Rolling Classical 2020

Ah, OK, I haven't read that 1953 piece.

Fuck adorno tbh

wrong

anyway ... xenakis listening thread ?

I’m still up for it.

List of works from Oxford Music Online (somehow I didn't know or remember that Kraanerg was written for the opening of the NAC and was premiered here!):

Orchestral:
Anastenaria: le sacrifice, orch (51 insts), 1953, sketch
Metastaseis, 1953–4; SWF SO, cond. H. Rosbaud, Donaueschingen, 16 Oct 1955
Pithoprakta, 1955–6; Bavarian RSO, cond. H. Scherchen, Munich, 8 March 1957
Achorripsis, 21 insts, 1956–7; Colón cond. Scherchen, Buenos Aires, 20 July 1958
Duel, 2 small orchs, 1959; Radio Hilversum PO, cond. D. Masson and F. Terby, Hilversum, 18 Oct 1971
Syrmos, 12 vn, 3 vc, 3 db, 1959; Ensemble Instrumental de Musique Contemporaine, cond. Simonović, Paris, 20 May 1969
Stratégie, 2 small orchs, 1959–62; Venice Festival Orchestra, cond. B. Maderna and C. Simonović, 25 April 1963
ST/48, 48 insts, 1959–62; Orchestre Philharmonique de l’ORTF, cond. L. Foss, Paris, 21 Oct 1968
Akrata, 16 wind, 1964–5; cond. Simonović, Paris, 1965
Terretektorh, 1966; Orchestre Philharmonique de l’ORTF, cond. Scherchen, Royan, 3 April 1966
Polytope, 4 orch groups, 1967; Ensemble Instrumental de Musique Contemporaine, cond. Simonović, Montreal, Expo 67, 1967
Nomos gamma, 1967–8; Orchestre Philharmonique de l’ORTF, cond. C. Bruck, Royan, 4 April 1969
Kraanerg (ballet), orch, tape, 1968; Ottawa, June 1969
Synaphaï, pf, orch, 1969; Pludermacher, cond. M. Tabachnik, Royan, 6 April 1971
Antikhthon (ballet), 1971; cond. Tabachnik, Bonn, Festival Xenakis, 21 Sept 1974
Eridanos, 8 brass, str orch, 1973; Ensemble Européen de Musique Contemporaine cond. Tabachnik, La Rochelle, 13 April 1973
Erikhthon, pf, orch, 1974; C. Helffer, Orchestre de l’ORTF, cond. Tabachnik, Paris, 21 May 1974
Noomena, 1974; Orchestre de Paris, cond. G. Solti, Paris, 16 Oct 1974
Empreintes, 1975; Netherlands Radio PO, cond. Tabachnik, La Rochelle, 29 June 1975
Jonchaies, 1977; Orchestre National de France, cond. Tabachnik, Paris, 21 Dec 1977
Aïs, amp Bar, perc, orch, 1980; S. Sakkas, Gualda, Bavarian RSO, cond. Tabachnik, Munich, 13 Feb 1981
Pour les baleines, str, 1982; Orchestre Colonne, cond. D. Masson, Orléans, 2 Dec 1983
Lichens, 1983; Liège PO, cond. Bartholomée, Liège 16 April 1984
Shaar, str, 1983; Jerusalem Sinfonietta, cond. J.- P. Izquierdo, Tel Aviv, 3 Feb 1983
Alax, 3 ens of 10 insts (fl, cl, 2 hn, trbn, hp, perc, vn, 2 vc), 1985; Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Köln, Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler, cond. E. Bour, Cologne, 15 Sept 1985
Horos, 1986; Japan PO, cond. H. Iwaki, Tokyo, 24 Oct 1986
Keqrops, pf, orch, 1986; R. Woodward, New York PO, cond. Z. Mehta, New York, 13 Nov 1986
Ata, 1987; SWF SO, cond. M. Gielen, Baden-Baden, 3 May 1988
Tracées, 1987; Orchestre National de Lille, cond. J.-C. Casadeus, Paris, 17 Sept 1987
Kyania, 1990; Montpellier PO, cond. Z. Peskó, Montpellier, 7 Dec 1990
Tuorakemsu, 1990; Shinsei Nippon Orchestra, cond. H. Iwaki, Tokyo, 9 Oct 1990
Dox-Orkh, vn, orch, 1991; Arditti, BBC SO, London, cond. A. Tamayo, Strasbourg, 6 Oct 1991
Krinòïdi, 1991; Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Emilia-Romagna ‘Arturo Toscanini’, cond. R. Encinar, Parma, May 1991
Roáï, 1991; Berlin RSO, cond. O. Henzold, Berlin, 24 March 1992
Troorkh, trbn, orch, 1991; C. Lindberg, Swedish RSO, cond. E.-P. Salonen, Stockholm, 26 March 1993
Mosaïques, 1993; Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée, cond. Tabachnik, Marseilles, 23 July 1993
Dämmerschein, 1993–4; Cologne RSO, cond. Peskó, Lisbon, 9 June 1994
Koïranoï 1994; NDR SO, cond. Peskó, Hamburg, 1 March 1996
Ioolkos, 1995; SWF SO, cond. K. Ryan, Donaueschingen, 20 Oct 1996
Voile, str, 1995; Munich Chamber Orchestra, cond. C. Poppen, Munich, 16 Nov 1995
Sea-Change, 1997; BBC SO, cond. A. Davis, London, 23 July 1997
O-Mega, perc solo, chbr orch, 1997; E. Glennie, London Sinfonietta, cond. M. Stenz, Huddersfield, 30 Nov 1997

