concerto, Spartacus...). Stravinsky has a very different vibe


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## JohnS (Dec 16, 2022)

mikrokosmiko said:


> If you like shostakovich, definitely check some colleagues as Prokofiev (romeo y Julieta, scythian suite, the piano concertos...) and Kachaturian (violín concerto, piano concerto, Spartacus...).


+Weinberg, starting from Cello Concerto.


+Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker)


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## youngpokie (Dec 16, 2022)

JohnS said:


> +Weinberg


Weinberg is quite incredible. For some reason I always think his music is how Shostakovich (his friend) would write if he wanted to be a little more melodic.


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## JohnS (Dec 16, 2022)

youngpokie said:


> Weinberg is quite incredible. For some reason I always think his music is how Shostakovich (his friend) would write if he wanted to be a little more melodic.


Yeah, they both definitely had quite a significant impact on one another, competing but still remaining distinct. And I agree that Weinberg's melodies can be haunting.


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## HarmonKard (Dec 16, 2022)

Snarf said:


> "Mediocre", seriously? And then listing two of the most overplayed composers (who write in completely different idioms) plus what is generally considered Brucker's worst symphony? You are tripping, my man!



Yes, I am serious. You are entitled to think that The Rite of Spring, A. Spring, Claire De Lune, and Symphonic Dances are all time great peices of music, and that they are fantastic and worthy of all of the attention they have garnered. But I am entitled to disagree with that, and if you don't understand this all boils down to personal preference, it ain't me who is tripping.


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## Great Zed (Dec 16, 2022)

Speaking of "one man's shit is another man's treasure", I really love Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony. Apparently, it was so harshly panned that it sent Rachmaninoff into a depressive spiral, and he went several years without writing anything. His second symphony is also amazing, but it was better received.


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## tc9000 (Dec 16, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> Some wonderful suggestions already! I look forward to reading more, I hope this thread goes on forever.
> 
> My favorite orchestral composer, far and away, is Maurice Ravel, to the point where it can be hard for me to branch out and explore orchestral music by others. My runners-up are Stravinsky and Debussy, both of whom I love, but there's something about Ravel's work that hits me like nobody else in that field.
> 
> ...


I came here to post Ravel, but you were wayyy ahead of me . I'm a little bit obsessed with the first movement from Gaspard de la nuit. So tense and cinematic somehow...


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## tc9000 (Dec 16, 2022)

So many great posts here - great thread!


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## Ambrose Luxor (Dec 16, 2022)

Satie, Scriabin, Gershwin, Ligeti, Marcus Roberts

The first time I heard one of Shostakovich's symphonies (probably the 4th, 5th, or 6th) it somehow sounded sarcastic to me. If that was intended, it probably had something to do with composing during Stalin's reign of terror.

I love Prokofiev's 5th, especially as conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

I also love Marcus Roberts' "Nebuchadnezzar" on _Deep in the Shed_.

Some composers might not be to one's taste, but can still be appreciated for their innovations and expansions of the language of music -- some of which we might take for granted now.


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 16, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> Yes, I am serious. You are entitled to think that The Rite of Spring, A. Spring, Claire De Lune, and Symphonic Dances are all time great peices of music, and that they are fantastic and worthy of all of the attention they have garnered. But I am entitled to disagree with that, and if you don't understand this all boils down to personal preference, it ain't me who is tripping.


The thing is, you're asking for suggestions and then you're essentially shitting on the suggestions that people have taken the time to share with you. Instead of having the humility to say the music isn't for you or you don't understand it, you call it "mediocre" - which is more of a display of ignorance than personal preference.


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## HarmonKard (Dec 17, 2022)

MusicIstheBest said:


> The thing is, you're asking for suggestions and then you're essentially shitting on the suggestions that people have taken the time to share with you.


What????

Oh c'mon. Look how many suggestions there have been - I have commented on what - 4... and you say I am "shitting on the suggestions"? That's bullshit.

