Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Classical Compositions of… the 1990s – Part II (1995-1999)

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Poll Results

OptionVotes
Sofia Gubaidulina – Viola Concerto (1996) 2
Elliott Carter – String Quartet No. 5 (1995) 1
Kaija Saariaho – Lonh (1996) 1
Helmut Lachenmann – Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (1988-1996) 1
Heinz Holliger – Violin Concerto, ‘Hommage à Louis Soutter’ (1993-1995) 1
Richard Barrett – Opening of the Mouth (1992-1997) 1
Salvatore Sciarrino – Luci mie traditrici (1996-1998) 1
György Kurtág – …pas à pas – nulle part…, Op. 36 (1993-1998) 1
Sofia Gubaidulina – The Canticle of the Sun (1997) 1
Keiko Harada – Heavy Wood (1998) 1
Alain Bancquart – Livre du labyrinthe (1995-1999) 1
Elliott Carter – Symphonia: sum fluxae pretium spei (1993-1996) 1
Pēteris Vasks – Distant Light (1996-1997) 0
Per Nørgård – Symphony No. 6, ‘At the End of the Day’ (1998-1999) 0
Per Nørgård – Piano Concerto, ‘in due tempi’ (1994-1995) 0
Pascal Dusapin – Celo (1996) 0
Michael Jarrell – Music for a While (1995) 0
Liza Lim – The Heart’s Ear (1997) 0
Wolfgang Rihm – In-Schrift (1995) 0
Rebecca Saunders – dichroic seventeen (1996) 0
Rebecca Saunders – QUARTET (1998) 0
Valentin Silvestrov – Requiem for Larissa (1997-1999) 0
Richard Barrett – Tract (1984-1996) 0
Valentin Silvestrov – Symphony No. 6 (1994-1995) 0
Toshio Hosokawa – Silent Flowers (1998) 0
Toru Takemitsu – In the Woods (1995) 0
Stefano Scodanibbio – Voyage That Never Ends (1979-1997) 0
Ștefan Niculescu – Symphony No. 4, ‘Deisis’ (1995) 0
Ștefan Niculescu – Symphony No. 5, ‘Litanii’ (1996-1997) 0
Kaija Saariaho – Graal théâtre (1994-1995) 0
Gérard Grisey – Vortex temporum (1994-1996) 0
George Benjamin – Three Inventions (1993-1995) 0
Friedrich Cerha – Acht Sätze nach Hölderlin-Fragmenten (1995) 0
Fausto Romitelli – The Nameless City (1997) 0
Adriana Hölszky – …und ich sah wie ein gläsernes Meer, mit Feuer gemischt (1997) 0
Chaya Czernowin – Pnima… ins Innere (1989-1999) 0
Chaya Czernowin – Afatsim (1996) 0
Beat Furrer – Spur (1998) 0
Gérard Grisey – Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil (1997-1998) 0
György Ligeti – Hamburg Concerto (1998-1999) 0
Hans Abrahamsen – Piano Concerto (1999) 0
Julio Estrada – Miqi'nahual (1995) 0
Jonathan Harvey – Tranquil Abiding (1998) 0
Jonathan Harvey – String Quartet No. 3 (1995) 0
Horațiu Rădulescu – Piano Concerto, ‘The Quest’ (1996) 0
Horațiu Rădulescu – String Quartet No. 5, ‘before the universe was born’ (1990-1995) 0
Helena Tulve – Sula (1999) 0
Heinz Holliger – Schneewittchen (1998) 0
Harrison Birtwistle – Pulse Shadows (1989-1996) 0
Arvo Pärt – Kanon Pokajanen (1997) 0


pomenitul, Friday, 22 May 2020 13:01 (five years ago)

Honourable Mentions

Anders Hillborg – Dreaming River (1999)
Hanspeter Kyburz – The Voynich Cipher Manuscript (1995)
Henri Dutilleux – The Shadows of Time (1997)
Horațiu Rădulescu – Lux animae (1996)
Pierre Boulez – sur Incises (1996-1998)
Ștefan Niculescu – Undecimum (1997-1998)

pomenitul, Friday, 22 May 2020 13:01 (five years ago)

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty. These are increasingly more impossible to put together as we move forward in time.

pomenitul, Friday, 22 May 2020 13:04 (five years ago)

I had a hunch this would be Gubaidulina's viola concerto, and listening now, I think I was right. I've heard literally nothing on this list before today, mind.

Revolutionary Girl Utrenja (Tom Violence), Friday, 22 May 2020 18:24 (five years ago)

Tulve and Sciarrino are good picks. Love Barrett's works but I'll go for the Lachenmann, love how he put all his ideas to work here.

xyzzzz__, Friday, 22 May 2020 19:56 (five years ago)

Opening of the Mouth wins this one for me. I hope I'll get to experience it live some day:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/12/richard-barrett-huddersfiled-contemporary-music

pomenitul, Saturday, 23 May 2020 18:46 (five years ago)

Btw Barbara Hannigan's recording of Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil came out a few weeks ago and it's very much worth everyone's while, even though I remain partial to Catherine Dubosc's performance, which does a better job of capturing the impersonality and anonymity of death.

pomenitul, Saturday, 23 May 2020 18:48 (five years ago)

Did anyone make a spotify list for this one?