Choral:
Zyia (folk), S, male vv (10 minimum), fl, pf, 1952; cond. R. Safir, Evreux, 5 April 1994
Anastenaria: procession aux eaux claires, SATB (30vv), male choir (15vv), orch (62 insts), 1953, sketch
Polla ta dhina (Sophocles: Antigone), children’s vv, wind, perc, 1962; cond. Scherchen, Stuttgart, 25 Oct 1962
Hiketides: les suppliates d’Eschyle, 50 female vv, 10 insts/orch, 1964; cond. Simonović, Paris, 1968
Oresteïa (incid music/concert work, Aeschylus), chorus, 12 insts, 1965–6; cond. Simonović, Ypsilanti, MI, 14 June 1966
Medea (incid music, Seneca), male vv, orch, 1967; cond. Masson, Paris, 29 March 1967
Nuits, 3 S, 3 A, 3 T, 3 B, 1967–8; cond. M. Couraud, Royan, 7 April 1968
Cendrées, chorus, orch, 1973–4; cond. Tabachnik, Lisbon, 20 June 1974
A Colone (Sophocles), male/female vv (20 minimum), 5 hn, 3 trbn, 6 vc, 4 db, 1977; Metz, 19 Nov 1977
A Hélène, Mez, female vv, 2 cl, 1977; Epidavros, July 1977
Anemoessa (phonemic text), SATB (42 minimum), orch, 1979; cond. R. Dufallo, Amsterdam, 21 June 1979
Nekuïa (phonemes and text from J.-P. Richter: Siebenkäs and Xenakis: Ecoute), SATB (54 minimum), orch, 1981; cond. Tabachnik, Cologne, 26 March 1982
Pour la Paix (Xenakis), SATB, 2 female spkrs, 2 male spkrs, tape (UPIC), 1981, version for SATB (32 minimum); cond. M. Tranchant, Paris, 23 April 1982
Serment-Orkos (Hippocrates), SATB (32 minimum), 1981; Greek Radio Choir, Athens, 1981
Chant des Soleils (Xenakis, after P. du Mans), SATB, children’s choir, 18 brass 6 (hn, 6 tpt, 6 trbn) or multiple, perc, 1983; Nord-Pas-de-Calais [simultaneous performance in several towns of the region], 21 June 1983
Idmen A/Idmen B (phonemes from Hesiod: Theogony), SATB (64 minimum), 4/6 perc, 1985; Antifona de Cluj, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 24 July 1985
Knephas (phonemes by Xenakis), SATB (32 minimum), 1990; cond. J. Wood, London, 24 June 1990
Pu wijnuej we fyp (A. Rimbaud), children’s choir, 1992; cond. D. Dupays, Paris, 5 Dec 1992
Vakchai Evripidou (Les Bacchantes d' Euripide), Bar, female vv (also playing maracas), pic, ob, dbn, hn, tpt, trbn, 3 perc, 1993; J. Dixon, cond. N. Kok, London, 1 Sept 1993
Sea-Nymphs (phonemes from W. Shakespeare: The Tempest), SATB (24 minimum), 1994; cond. S. Joly, London, 16 Sept 1994

