Contemporary (i.e. still living) Composers...

[monafam]

The string quintet by me old mate Alistair Hinton is worth a listen if you have a few spare days.

He was alive about 2 hours ago, so hopefully he is still kicking.

He thinks that he agrees (as far as he can tell) - and he seems to be sufficiently alive to wonder why "a few spare days" would be required in order to listen to a piece that plays for only 2 hours 50 minutes.

That said, he has been exquisitely "sung" in the recording of that work, actually...

Best,

Alistair

Interesting!      So what is your catalog of works like?

[ahinton]

The string quintet by me old mate Alistair Hinton is worth a listen if you have a few spare days.

He was alive about 2 hours ago, so hopefully he is still kicking.

He thinks that he agrees (as far as he can tell) - and he seems to be sufficiently alive to wonder why "a few spare days" would be required in order to listen to a piece that plays for only 2 hours 50 minutes.

That said, he has been exquisitely "sung" in the recording of that work, actually...

Best,

Alistair

Interesting!      So what is your catalog of works like?

You're welcome to visit http://www.sorabji-archive.co.uk/hinton/biography.php, on which page you'll find links to more information on this including a brochure detailing scores, recordings, etc..

Best,

Alistair

[monafam]

Thanks!

[monafam]

I listened to the Kapustin recordings.  It was interesting and I found it enjoyable, but it's one of those cases where it sounds more like jazz to me.  Does anyone know where the fine line between classical and jazz is crossed?

[TerraEpon]

Does anyone know where the fine line between classical and jazz is crossed?

Sometimes it's too blurry.
One way to look at it might be, if there's no improvisation, it's not jazz. But of course, classical can certainly have improvisation and be as far from jazz as it gets. So yeah./

[chill319]

Too blurry? You bet. Many years ago,  in the 1960s, in the album "Music for Zen Meditation," well respected jazz clarinetist Tony Scott joined with a koto and a shakuhachi player (Shinichi Yuize and Hozan Yamamoto) to improvise in a traditional Japanese style. The album was marketed as jazz.

Joshua Rifkin's creative arrangements in "The Baroque Beatles" from the same period were not so marketed. Which of the two absolutely required an ability to read music? Rifkin's, of course.

[peter_conole]

Hi all

Does anyone know if Richard Hayman is still composing?

Whatever, I am curious (but not intensely) about possible recordings of some of his most 'progressive' 20th century compositions:

Dali - scored for large orchestra, with the sole instruction to 'ascend chromatically in slow pulse'
It is not here - a light and sound work performed in Morse Code
Buff her blind - for musical toys and electronic instruments
Roll - the composer rolling along a street covered with bells as a sign of Hindu devotion.

On a more serious note, I am interested in getting the best DVD version of the Glass opera Satyagraha. Honest advice welcome - I like the work. Opinions re his violin concerto would also be helpful.

regards
Peter

[jerfilm]

For those interested in Robert Simpson, his Hyperion set of 11 symphonys and variations on a Nielsen theme are a cutout available at Berkshire Record outlet for US$35. 

Jerry

[dafrieze]

I'd like to recommend a fellow New Jerseyite-turned-Bostonian:  John Harbison.  He's fairly well-known in the United States, at least; one of his works, The Flight into Egypt, won the Pulitzer Prize about 20 years ago, and he's had an opera, The Great Gatsby, commissioned and produced by the Metropolitan Opera.  All of his music is extremely accessible, to both the mind and the heart, and there are many recordings.  The best place to start with him might be with one of his larger works:  the ballet Ulysses recorded by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project: http://www.bmop.org/cd_detail.aspxcid=21.html.

[Mark Thomas]

On a recent visit to Boston my wife and I heard Harbison's First Symphony played by the Boston Symphony under James Levine. We were pleasantly surprised by both its vigour and its accessibility. A work of stature, we thought.

[eschiss1]

On a recent visit to Boston my wife and I heard Harbison's First Symphony played by the Boston Symphony under James Levine. We were pleasantly surprised by both its vigour and its accessibility. A work of stature, we thought.

I've heard his 2nd and his 4th symphonies, I think.

I do prefer his teacher's music - Roger Sessions - as I've mentioned I guess- but the 2nd symphony I haven't heard in awhile - I should get back to the library and check the recording on Decca for inbuilding use - the 4th (2003) was interesting and fairly enjoyable. I'm fairly sure the 3rd has been recorded (a websearch confirms this- Albany Records cond. by David Alan Miller, and also another recording on Oehms classics conducted by James Levine). (The 4th was an off-air I think; there's a fifth (2007) I haven't heard - nor have I heard the first or third yet- and I don't know if there's been a sixth yet.)

(actually, it seems sym.1 was recorded also, by Seiji Ozawa / Boston Sym. back in 1985...) hrm. ... neat. 2nd performances are rare enough- 2nd recordings, rarer...

[dafrieze]

James Levine and the Boston Symphony have been performing all of Harbison's symphonies this season as a prelude to the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, which they commissioned.   I heard the premiere of the First Symphony 25 years ago - it's what started me on my serious admiration of Harbison's music.

I've tried, on and off, to develop a taste for Roger Sessions' music - the Symphony premiered a lot of his music as well - but so far have been unsuccessful.  It's been a few years since my last attempt, though, so perhaps I'll give it another shot.

[Amphissa]

 
Harbison's first four symphonies, the violin, piano, oboe, and viola concertos, the ballet, and a large assortment of chamber works, songs, and solo instrument works are currently available on CD and some as MP3 download at Amazon (and probably elsewhere as well).

I've never heard anything by him. Sounds like an interesting composer to explore. I've been pleased with the Schmidt-Kowalski CDs, but I've not been happy with my purchases of Adams, so I'm cautious about living composers I haven't heard.

And I'm still trying to rebuild my collection after the crash of my music hard drive last year. What a disaster that was. 400 GB of music. Some of you have been very kind as I work on this. I'm still buying here and there of course to fill gaps, but I think I'll never find some of my most treasured items again. (And I now have a backup drive, so this will never happen again.)

[Mark Thomas]

Harbison's music is accessible but still of its time, unlike Schmidt-Kowalski's compositions which, whilst I enjoy them very much and am grateful that they're around, are utterly anachronistic and not even of the last century, never mind this one. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I am cautioning against comparisons.

[JimL]

The best way to find out, Dave, is to search out samples on Amazon, CD Universe or some other distributor and see if the music is to your taste before purchasing.