this may be a stupid question... but are there modern composers? like that make albums of there own stuff? if so where could I find? thanks guyz! lovez ya

well if you're looking for some new age, I'd recommend people on the Windham Hill label.

Jonn Serrie is a prominent one. You'd probably also like Steve Roach. he's more into a worldly type music, but it can basically be in the same type of genre.

I already posted this in response to your thread in the Avant-Garde forum, but I'll point you towards this site again for some examples of modern composition with free tracks.

http://www.epitonic.com/genre_listin...composers.html

Now, a lot of those composers aren't contemporary, but the past century is close enough to consider it "modern". Google also works.

I don't know about you, but I really wouldn't call some of those Modern Composers. At least, not in the sense I believe she is asking about. I also think, she is looking for people still alive and recording their music. A good many of those, would not qualify.

The public slowly lost interest in "Modern Classical Composers" after the turn of the century.

There was a time long ago when the family would gather around on Saturday night and listen with enthusiasm to Toscanini's orchestra on the radio.

There's not a lot of excitment in today's concert scene (at least in America). I recently attended a Haydn concert here in Buffalo. The room was filled with very old people falling asleep during the pieces and the orchestra didn't seem very excited to be there either. Even though I'm obsessed with Classical music, I know I would've had a better time at the Slayer concert playing in town.

Most "serious music" venues do nothing to attract younger listeners.

To be fair, I understand that the orchestra in my city isn't payed as well as some and that they can't get away with sneaking in "new music" once and awhile. Of course, if this was my only exposure to Classical music, I'd have been pretty turned off to the whole thing.



Anyway, people still compose to this day, but a lot of the music is deemed "too difficult" for most people to understand and enjoy. There are many opinions on why this seems to be the case.

If you'd like to peep some modern composers:

Arvo Part (still living)

Alfred Schnittke (passed away in 1998)

Karlheinz Stockhausen (still living). He seems to be spending most of his time rereleasing all of his old recordings and compositions. He did a lot of far-out stuff in the 50s and subsequently influenced quite a few rock bands as well. He appears on the cover of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Check out KONTAKTE / CONTACTS (electronic music).
It may seem a little strange to you at first.
http://www.stockhausen.org/ (quite a few audio clips...lectures, MP3s)

You're right, I'm just getting lazy with my posts, and those have free mp3s included for easy listening.

Besides which, there are still some who are still recording. And she did ask for modern, not contemporary.

She asked, for still living and recording Modern New Age Classical composers. Damn, I am turning into my Pops.

That's not a bad thing, but damn....that's not supposed to happen until you're much older.

I'm not sure that she really means "New Age" music.

Maybe you guys would like to start a new forum.

I like the Arvo Part suggestion, he's one of my faves.

I went to two very close and personal sources, for the more obscure ones.


Elliott Carter
Arvo Pärt
György Ligeti
Terry Riley
Christian Wolff
Frederic Rzewski
Alvin Curran
Steve Reich
Ronald Caltabiano
Pierre Boulez
La Monte Young
Alvin Lucier
Henryk Górecki
Arne Nordheim
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Aulis Sallinen
Phillip Glass
John Adams
Robert Moran
Ingram Marshall
Mauricio Kagel
Pauline Oliveros


These two are no longer living.

John Cage
Morton Feldman