Other vocal:
Tripli zyia, 1v, pf, 1952, unpubd
Trois poèmes (F. Villon: Aiés pitié de moy, V. Mayakovsky: Ce soir je donne mon concert d’adieux, Ritsos: Earini Symphonia [Spring Symphony]), 1v, pf, 1952, unpubd
La colombe de la paix, A, 4vv (SATB), 1953, unpubd
Stamatis Katotakis (table song), 1v, male vv, 1953, unpubd
N’shima, 2 Mez/A, 2 hn, 2 trbn, vc, 1975; cond. J.-P. Izquierdo, Jerusalem, Feb 1976
Pour Maurice, Bar, pf, 1982; S. Sakkas, C. Helffer, Brussels, 18 Oct 1982
Kassandra (Aeschylus), Bar + 20str psalterion, perc, 1987; Sakkas, Gualda, Gibellina, 21 Aug 1987 [second part of Oresteïa: see CHORAL]
La déesse Athéna (Aeschylus), Bar, pic, ob, E♭ cl, db cl, dbn, hn, pic tpt, trbn, tuba, perc, vc, 1992; Sakkas, cond. Tabachnik, Athens, 3 May 1992 [scene from Oresteïa: see CHORAL]

Chamber:
Dipli Zyia, vn, vc, 1951, unpubd
ST/4, str qt, 1956–62; Bernède Quartet, Paris, 1962
ST/10, cl, b cl, 2 hn, hp, perc, str qt, 1956–62 cond. Simonović, Paris, May 1962
Morsima-Amorsima, pf, vn, vc, db, 1956–62; cond. Foss, Athens, 16 Dec 1962
Analogique A, 9 str, 1958 [must be performed with tape work Analogique B]; cond. Scherchen, Gravesano, summer 1959
Amorsima-Morsima, cl, b cl, 2 hn, hp, perc, str qt; cond. Foss, Athens, 1962
Atrées, fl, cl, b cl, hn, tpt, trbn, 2 perc, vn, vc, 1962; cond. Simonović, Paris, 1962
Eonta, 2 tpt, 3 trbn, pf, 1963–4; cond. P. Boulez, Paris, 16 Dec 1964
Anaktoria, cl, bn, hn, str qt, db, 1969; Octuor de Paris, Avignon, 3 July 1969
Persephassa, 6 perc, 1969; Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Persepolis, 9 Sept 1969
Aroura, 12 str, 1971; cond. Tabachnik, Lucerne, 24 Aug 1971
Charisma, cl, vc, 1971; Royan, 6 April 1971
Linaia-Agon, hn, trbn, tuba, 1972; cond. Tabachnik, London, 26 April 1972
Phlegra, 11 insts, 1975; cond. Tabachnik, London, 28 Jan 1976
Epeï, eng hn, cl, tpt, 2 trbn, db, 1976; cond. S. Garant, Montréal, 9 Dec 1976
Retours-Windungen, 12 vc, 1976; Berlin PO, Bonn, 20 Feb 1976
Dmaathen, ob, perc, 1976; N. Post, J. Williams, New York, May 1977
Akanthos, 9 insts, 1977; Ensemble Studio 111, Strasburg, 17 June 1977
Ikhoor, str trio, 1978; Trio à Cordes Français, Paris, 2 April 1978
Dikhthas, vn, pf, 1979; S. Accardo, B. Canino, Bonn, 4 June 1980
Palimpsest, eng hn, b cl, bn, hn, perc, pf, str qnt, 1979; cond. S. Gorli, Aquila, 3 March 1979
Pléïades, 6 perc, 1979; Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 17 May 1979
