CD Reviews

Five contemporary orchestra pieces you have to know

György Ligeti

György Ligeti

You all know that I am a big fan of lists. Today I am sharing with you five of my most favorite orchestra pieces. Let me know how your list would look like!

  1. Luciano Berio: Sinfonia
    Wikipedia | Amazon | iTunes
  2. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Gruppen
    Wikipedia | Amazon
  3. Iannis Xenakis: Metastasis
    Wikipedia | Amazon | iTunes
  4. Georg Friedrich Haas: In Vain
    Wikipedia | Amazon
  5. György Ligeti: Atmospheres
    Wikipedia | Amazon | iTunes
If you would like to get a copy of these CDs, please order via our affiliate links above. The small commission we earn from making this referral will be used towards maintaining this website. Thank you!

Discussion

4 comments for “Five contemporary orchestra pieces you have to know”

  1. Funny, I clicked on the link expecting to see a list of orchestral works premiered or written in the past 10-15 years. Can we really call these works contemporary if (except for the Haas) there are between 30 and 50 years old?

    Posted by Sam Dorf | November 30, 2009, 2:45 am
  2. Good point!

    I think, however, that apart from a few musicians, musicologists, and composers most people consider music by Stockhausen, Ligeti, and Xenakis to be “contemporary music.” It seems to be more like a genre tag than a chronology issue, I think.

    Might there be a difference between the terminology that we professionals use and the terms that the wider public uses?

    Posted by Matthias Röder | November 30, 2009, 3:43 am
  3. Muss ich drüber nachdenken. Ist plötzlich schwer. Einfache Antwort, aber falsch, wäre:

    Fünf Stücke für Orchester op. 16 von Schönberg. 1 bis 5. ;-)

    Posted by Huflaikhan | December 19, 2009, 10:43 am
  4. Pushing things a little more towards the contemporary, and off the top of my head, how about:

    Lachenmann: Kontrakadenz
    Barrett: Vanity
    Murail: Disintégrations
    Holliger: COncErto?…cErtO!
    Spahlinger: Passage/Paysage

    Posted by Tim R-J | January 22, 2010, 6:48 pm

Post a comment

Zeitschichten on Twitter

Archives