What - I have to like everything that is posted here? It's wrong to dislike something, and say so?

I am not shitting on anything. _"This piece of music is mediocre" _is not shitting on anything. It's voicing my opinion, is all. There is nothing wrong with that - same thing as someone saying, "_I disagree this is mediocre - I think it's awesome_."


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## HarmonKard (Dec 17, 2022)

Anyway - thank you very much for all of the suggestions. I am in the process of checking some out, but there is a lot here (good!). so it will take me a while. And yes, some of this stuff is not my cup of tea, but that's cool - not everything is for everybody. But I do appreciate the time!


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## Dewdman42 (Dec 17, 2022)

I really got into Vaughn Williams


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## zolhof (Dec 17, 2022)

Great Zed said:


> Speaking of "one man's shit is another man's treasure", I really love Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony. Apparently, it was so harshly panned that it sent Rachmaninoff into a depressive spiral, and he went several years without writing anything. His second symphony is also amazing, but it was better received.


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## proggermusic (Dec 17, 2022)

This thread has reminded me that I haven't checked out nearly enough Prokofiev, I'll fix that in coming weeks. I think I'll like him a lot.

Yesterday I spent a few hours revisiting Mahler for the first time in a long time – had a gig an hour and a half away, so I was able to get through all of his first and second symphonies and part of the third. Some really good stuff in there.


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## JohnS (Dec 17, 2022)

Let's not forget about marvelous Sir Arnold Bax (don't miss the interview with conductor in the last ten tracks under this link)


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## Henu (Dec 17, 2022)

All the Russians from that period, really. You can't go wrong with those peeps. Except for Shostakovich, I can't get anything out of his music for some reason. Prokovjef and R-K are astonishing.


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## JohnS (Dec 17, 2022)

And another Brit, Sir Malcolm Arnold


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## The Gost (Dec 17, 2022)

In addition to those already mentioned there is also Olivier Messiaen for me his pieces for piano for example Huit _préludes for piano or Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus are the sequel to Claude Debussy, the organ pieces are also fantastic ...... and of course also Arvo Pärt ._


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## Electric Lion (Dec 17, 2022)

My favourites from the 20th century would be guys like 

Mahler
Strauss
Debussy
Ravel
Holst
Stravinsky (Firebird era, he gets too weird for me by the end)

I also appreciate composers like Penderecki and Ligeti for their effects, although I wouldn't say I really "listen" to them regularly.

I also like Big Band stuff like Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller

Then in the second half of the century we get rock music and guys like John Williams. 

All in all a good century


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 17, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> What????
> 
> Oh c'mon. Look how many suggestions there have been - I have commented on what - 4... and you say I am "shitting on the suggestions"? That's bullshit.
> 
> ...


Saying _you_ dislike something is personal preference/opinion. But stating the music _is_ mediocre is making a value judgment for everyone else including the people who enjoy it. Especially in a thread you started asking for suggestions assumingly because you want to learn more, and then you want to be the authority on the quality of the music. Good way of discouraging others from posting and wanting to help.


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## ed buller (Dec 17, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> Hi
> 
> Recently discovering the likes of Shostakovich (or is it Schostakowitsch?) and Holst, I wonder if there are other composers from that era (late 19th Century, early 20th Century) who are worth checking out? I like Beethoven, Mozart a LOT, and some others from that era too, but Holst and Shos seem to be more modern, and more in line with what I like to write. Looking for a suggestion or two... thanks!


so I am thinking that you like a firm sense of tonality . In which case i'd explore 19th century composers rather than 20th.

Bruckner, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak, Verdi, Mendelssohn, Liszt ( might be too spicy ) Strauss (r), Sibelius, Saint-Saens, Rimsky Korsakov ( try him !!!! )



Berlioz, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, De Falla, Mussorgsky ,

Oh..Smetna !




And ARAM !!!