Komboï, amp hpd, perc, 1981; Chojnacka, Gualda, Metz, 22 Nov 1981
Khal Perr, brass qnt, 2 perc, 1983; Quintette Arban, Alsace Percussions, Beaune, 15 July 1983
Tetras, str qt, 1983; Arditti String Quartet, Lisbon, 8 June 1983
Thalleïn, pic, ob, cl, bn, hn, pic tpt, trbn, perc, pf, str qnt, 1984; cond. E. Howarth, London, 14 Feb 1984
Nyûyô [Setting Sun], shakuhachi, sangen, 2 koto; 1985; Angers, Ensemble Yonin-No Kai (Tokyo), 30 June 1985
Akea, pf, str qt, 1986; Helffer, Arditti String Quartet, Paris, 15 Dec 1986
A l’Ile de Gorée, amp hpd, pic, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, str qnt, 1986; cond. Kerstens, Amsterdam, 4 July 1986
Jalons, pic, ob, b cl, db cl, dbn, hn, tpt, trbn, tuba, hp, str qnt, 1986; cond. Boulez, Paris, 26 Jan 1987
XAS, sax qt, 1987; Raschèr Quartet, Lille, 17 Nov 1987
Waarg, pic, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, trbn, tuba, str qnt, 1988; cond. Howarth, London, 6 May 1988
Echange, solo b cl, fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, trbn, tuba, str qnt, 1989; H. Sparnaay, cond. Porcelijn, Amsterdam, 26 April 1989
Epcycle, solo vc, fl, ob, cl, hn, tpt, trbn, tuba, 2 vn, va, db, 1989; R. de Saram, Spectrum Ensemble, cond. G. Protheroe, London, 18 May 1989
Okho, 3 djembés, tall African drum, 1989; Trio Le Cercle, Paris, 20 Oct 1989
Ophaa, hpd, perc, 1989; Chojnacka, Gualda, Warsaw, 17 Sep 1989
Tetora, str qt, 1990; Arditti String Quartet, Witten, 27 Apr 1991
Paille in the wind, vc, pf, 1992; J. Scalfi, Woodward, Milan, 14 Dec 1992
Plektó, fl, cl, perc, pf, vn, vc, 1993; cond. R. Platz, Witten, 24 April 1994
Ergma, str qt, 1994; Mondrian String Quartet, The Hague, 17 Dec 1994
Mnamas Xapin Witoldowi Lutoslavskiemu [In Memory of Witold Lutosławski], 2 hn, 2 tpt, 1994; cond. W. Michniewki, Warsaw, 21 Sept 1994
Kaï, fl, cl, bn, tpt, trbn, vn, va, vc, db, 1995; cond. D. Coleman, Oldenburg, 12 Nov 1995
Kuïlenn, fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 2 hn, 1995; Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Amsterdam, 10 June 1996
Hunem-Iduhey, vn, vc, 1996; E. Michell, O. Akahoshi, New York, 9 Aug 1996
Ittidra, str sextet, 1996; Arditti String Quartet, T. Kakuska (va), V. Erben (vc), Frankfurt, 4 Oct 1996
Roscobeck, vc, db, 1996; R. de Saram, S. Scordanibbio, Cologne, 6 Dec 1996
Zythos, trbn, 6 perc, 1996; Lindberg, Kroumata Ensemble, Birmingham, 10 April 1997

