You mean you don't think John Williams belongs with the greats of classical 20th century composers?

I know! I must be on crack!

I like your list.
Arvo Part is one of the most powerful living composers. I recommend his recent "Orient Occident" on ECM Records
Mode has just released a great Christian Wolff double CD "(re): Making Music 1962-1999." Mode has released a whole spate of great Wolff CDs in the past few years.
I just went to the Bang On A Can Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (MassMoCA). Bang On A Can is a consortium of great modern composers in itself--well, a few are not so great but I'll skip them--but among the great composers who were there:
Terry Riley
Paul Lansky
Todd Reynolds
Martin Bresnick
Evan Ziporyn
David Lang
Julia Wolfe

among the greats performed but not present:
Frederic Rzewski
Pauline Oliveros
Giacinto Scelsi (RIP)
Louis Andriessen

When Terry Riley came out to the courtyard between sets he was not ten feet from me. I was speechless. I felt like prostrating myself, like in "Wayne's World," I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy! I'm sure he would have been very amiable, but this nagging voice was telling me I "shouldn't bother the nice man, he's very busy."


Riley performed his "Solo" for piano, and with B.O.A.C. performed his "Tread on the Trail," in which he employed his amazing overtone singing.

For me, the most powerful piece of the evening was Rzewski's "Coming Together," (1971)with its text derived from a letter by a prisoner at Attica.

Electronic music for people who don't like electronic music is how I'd describe Paul Lansky of Princeton. His electronic works--while unmistakably electronic--are very warm, organic, and fun. Many of his CDs are on Bridge Records.
http://www.bridgerecords.com/

Another extrordinarily powerful electronic music composer I can't recommend highly enough is virtually unknown. Anatoly Pereslegin works in ecclesiastical themes with a virtual orchestra. He "gets" some fundamental things about space and texture that many electronic composers do not. His music never sounds flat or mechanical. Pereslegin is Russian and has released three CDs on the very excellent electroacoustic label from Moscow, Electroshock Records:
http://www.electroshock.ru

Anyway, I'll have more to post on this thread shortly, meanwhile, I've got to get busy with other things.

--Max

Is all of that for some reason meant for me?

I think only the first sentence of his post was meant for you specificially, Satch.

You guys makin' fun of me?