Best

ed


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## HarmonKard (Dec 17, 2022)

MusicIstheBest said:


> Saying _you_ dislike something is personal preference/opinion. But stating the music _is_ mediocre is making a value judgment for everyone else including the people who enjoy i


No - that's still stating an opinion. I apologize if I insulted you. Now please, let's move on.

As stated, there is a TON of stuff out there to digest. So, far I have listened to Ed's second two pieces (I will get to that in a sec), and as per @Wunderhorn 's post, have listened to:

Josef Suk - Symphony No. 2
Egon Wellesz Symphony 5

Both are really good.

Will keep digging, thanks again!


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## HarmonKard (Dec 17, 2022)

ed buller said:


> so I am thinking that you like a firm sense of tonality . In which case i'd explore 19th century composers rather than 20th.
> 
> Bruckner, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak, Verdi, Mendelssohn, Liszt ( might be too spicy ) Strauss (r), Sibelius, Saint-Saens, Rimsky Korsakov ( try him !!!! )
> 
> ...



re: "firm sense of tonality" - I guess so. Oddly enough, the second two pieces you posted I am not fond of. And I do know Scheherzade. Thank you for your efforts tho!


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## patrick76 (Dec 17, 2022)

Wozzek - Berg
4’33. Cage
Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima - Penderecki
Pierrot Lunaire - Shoenberg
Symphony No. 3 - Lutoslawski
Rebonds - Xenakis
Ioniaation - Varese
Party in the USA - Cyrus (Miley)


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 17, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> No - that's still stating an opinion. I apologize if I insulted you. Now please, let's move on.


It's your tone. If you ask for help and guidance, be gracious when you get it.


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## kgdrum (Dec 17, 2022)

❤️ Alban Berg & Bela Bartok ❤️


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## Jish (Dec 17, 2022)

Good ol' Tchaikovsky (who could _absolutely give a fuk!_ about most of his contemporaries best efforts) seemed to really take to appreciating composer Joachim Raff. The compliments though somewhat back-handed in nature and perhaps even unintentionally funny showed that he thought Raff was an example of a composer with limited 'natural talent' who succeeded greatly as a composer regardless, through what he felt was a technical mastery in itself. 

It's somehow interesting to note that he was also one of Bernard Herrmann's favorite composer's, as well.


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## syrinx (Dec 18, 2022)

Here's some Swedes:
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Hugo Alfvén
Allan Pettersson
Lars-Erik Larsson
Hilding Rosenberg
Karl-Birger Blomdahl
Ingvar Lidholm
Sven-Erik Bäck
Gunnar Bucht


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## youngpokie (Dec 18, 2022)

Jish said:


> composer Joachim Raff


I'm glad I read your post - really like this Symphony and never heard of it (or Raff) before. Thanks


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## Rowy van Hest (Dec 18, 2022)

youngpokie said:


> If you like Grieg piano concerto, I would love to know what you think of Saint-Saëns piano concerto #3…


Or Scriabin's.


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## Living Fossil (Dec 18, 2022)

mikrokosmiko said:


> If you like shostakovich, definitely check some colleagues as Prokofiev (romeo y Julieta, scythian suite, the piano concertos...) and Kachaturian (violín concerto, piano concerto, Spartacus...). Stravinsky has a very different vibe


A propops "Prokofiev" and "Piano Concertos":

Since I'm I child, i loved his fifth concert.
Great sense of humour.

(p.s. I already posted this piece yesterday, but deleted the post after I got the message that the youtube video can't be embedded. Today I found a version that's anyways better...)


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## confusedsheep (Dec 18, 2022)

was alan hovhaness already mentioned?

Alan Hovhaness Wikipedia


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## proggermusic (Dec 18, 2022)

Well, gang, I'd like to officially thank this thread for spurring me to actually properly check out Prokofiev... and I feel like a dumb-dumb because I had no idea his symphonies were THAT heavy. Holy crap. I'm loving them. What a complete badass he was. He could stretch tonality to its limits while still making everything FEEL so effective and powerful. His second symphony must have sounded like death metal in its day. (I mean that in a very good way.) Many thanks for bringing him up, everyone!