Solo instrumental:
Seven piano pieces without title, Menuet, Air populaire, Allegro molto, Mélodie, Andante, pf, 1949–50, unpubd
Suite, pf, 1950–51, unpubd
Thème et conséquences, pf, 1951, unpubd
Herma, pf, 1960–61
Nomos alpha, vc, 1965–6; S. Palm, Bremen, 5 May 1966
Mikka, vn, 1971; I. Gitlis, Paris, 27 Oct 1972
Evryali, pf, 1973; C. Helffer, Paris, 1974
Gmeeoorh, org, 1974; C. Holloway, U. of Hartford, CT, 1974
Psappha, perc, 1975; S. Gualda London, 2 May 1976
Theraps, db, 1975–6; F. Grillo, 26 March 1976
Khoaï, hpd, 1976; E. Chojnacka, Cologne, 5 May 1976
Mikka ‘S’, vn, 1976; R. Pasquier, Orléans, 11 March 1976
Kottos, vc, 1977; M. Rostropovich, La Rochelle, 28 June 1977
Embellie, va, 1981; G. Renon-McLaughlin, Paris, 1981
Mists, pf, 1981; Woodward, Edinburgh, 1981
Naama, amp hpd, 1984; Chojnacka, Luxembourg, 20 May 1984
Keren, trbn, 1986; B. Sluchin, Strasbourg, 19 Sept 1986
A r. (Hommage à Ravel), pf, 1987; H. Austbö, Montpellier, 2 Aug 1987
Rebonds, perc, 1988; Gualda, Rome, 1 July 1988

Tape
some works exist in one or more revised realizations

Diamorphoses, 2-track, 1957–8; Brussels, 5 Oct 1958
Concret PH, 2-track, 1958; Brussels, Philips Pavilion, 1958
Analogique B, 2-track, 1958–9 [must be performed with chbr work Analogique A]; cond. Scherchen, Gravesano, summer 1959
Orient-Occident, 2-track, 1960; Cannes, May 1960
The Thessaloniki World Fair (film score), 1-track, 1961
Bohor, 4-track, 1962; Paris, 15 Dec 1962
Hibiki Hana Ma, 12-track, 1969–70; Osaka, Expo 70, 1970
Persépolis, 8-track, 1971; Persepolis, 26 Aug 1971
Polytope de Cluny, 8-track, lighting, 1972; Paris, 17 Oct 1972
Polytope II, tape, lighting, 1974; Paris, 1974
La legénde d'Eer (Diatope), 4- or 8-track, 1977; Paris, 11 Feb 1978
Mycenae alpha, 2-track, UPIC, 1978; Mycenae, 2 Aug 1978
Taurhiphanie, 2-track, UPIC, 1987; Arles, 13 July 1988
Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromède, 2-track, UPIC; Osaka, 1 April 1989
GENDY3, 2-track, Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis, 1991; Metz, 17 Nov 1991
S 709, 2-track Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis, 1994; Paris, 2 Dec 1994

That's... a lot of music.

I'm totally up for doing it but how do you think we should we tackle it? Should we limit ourselves to orchestral music maybe?

Heh, no kidding.

I honestly think we should do it wholesale, even if it takes a full year. I’ve been getting into a more patient listening groove lately...

Maybe pick about 45m-1h of music from all genres a week, going chronologically?

Sounds like a plan.

works for me

"Drawn Into the Flight Path of the Sounds": Xenakis Listening Thread

enjoyed Philip Corner's Chord Gong! (with Carles Santos), four-hand versions of Corner’s “Chord” and “Gong!”: https://unseenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/chord-gong-with-carles-santos

actually, I've liked everything Unseen Worlds has released this year

This might be the dumbest woke classical music take yet (by a UMass Amherst theorist): https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/fullname-famous-composers-racism-sexism.html

Collaborative Arts Chicago streaming a concert of art song by modern women composers tonight: https://www.caichicago.org/broadcast.html

Programme: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xF2RFfp5Wg3rhCH4NEzDwFY7-7BRlTuO/view

On that fullname thing, I thought someone who was as universally known as Beethoven or Mozart was referred to by last name only because of their fame? I can see a case for Schumann, since there are two of close to equal standing. But if I said Bach, would you assume I meant CPE, or Johann Sebastian? Price is almost known enough to be referred to by surname, but really, why try that when she's still a forgotten composer? New composers aren't known yet, why would you say "the Blanchard" if I'm not going to know what that is?