Vegemite Is My Grrl (Eric H.), Saturday, 23 May 2020 23:03 (five years ago)

Afraid not, no. And I only have an Apple Music account.

pomenitul, Sunday, 24 May 2020 00:07 (five years ago)

good idea https://open.spotify.com/playlist/44fNG0nlHl8FmZK8L7ik2L?si=zJGPtdmoRHSrX9v-5RBQsg

The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Sunday, 24 May 2020 01:02 (five years ago)

Only just started digging into the Spotify playlist, unfortunately, but Le livre du labyrinthe is pretty remarkable so far. I'd never even heard of Bancquart before.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 15:33 (five years ago)

Incidentally, listening to classical music on free Spotify is always a trip. I've actually started liking the commercial breaks. I turn down the volume and they work as intermissions.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 15:34 (five years ago)

I'd use Naxos Music Library instead but, for some reason, it often seems to cut tracks off before they end with my current library account. Idk why.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 15:36 (five years ago)

Thanks to ogmor for putting the playlist together.

Alain Bancquart's sadly deceased wife, Marie-Claire Bancquart, was a noted French poet whose writings I very much enjoy, so when I came across Le livre du labyrinthe while exploring Mode's catalogue, I picked it up almost immediately. I also appreciate Bancquart's relative marginality within the French classical establishment, which tends to be quite centralistic (see: Bully-ez).

pomenitul, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 15:43 (five years ago)

Btw Barbara Hannigan's recording of Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil came out a few weeks ago and it's very much worth everyone's while

Just finished listening to this. I wasn't familiar with the piece but it's very satisfying.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 18:25 (five years ago)

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty. These are increasingly more impossible to put together as we move forward in time.

― pomenitul, Friday, May 22, 2020 8:04 AM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

just want to say that i'm looking forward to coming back to these polls, when my brain is in a better spot for this kind of listening. so thanks for doing them, even if nobody could possibly include everything or please all tastes.

voted:

Kaija Saariaho – Lonh

for poetry in occitan + shimmering electronics

budo jeru, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 18:54 (five years ago)

My pleasure!

One more decade to go. I think we should wait at least five years before tackling the 2010s.

pomenitul, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 19:05 (five years ago)

Lonh for me too

Jeff W, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 22:42 (five years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Thursday, 28 May 2020 00:01 (five years ago)

ahh have so much listening to do. Holliger’s Violin is the leader in the clubhouse

voodoo chili, Thursday, 28 May 2020 00:10 (five years ago)

Same but that’s based on one listening about a year ago

valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 28 May 2020 12:26 (five years ago)

Where's the love for The Canticle of the Sun? Surely it's one of Gubaidulina's greatest (and most accessible) works. I'd vote for it if this weren't Barrett's time to shine.

pomenitul, Thursday, 28 May 2020 12:29 (five years ago)

listening more today. pas a pas is the latest contender, certainly the one i most want to see performed if we ever get out of this situation.

voodoo chili, Thursday, 28 May 2020 19:50 (five years ago)

…pas à pas – nulle part it is

voodoo chili, Thursday, 28 May 2020 22:46 (five years ago)

I haven't voted for any Kurtág so far because the competition is just too fierce, but in terms of oeuvre, he is one of my favourite living composers by a significant margin. I've yet to hear a single piece of his that leaves me indifferent. And Kurt Widmer is just such an incredible baritone! I can't believe I've never heard him in anything else.

pomenitul, Thursday, 28 May 2020 22:54 (five years ago)

Voted for Carter 5. Made the strongest immediate connection of the ones I listened to.

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Thursday, 28 May 2020 22:54 (five years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Friday, 29 May 2020 00:01 (five years ago)

13 votes is more than I expected given how relatively recent and hence unknown most of these works are. And I fucking love Gubaidulina's Viola Concerto, so no complaints here!

pomenitul, Friday, 29 May 2020 00:04 (five years ago)

Wow, this is an amazing list of pieces to work through. Thanks!

Feel a million filaments (Sund4r), Friday, 29 May 2020 01:57 (five years ago)

You're most welcome!

Alas, the end draws near:

Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Classical Compositions of… the 2000s – Part I (2000-2004)

pomenitul, Friday, 29 May 2020 02:07 (five years ago)

couldn't decide who to vote for and then had an early night... quite a coherent, dry feeling to this set of pieces. despite my aversion to opera I find myself drawn to the raspy tension of the sciarrino, radulescu has been a great discovery and love this SQ (did he finish his 5th after his 6th??), the scodanibbio is very pleasing and reminds me at times of steffen basho-junghans, and the takemitsu is gorgeous, the only one I'd heard previously

The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Friday, 29 May 2020 09:32 (five years ago)

First one I didn't vote in, as I didn't know enough to make a judgement call. I already love Gubaidulina's 'Viola Concerto' though, and look forward to checking out more of her stuff!

Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 29 May 2020 09:40 (five years ago)

You won't be disappointed! She doesn't seem to be composing much lately, and it makes me sad. Granted, she's 88 now, but that didn't stop Elliott Carter from writing some remarkable pieces up until the very end.

pomenitul, Friday, 29 May 2020 13:20 (five years ago)

did he finish his 5th after his 6th?

I was puzzled by this as well. He seems to have overhauled the 5th in 1995, but I don't know quite to what extent.

I really hope Mode Records will complete their Rădulescu cycles with Stephen Clarke and the JACK Quartet. I did find it worrying that the composer's widow, the cellist Catherine Marie Tunnell, had to Kickstart The Complete Cello Works, which came out last year with Mode as vol. 3 of the Rădulescu Edition.

pomenitul, Friday, 29 May 2020 13:29 (five years ago)

xp Carter another one I really need to search out. These polls - more than any other poll or thread series - have given me so much joy.

Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 29 May 2020 14:01 (five years ago)


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