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- Max Richter. Composer, pianist, and producer, Max Richter is one of the best-known classical composers at work this century, with over one billion streams of his music online, and a further one million album sales.
- Ludovico Einaudi. Since the release of his debut album for solo piano, Le Onde, in 1996, Ludovico Einaudi’s name has become synonymous with hypnotically minimalist piano music.
- Hildur Guðnadóttir. Born to a family of musicians, the Icelandic composer, cellist, and vocalist Hildur Guðnadóttir is best known for her award-winning film and TV scores.
- Eric Whitacre. Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre is responsible for some of the most glorious choral music of the 21st century. Known for his close, crunchy, complex harmonies, which form what he calls ‘the golden brick’, his most famous works include Sleep, Cloudburst, and Lux Aurumque.
From the minimalist pioneers like Philip Glass to the genre-defying works of Caroline Shaw, these composers are redefining what classical music can be in the modern world. This article delves into the careers and contributions of the greatest 21st-century composers, highlighting their impact on the ever-evolving landscape of music.
Dec 16, 2020 · Modern composition is arguably the most upscale of our categories, and often includes music composed for film, dance and theatre. The genre lends itself well to conceptual projects and is strong enough to incorporate a great deal of experimentalism without toppling into abstraction.
Aug 20, 2018 · Modern classical music is bedevilled by what might be called the Kandinsky Problem. Modernist painters, writers, and filmmakers had a far easier time finding a wide audience than composers did.
- Meredith Monk
- Caroline Shaw
- Kaija Saariaho
- Missy Mazzoli
- Jennifer Higdon
- Mica Levi
- Nkeiru Okoye
- Anna S. Thorvaldsdottir
- Julia Wolfe
- Anna Clyne
Meredith Jane Monk is a world-renowned composer, singer, choreographer, filmmaker, artist, and writer. An absolute powerhouse of contemporary art and music alike, she’s been making waves as a composer and performer for over 50 years! Now 76 years old and showing no signs of slowing, Monk continues to be a leading force in extended vocal practices a...
Here’s a spring chicken by comparison, but with a maturity to her practice that’s mind-blowing and brilliant. Born in 1982, Caroline Shaw is an American Pulitzer Prize winning composer, singer, and violinist. Etching her name into the annals of history forever in 2013 with her work Partita for 8 Voices, this ground-breaking piece explores some incr...
Kaija Saariaho does not mess around. She creates powerful concert music and opera which often combines acoustic instrumentation and electronics to express her textural, spectral inspired compositions. Having spent her formative years studying in Helsinki, Saariaho’s earlier output was set within the strict confines of serialism, only moving to a sp...
Described by Time Out New York as “Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart” and The New Times as “one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York,” Missy Mazzoli has obviously earned an indisputable place on this list. She’s been creating innovative, daring, and also stunningly gorgeous music for almost 30 years. A co...
One of the more accessible composers on this list, Jennifer Higdon’s award winning music is characterized by an ability to appeal to a large audience and generally sits in a more diatonic, tonal setting. Her piece Blue Cathedral, which is one of today’s most frequently performed contemporary classical works in the United States, brought Higdon’s mu...
Where to start! Mica Levi has been dancing to the beat of her own drum since she started making music. Just 32 years old and already an international star composer and producer, Levi is also the lead singer of the experimental pop group Micachu and the Shapes. After four years studying at the Guildhall College Of Music and Drama, Levi launched into...
Famed for her 2014 opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom, Dr. Nkeiru Okoye’s music has been described as “emotionally charged and musically sublime.” Okoye also cites inspiration from a dizzying range of influences including Gilbert and Sullivan, Gershwin, Sondheim, Copland, gospel, jazz and yes, even Schoenberg. Born and raised...
This is music that hits you right between the eyes! There’s no messing around. Hailing from the gloriously creative shores of Iceland, where seemingly everyone is an incredible composer or artist of some sort, Anna Thorvaldsdottir(or Þorvaldsdóttir) is an award-winning composer who music is informed as much by sounds and nuances as by harmonies, to...
Julia Wolfe is an American composer whose music has been described by the Wall Street Journal as having “long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are recharged by the repetitive patterns of minimalism and the driving energy of rock.” Need I say any more?! Only perhaps that she too has won a Pulitzer Prize! Her incredible w...
In fitting with the other composers on this list, British composer Anna Clyne has a list of awards and prizes that seem almost unachievable at her age! Some of those include a Grammy Award nomination in 2015 for her work Prince of Clouds, the Hindemith Prize in 2016, the Charles Ives Prize, and awards from ASCAP and SEAMUS, and, well, the list goes...
Find Modern Composition Albums, Artists and Songs, and Hand-Picked Top Modern Composition Music on AllMusic.
Sep 17, 2024 · Modern composers only. This list serves as a compilation of the best modern composers from all over the globe. These gifted 21st century musicians, true legends of the classical music world, are ranked from best to worst by music lovers everywhere.