Yes. It's true that white men dominate the European art music canon but the fairly obvious reasons for that precede their 'last-naming'. People do say "Ellington" or "Oliveros". Demanding that people say "Ludwig van Beethoven" every time will not help women or minorities and if anything just seems even more alienating and exclusionary to a general audience. As a nonwhite composer, this is certainly not something that has ever concerned me, nor does the white male author cite any women or minorities who have expressed concern about this. If you want to do something, do more to promote performances of contemporary composers so more diverse names become well-known enough to recognize.

I don't think even my undergrad music and gender prof would argue that Clara Schumann was as important a composer as Robert btw.

Yeah, I think I took a joke too seriously about Clara being "the good Schumann" tbh. Bobby did some pretty great stuff, and I'm not as into solo piano music as I am symphonic stuff, so I'm probably overcompensating.

I've been happily but haphazardly dipping into the 19th century thanks to pomenitul's polls, and so far the big revelation is Gabriel Fauré (I've listened to plenty of new-to-me pieces by other more familiar composers), based only on the Nocturnes so far. I gather the Requiem is major--does anyone have a recording to recommend? And my thanks to pom for specifically mentioning Le Sage's Nocturnes, which is wonderful.

I like William Schuman, me. And I like the full-name proposal! didn't really need to be argued so hard, even. Thought it was funny that the article concluded with "let it be Ludwig Beethoven" ... ...

Also plz let it be "Adolf Hitler"; Idi Amin not getting enough respect.

I think I'd actually be on board with people saying "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi" tbf.

Clara was always "the good Hitler" tbf

lol

*Kneels in fgti’s direction*

enjoying this"

https://www.kairos-music.com/sites/default/files/cds/0015030KAI_scelsi_frontcover.jpg

https://www.kairos-music.com/cds/0015030kai

rob, which recording(s) of fauré's "requiem" did you end up listening to?

Not rob, obv., but I'm very fond of the pared down 1893 chamber version, featuring two of the greatest living French vocalists (really):

https://www.allmusic.com/album/fauré-requiem-mw0001869315

And I second your enjoyment of Scelsi Revisited. Pure (post-)(proto-)spectralist bliss.

Today's listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6357vL9TPg

"Poor fellow, I weep for him"

Does that Scelsi cover actually say "Ragnhild Berståd"?? Over-Nordicizing if so; her name is Berstad afaik.

rob, which recording(s) of fauré's "requiem" did you end up listening to?

― budo jeru, Saturday, November 7, 2020 12:21 PM (two days ago)

pomenitul very kindly ilxmailed me a recommendation of the Accentus recording he linked to. I loved it—and have really enjoyed all the other Fauré I've checked out in the past few weeks—though my mental space was invaded by the US election and I need to return and revisit. I'm definitely open to other versions though, so let me know if you have a favourite!

Does that Scelsi cover actually say "Ragnhild Berståd"?? Over-Nordicizing if so; her name is Berstad afaik.

Mötley Crüe-style, heh. At least Kairos's website dispenses with the overring.

Now that the year is slowly drawing to a close, I put together a list of my favourite 2020 classical releases so far, if anyone's interested. A word of warning, however: it skews heavily towards contemporary music, in keeping with my listening habits of late. Oh, and the periodization is a bit iffy at times, but that's almost always the case anyway.

Renaissance

Philippe Pierlot, Lucile Boulanger, Myriam Rignol & Rolf Lislevand – Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe et ses filles

Baroque

Johann Sebastian Bach – Johannes-Passion (Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe)

Classical

Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonatas 1-4 (Frank Peter Zimmermann & Martin Helmchen)
Ludwig van Beethoven & Joseph-François Gossec – Symphony No. 5; Symphonie à 17 parties (Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth)

Romantic

Edvard Grieg – Violin Sonatas (Eldbjørg Hemsing & Simon Trpčeski)
Franz Liszt – Années de pèlerinage (Suzana Bartal)
Franz Liszt – Between Light & Darkness (Vincent Larderet)
Johannes Brahms – Clarinet Sonatas (Jörg Widmann & András Schiff)
Johannes Brahms – The Final Piano Pieces (Stephen Hough)

