# Introduce Me to Modern Classical Music

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 11, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962 "2003-04-11T03:42:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962/1 "2003-04-11T03:42:35Z")

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Which 20th (and 21st?) century composers should I listen to? Who do you think is the most interesting? Educate me, bub!

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**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962/2 "2003-04-11T03:57:58Z")

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Well, thanks to other Dopers, I am currently enjoying the heck out of Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar.”

I’ll be paying attention to this thread for more recommendations too!

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**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962/3 "2003-04-11T04:33:12Z")

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**Stravinsky** : _Le Sacre du Printemps, Les Noces, l’Histoire du Soldat_  
**Berg** : _Kammerkonzert (Chamber Concerto)_  
**Bartók** : _Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, String Quartets_  
**Varèse** : _Amériques, Ionisation, Poème Electronique_ (actually, you can get his complete works on a double CD)  
**Milhaud** : _La Création du Monde, Le Boeuf sur le Toit_  
**Penderecki** : _St. Luke Passion, The Devils of Loudun_  
**Messiaen** : _Turangalîla_  
**Xenakis** : just about anything  
**Boulez** : _Le Mareau Sans Maître_  
**Hovhaness** : _And God Created Great Whales, Symphony #21 (Etchmiadzin)_  
**Riley** : _Rainbow in Curved Air_

…and of course that’s barely scratching the surface.

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**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962/4 "2003-04-11T05:35:24Z")

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Gyorgy Ligeti and Frank Zappa are both very cool (although Zappa’s music isn’t “purely” classical any more than it’s “purely” anything else).

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/introduce-me-to-modern-classical-music/167962/5 "2003-04-11T06:18:30Z")

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Apocalyptica? They’re a cello quartet that started by doing Metallica songs, but they’ve branched out since then and now do a lot of original stuff.