Composer of the month (March 2025)
The Korean composer Isang Yun (Yun Yi Sang), son of the Korean poet Yun Ki Hyon, studied in Japan, during the war taking part in secret anti-Japanese activities that led to his imprisonment in 1943. After the war he was able to play a part in the revival of Korean culture. From 1956 to 1957 he studied in Paris and thereafter for a year at the Berlin Musikhochschule with Boris Blacher, Josef Rufer and Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling. The meetings at Darmstadt provided a formative influence. His abduction to Seoul by agents of the South Korean regime of Chung Hee Park in 1967 led to international protest and in 1969 he was granted an amnesty and allowed to return to Germany as a political refugee. He taught at the Hanover Musikhochschule and from 1970 at the parallel institution in Berlin. In Germany he held a position of some distinction, receiving a number of awards, while in North Korea he was honoured by the establishment of an institute bearing his name. He died in Berlin in 1995.
Composer of the month (Feburary 2025)
Olga Neuwirth (Austrian German: [ˈɔlɡa ˈnɔʏvɪrt]; born 4 August 1968) is an Austrian contemporary classical composer, visual artist and author. She is famed especially for her operas and music theater works, many of which have treated sociopolitical themes.
She has emphasized an open-ended, interdisciplinary approach in her work, collaborating frequently with Elfriede Jelinek, exploiting live electronics, and incorporating video. In her opera Lost Highway, she adapted David Lynch's surrealist film with the same name. She has also written music for historic and contemporary films. Luigi Nono has inspired her both musically and politically.
Neuwirth's original compositional style is characterized by the use of diverse compositional techniques and hybrid sound materials, with a constant questioning of artistic and sociopolitical norms.
Exploring the Evolution
Trends and History of Modern Classical Music
Contemporary classical music, rooted in the Western art tradition, refers to compositions created in or near the present era. Since the mid-20th century, it has largely encompassed post-1945 works that evolved after the influence of Anton Webern. This rich and diverse field includes genres such as serialism, electronic, experimental, and minimalist music. Recent trends have further expanded the landscape with innovative styles like spectral music and post-minimalism.
composer of the month (archives)
Jan/2025
Earthlight
(1998)
Oct/2024
Frozen Dreams
(2022)
July/2024
Appalachian Spring
(2014)
April/2024
Akrostichon-Wortspiel (1991/1993)
January/2024
Harmonium
(1981)
October/2023
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1977)
July/2023
Concerto for string orchestra and zheng
(2015)
Dec/2024
Black Angels
(1970)
Sept/2024
Strum
(2021)
June/2024
Music in Common Time
(2018)
March/2024
Splendid Wood
(2006)
December/2023
Double concerto for violin and cello
(2010)
September/2023
Symphony Nº4
(2011)
June/2023
Nyx (2010)
Nov/2024
La flûte de Jade
(1922)
Aug/2024
Hyperion
(2026)
May/2024
Concerto for violin
(2023)
February/2024
Fratres
(original version, 1977)
November/2023
Symphony No.5 "Korea"
(1992)
August/2023
Max Richter's 8-hour minimalist composition 'Sleep'
(2016)
May/2023
Passage
(2017)
Composer Snapshot: Quick Glimpse
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3 / Performance Groups
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Accessible Contemporary Music
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Alarm Will Sound
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ALEA Ensemble
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Alea III
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Amaryllis Chamber Ensemble
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American Composers Orchestra
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American Modern Ensemble
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American Wind Symphony Orchestra
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Arditti Quartet
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Ascolta
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Asko/Schönberg
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Australia Ensemble
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Bach Aria Group
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Balanescu Quartet
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Bang on a Can
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Bang on a Can All Stars
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Béla Quartet
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Berg Orchestra
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Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
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BIT20 Ensemble
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Blair Quartet
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Boston Modern Orchestra Project
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Boston Musica Viva
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Bridge to Everywhere
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California EAR Unit
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Car Ensemble of the Netherlands
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Cassatt Quartet
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Claremont Trio
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Classical Jazz Quartet
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Cleveland Chamber Symphony
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Collage New Music
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The Composers Quartet
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Concorde Contemporary Music Ensemble
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Corigliano Quartet
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Crash Ensemble
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Da Capo Chamber Players
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Dallas String Quartet
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Deep Listening Band
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Del Sol Quartet
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Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble
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Dreamtiger
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Dublin Guitar Quartet
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Duo Gelland
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Dynamis Ensemble
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Echo Collective
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Edison Studio
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Eighth Blackbird
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ELISION Ensemble
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Endymion (ensemble)
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Ensamble Nacional del Sur
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Ensemble 2e2m
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Ensemble Aleph
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Ensemble Ars Nova
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Ensemble Dal Niente
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Ensemble intercontemporain
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Ensemble l'Itinéraire
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Ensemble Modern
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Ensemble Musikfabrik
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Ensemble neoN
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Ensemble Nostri Temporis
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Ensemble recherche