Late Romantic / Early Modern

Amatis Trio – Enescu, Ravel, Britten
Carl Nielsen – Symphonies 1 & 2 (Seatle Symphony, Thomas Dausgaard)
Célimène Daudet – Messe noire. Liszt, Scriabine
Charles Ives – Complete Symphonies (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel)
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 2; King Kristian II (Gothenburg Symphony, Santtu Matias-Rouvali)
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 3, ‘Pastoral’; Symphony No. 4 (BBC SO, Martyn Brabbins)

Modern

Constantin Silvestri – Complete Piano Works (Luiza Borac)
Cyrillus Kreek – The Suspended Harp of Babel (Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve)
Daniil Trifonov – Silver Age
Dmitri Shostakovich – Piano Quintet; Seven Romances (Trio Wanderer, et al.)

Postwar / Late 20th Century

Luciano Berio – Coro; Cries of London (Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Grete Pedersen)

Contemporary

Alberto Posadas – Poética del laberinto
Bára Gísladóttir – HĪBER
Benjamin Dwyer – what is the word
Christian Mason – Zwischen den Sternen
Clara Iannotta – Earthing
Enno Poppe – Fett; Ich kann mich an nichts erinnern
Éric Montalbetti – Chamber Music. Harmonieuses dissonances
Gerald Eckert – absence
Gonçalo Gato – NowState
Howard Skempton – Preludes and Fugues; Nocturnes; Reflections; Images (William Howard)
Klangforum Wien – Scelsi Revisited
Leo Brouwer – 30 Estudios sencillos (Thibault Cauvin)
Linda Buckley – From Ocean’s Floor
Liza Lim – Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus
Naomi Pinnock – Lines and Spaces
Outi Tarkiainen – The Earth, Spring’s Daughter; Saivo
Rebecca Saunders – Still; Aether; Alba
Richard Valitutto – Nocturnes & Lullabies
Sebastian Hilli – confluence / divergence
Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble, Andrej Power, Lawrence Power & Christianne Stotijn – Voices of Angels
Thomas Wally – Jusqu’à l’aurore
Timothy McCormack – KARST
Tobias Eduard Schick – Chamber Music
Tõnu Kõrvits – Hymns to the Nordic Lights
Tõnu Kõrvits – You Are Light and Morning (Sei la luce e il mattino)
Víctor Ibarra – The Dimension of the Fragile
Wet Ink Ensemble – Smoke, Airs
Xavier Dayer – Chamber Music
Zeynep Gedizlioğlu – Verbinden und Abwenden

Cross-Era Recitals

Barbara Hannigan & Ludwig Orchestra – La passione: Nono, Haydn, Grisey
Bertrand Chamayou – Good Night!
Élodie Vignon – D’ombres. Dutilleux, Ledoux
Jean-Pierre Collot – The Way to Sound: Spectral Visions of Goethe (Dufourt, Liszt, Schubert)

i will likely go fishing in the contemporary collection. what from that list do you think is most accessible?

Howard Skempton, Leo Brouwer, Linda Buckley, Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble, et al., Tõnu Kõrvits are probably your best bets.

Right now, I'd say the Buckley is my favourite of the lot. Here's a review if you're curious:

https://johnsonsrambler.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/linda-buckley-from-oceans-floor/

nice, thanks!

Big up Pom, thanks for that list! Bára Gísladóttir was a wonderful surprise already, so I'm stoked to explore more from your list.

My pleasure! A few more I haven't heard yet but that I suspect are quite good:

Enno Poppe – Stoff
Georg Nigl & Olga Pashchenko – Vanitas: Beethoven, Schubert & Rihm (out Nov 13)
Tigran Mansurian – Con anima (out Nov 13)
Toru Takemitsu – Orchestral Works (Akiko Suwanai, NHK Symphony Orchestra Paavo Järvi) (not readily available in Canada)
Various Artists – Donaueschinger Musiktage 2019 (ditto)

Really enjoyed the Ives set and the Dwyer. Listened to 2/3 of the Hannigan, which is ofc good. Look forward to listening to more.