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## mikrokosmiko (Dec 18, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> A propops "Prokofiev" and "Piano Concertos":
> 
> Since I'm I child, i loved his fifth concert.
> Great sense of humour.
> ...



I like the most the 2nd one, it’s so “raw”… that development without the orchestra has always impressed me… but the 5th one is incredible, I would have never realised that it’s for the left hand alone if i wouldn’t have seen it live.


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## Living Fossil (Dec 18, 2022)

mikrokosmiko said:


> I like the most the 2nd one, it’s so “raw”… that development without the orchestra has always impressed me… but the 5th one is incredible, I would have never realised that it’s for the left hand alone if i wouldn’t have seen it live.


The 4th is for the left hand alone

(The 5th is incredibly tough even for two hands...  )


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## mikrokosmiko (Dec 18, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> The 4th is for the left hand alone
> 
> (The 5th is incredibly tough even for two hands...  )


Oh yes! Sorry 😅 in fact, I have never connected with the fifth, although I tend to think that it is the more prokofievish of all of them


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## mikrokosmiko (Dec 18, 2022)

By the way, another composer that you should check if you are into extreme dissonance but also neoclassical is Mosolov, for example his Iron foundry:


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## Roger Newton (Dec 18, 2022)

George Butterworth and Gerald Finzi.


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## nolotrippen (Dec 18, 2022)

Henu said:


> All the Russians from that period, really. You can't go wrong with those peeps. Except for Shostakovich, I can't get anything out of his music for some reason. Prokovjef and R-K are astonishing.


Try the Gladfly Suite (here's an excerpt):


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## Henu (Dec 18, 2022)

Well now this is _much_ more of my liking- thanks for the recommendation!


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## HarmonKard (Dec 19, 2022)

MusicIstheBest said:


> It's your tone. If you ask for help and guidance, be gracious when you get it.



My tone? You know nothing of my tone by reading words off a page. I have been gracious. 

That's enough. Let's move on.


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## HarmonKard (Dec 19, 2022)

Thanks again all!

Prokofiev - heard of him, but never heard him. At least not that I know of.

Just checked out "Battle On The Ice" - right up my alley.


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## Henu (Dec 19, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> "Battle On The Ice"


That's a bit unfair for poor Sergei, it's prolly his best piece ever by a mile...heck, it's pretty much the best piece _ever._ :D


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 19, 2022)

HarmonKard said:


> My tone? You know nothing of my tone by reading words off a page. I have been gracious.
> 
> That's enough. Let's move on.


That's right, so be more careful with your words on the page so as to avoid a possible misunderstanding. Yes, move on.


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## MusicIstheBest (Dec 19, 2022)

Great Zed said:


> Speaking of "one man's shit is another man's treasure", I really love Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony. Apparently, it was so harshly panned that it sent Rachmaninoff into a depressive spiral, and he went several years without writing anything. His second symphony is also amazing, but it was better received.



I listened to this again (thanks to your post) after not having heard it in a long while. I knew that James Horner "borrowed" that recurring opening motif as his own signature in many scores, but realized here that the flavor of this whole symphony is all over his earlier work, especially Krull. Fun stuff.


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## Great Zed (Dec 19, 2022)

I'm not familiar with Horner's work at all, so I never picked up on that. I will have to go check it out.


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## LatinXCombo (Dec 19, 2022)

patrick76 said:


> 4’33. Cage


As soon as Aaron releases _Infinite Nihilism_, I am going to do grab it and mock up an awesome cover of this classic tune. 

Dismayed that the OP doesn't like Aaron Copland. In addition to _Appalachian Spring, I've always enjoyed_ _El Salon Mexico _and _Third Symphony_.