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Ensemble Signal
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Ensemble Sortisatio
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Esprit Orchestra
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Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
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Ethel (string quartet)
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Europa String Choir
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Face the Music (music ensemble)
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Fires of London
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Five Centuries Ensemble
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FLUX Quartet
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Fred Frith Guitar Quartet
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Fundación Cultural Patagonia String Quartet
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Gamelan Son of Lion
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Genghis Barbie
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Ghost Ensemble
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Gildas Quartet
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Group 180
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The Group for Contemporary Music
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Groupe Lacroix
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Grupo Música Nova
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HOCKET (duo)
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Hoketus
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Hyperion Ensemble
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Icebreaker (band)
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ICTUS
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International Contemporary Ensemble
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JACK Quartet
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Just Alap Raga Ensemble
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Juventas New Music Ensemble
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Kaltchev Guitar Duo
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Klangforum Wien
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Kronos Quartet
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London Contemporary Orchestra
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London Sinfonietta
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Los Angeles Electric 8
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Lost in the Trees
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Luxembourg Sinfonietta
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Magma (band)
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Melos Ensemble
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Meridian Arts Ensemble
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Michael Nyman Band
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Millennial Choirs & Orchestras
N
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The Naghash Ensemble
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Nash Ensemble
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National Intercollegiate Band
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Nevsky String Quartet
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New Century Chamber Orchestra
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New European Ensemble
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Newband
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Next Mushroom Promotion
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Nexus (ensemble)
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North Sea Radio Orchestra
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North/South Consonance Ensemble
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Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
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Orchestra 2001
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Oslo Sinfonietta
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Passepartout Duo
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Peculate (band)
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Les Percussions de Strasbourg
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Philip Glass Ensemble
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Piano Circus
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Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
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Plus-minus ensemble
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Project Trio
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Psappha (ensemble)
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PUNTO Experimental Music Ensemble
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Quince Ensemble
R
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Radius (music ensemble)
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Red Note Ensemble
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Relâche (musical group)
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The Rubio Quartet
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S.E.M. Ensemble
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Salut Salon
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San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra
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Schreck Ensemble
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Smith Quartet
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Sonanza Ensemble
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Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble
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Southwest Chamber Music
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Speculum Musicae
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St. Petersburg State Academic Capella
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Steve Reich and Musicians
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Stroma (musical group)
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ST-X Ensemble
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Sydney Alpha Ensemble
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Symphony Number One
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Tambuco
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Tartar Lamb
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Texas A&M Wind Symphony
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Theatre of Voices
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Thelema Trio
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Toimii
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Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
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Topology (musical ensemble)
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Trio Voronezh
U
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University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players
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Uusinta Ensemble
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Vertixe Sonora Ensemble
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Villalobos Brothers
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Voices of Change
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Dale Warland Singers
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Wiener Taschenoper
X
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Xenakis Ensemble
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Ying Quartet
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Zeitgeist (ensemble)