I also forgot to include Paavo Järvi's excellent Franz Schmidt symphony cycle with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Schmidt has a dodgy reputation because he turned a blind eye to the Nazi regime, although I've come across pieces that claim he was hopelessly naïve and had no understanding of politics, much like Wilhelm Furtwängler (besides, Schmidt died a few months before WW2 broke out). I suspect his legacy was also marred by his audible resistance to modernism, which is less of a dealbreaker for us than for the proto-hipster caste of the interwar and postwar periods. Anyway, the music itself is quite good and very much worth hearing if you're fond of the Austro-Germanic tradition. It's almost on par with the early and mid-period symphonies of Gustav Mahler, under whom Schmidt often played the cello while he was a member of the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra. The elegiac 4th Symphony is the most famous of the four, and rightly so: there's a depth of feeling that reminds me of another instrumental requiem composed in the 1930s: Alban Berg's Violin Concerto (admittedly, this is a bit of a damning comparison).

Interesting! I picked up Neeme Järvi's Chandos set on a whim years ago. (Not the first time the Salvation Army got me listening to things no one seemed to talk about, lol.) I have to remind myself what I liked about it between listens, but I do indeed quite enjoy it when it's on. It gets better in chronological order, I recall. An extremely quick skim through reviews suggests that Paavo J's may be an improvement. Will listen...

Neeme Järvi has always struck me as a merely serviceable and all-too prolific conductor whose recordings lack the extra oomph required to ascend to the top of the pile. Paavo Järvi, on the other hand, is a much cleaner and more dynamic performer, one who almost never gives the sense that his sole aim is to add yet another trophy to an already vast discography. While I haven't heard the father's Schmidt set, I can't imagine it topping the son's.

I dove into a "listen to violin music" whirlpool and remembered this bizarrely spectacular iPhone recording of Hilary Hahn playing the much-maligned Ysaye 6:

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

I can't really describe how incredible this is from top to bottom

Impressive performance and recording both.

I know nothing about the sonata's reputation among violinists, so I'm curious: why is it much-maligned?

I think the consensus is that the difficulty of the work doesn't justify the compositions... and I'd agree with Sonata 2, which is the one that is the most accessible but is kinda dum (but disagree with Sonatas 3 thru 6)

Ah, I see, thanks. I haven't listened to whole set in a long time but that seems like a fair assessment.

1 is weak, 2 quotes dies irae ad nauseam, 3 onward are tricky to present correctly but are sublime when successful

Enjoyed this composition for sine waves, zither, and choir. Very spare but pleasant and spacious: https://martaforsberg.bandcamp.com/album/new-love-music

I find it absolutely hilarious that Eton College (UK) sports a composer in residence and that from 2014 to 2015 it happened to be Christian Mason, who reminds me of a posher and hence twattier Mark Hollis if we go by appearance and affiliation alone, but his Zwischen den Sternen for chamber ensemble is possibly my favourite of the new contemporary classical works that I discovered this year, thanks to the ensemble recherche's recording for Winter & Winter. Soundworld-wise, it reminds me of Peter Maxwell Davies's Ave maris stella more so than the music of Mason's recent mentor, Harrison Birtwistle, and the ensemble recherche/Winter & Winter connection also brings to mind Hans Abrahamsen's marvellous Schnee. Looming in the background are George Benjamin (his PhD supervisor) and Julian Anderson, whom I both very much admire. Like Anderson, Mason has an unabashedly spectralist approach to instrumental writing, with conspicuous folk inflections that recall late Ligeti and especially late Rădulescu, which I thought I was just making up at first, yet, sure enough, upon googling the two names in tandem, I learned that Mason has written an explicit homage to the defunct Romanian expat. Anyway, it's a beautiful and fairly accessible cycle (its German title means 'Between the Stars', after all), one I think even listeners who find 21st century classical music forbidding are likely to enjoy.