Wildcard: Wynton Marsalis, _Violin Concerto_ (2019). If you're just trying different stuff, why not?


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## Luminous Muse (Dec 28, 2022)

My favorite from the 20th Century is Edward Elgar - I'm a melody man and to me he's got the greatest since Mozart and Bach. Many despise "Pomp and Circumstance" (maybe too many graduations with lousy renditions.) The Enigma Variations are classics - also his cello concerto.


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## goldbug (Dec 29, 2022)

The OP (and others) may want to check out this playlist I curate on Spotify:

Orchestral Composition Through the Ages

It's an overview of the development of orchestral music from 1607 (Monteverdi) up to 2014 (Andrew Norman). There are currently 92 composers represented, with one piece or movement from each, all arranged in chronological order of composition. It's designed principally as a means of broadening composers' orchestral pallette, but I think it works pretty well as an intro to the very individual voices of all these composers too. And focusing as it does on orchestral music, the 19th and early 20th Centuries are especially well-represented.


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## mikeh-375 (Dec 29, 2022)

Not much love for Britten so I'll chip in. The man was one of the most gifted musicians in the 20thC. He could, according to Imogen Holst, rattle off around 12 pages of full score a day and only occasionally go to the piano and check his inner ear. Also recognised as one of the finest pianists of his generation by fellow pianists as well as being a respected conductor.

His orchestration is a masterclass in restraint that yields maximum impact and his composing has given us undisputed masterpieces in his operas and works like the 'War Requiem' and the 'Spring Symphony'.
Here's the 7/4 Dies Irae, extracted from the Requiem in all its terrifying drama. This is from Britten's own recording which became a best seller, it gives the Verdi Dies Irae a run for its money imo...


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## planetqwerty (Dec 29, 2022)

Alongside the better-known composers listed so far, it's been fun to dip a toe into the works of some I've not encountered before, eg William Grant Still (thanks to Snarf for the introduction), Joachim Raff (thanks Jish), Alan Hovhaness (likewise confusedsheep). Hearing these 'new' works is like discovering a neglected treasure.

A couple of composers' works I'd like to share here for the adventurous, both of them a wonder of inventive orchestration: one from Charles Koechlin's symphonic poem 'The Jungle Book' and then Qigang Chen's Iris dévoilée (be brave!)


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## Kit Mills (Dec 29, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> This thread has reminded me that I haven't checked out nearly enough Prokofiev, I'll fix that in coming weeks. I think I'll like him a lot.
> 
> Yesterday I spent a few hours revisiting Mahler for the first time in a long time – had a gig an hour and a half away, so I was able to get through all of his first and second symphonies and part of the third. Some really good stuff in there.


I heartily recommend Prokofiev's first Violin Concerto (1916) - lots of beauty, fascinating textures, and fine violin writing, from earlier in his output. You can find a score here at IMSLP (Note to anyone in the EU - this copy is not public domain there).


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## flatcat (Dec 29, 2022)

Really enjoying this thread. I have a subscription music service which has a Classical radio station that I sometimes turn on, and I always save things that really catch my ear, then kind-of review them to see what they are and who composed them. If you haven't tried that, maybe that's a way for you to explore more.

It turns out the things that have most caught my ear over the past while were Prokoffiev, with whom I was not really familiar - such fantastic stuff - a lot of very early music, like Palestrina, Thomas Tallis, that type of thing; and then some American composers I had never heard of. Amy Beach, in particular, really struck me as great and seemingly not well known. I liked the Gaelic Symphony and a couple of the piano concertos. 

I would also add that for me, on some just purely emotional connection level, Vaughn Williams is just it. Years ago, I'd have the local classical radio station on and something would catch my ear and I would just ... stop and listen, and it always turned out to be Vaughn Williams. The Oboe Concerto is really beautiful. The "hits" are great - I mean, come on, The Lark Ascending, Thomas Tallis, just ... man. Overall, his music reaches me in ways that many other composers don't, it just ... speaks to me on some ur level. Obviously your mileage may vary. I hope you find artists whose work strikes you in that way.


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## Kit Mills (Dec 30, 2022)

flatcat said:


> I would also add that for me, on some just purely emotional connection level, Vaughn Williams is just it. Years ago, I'd have the local classical radio station on and something would catch my ear and I would just ... stop and listen, and it always turned out to be Vaughn Williams. The Oboe Concerto is really beautiful. The "hits" are great - I mean, come on, The Lark Ascending, Thomas Tallis, just ... man. Overall, his music reaches me in ways that many other composers don't, it just ... speaks to me on some ur level. Obviously your mileage may vary. I hope you find artists whose work strikes you in that way.


I'm with you all the way on Vaughan Williams! The good news is that if you love his music, it will take you a _really long time_ to explore it all, plus his output ranges across just about every conceivable "Classical" genre. 

I strongly recommend getting acquainted with his symphonies (#3 "Pastoral" and #5 are my clear favorites, but I enjoy them all). Also investigate Flos Campi, the Serenade to Music, Job, Hodie (a rollicking Christmas Cantata with orchestra), The Pilgrim's Progress (his "Magnum Opus" opera setting of Bunyan's classic allegory). The Tuba Concerto is fun, as is the Fantasy for Harmonica... 

I always marvel at the amount and variety of music he wrote in his last decade -- just such an immensely productive and ever-curious composer all the way up until his death at 85.


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## mikeh-375 (Dec 30, 2022)

Kit Mills said:


> I'm with you all the way on Vaughan Williams! The good news is that if you love his music, it will take you a _really long time_ to explore it all, plus his output ranges across just about every conceivable "Classical" genre.
> 
> I strongly recommend getting acquainted with his symphonies (#3 "Pastoral" and #5 are my clear favorites, but I enjoy them all). Also investigate Flos Campi, the Serenade to Music, Job, Hodie (a rollicking Christmas Cantata with orchestra), The Pilgrim's Progress (his "Magnum Opus" opera setting of Bunyan's classic allegory). The Tuba Concerto is fun, as is the Fantasy for Harmonica...
> 
> I always marvel at the amount and variety of music he wrote in his last decade -- just such an immensely productive and ever-curious composer all the way up until his death at 85.


..nice to see some love for VW's 3rd. I'm a big fan of the expansive 'Sea Symphony' too. The slow mvt. of the 5th is an absolute killer.


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## dcoscina (Dec 30, 2022)




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## OstrovskyiComposer (Dec 31, 2022)

planetqwerty said:


> Alongside the better-known composers listed so far, it's been fun to dip a toe into the works of some I've not encountered before, eg William Grant Still (thanks to Snarf for the introduction), Joachim Raff (thanks Jish), Alan Hovhaness (likewise confusedsheep). Hearing these 'new' works is like discovering a neglected treasure.
> 
> A couple of composers' works I'd like to share here for the adventurous, both of them a wonder of inventive orchestration: one from Charles Koechlin's symphonic poem 'The Jungle Book' and then Qigang Chen's Iris dévoilée (be brave!)



Thank you! Once, about 15 years ago, this work (Qigang Chen - Iris dévoilée) made a huge impression on me, and now I can see the score.
And in turn, since there was a request for the 20th century, I would like to offer an alternative list regarding contemporary academic music of the second half of the 20th and possibly the beginning of the 21st century. Most likely it will not be close to the user who started this topic, but still, maybe someone will be interested in getting to know such authors as: Toshio Hosokawa, Salvatore Sciarrino, George Crumb, Rebecca Saunders, Giacinto Scelsi, Kaija Saariaho...
​



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46XhO3h8Qc&t=27s&ab_channel=MikeKlimczak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTo92bQIreU&ab_channel=AndreaPestalozza-Topic


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