Your favorite classical composers/works?

Bartokfan, I realize that your statement is just a personal view, but since it may have the effect of devaluing music by composers you do not mention and thereby effect others when approaching modern music, I feel it is necessary to ask a question or two.

How, exactly, does the music of Pettersson and Schnittke, or any other modernist, "help the individual in dealing with his current world". Do I have to do a lot of reading to understand how they interperpert historical events and transcribe them into music, or will I be able to just listen and understand?

In my observation, most of the modern music that is held dear is music which is someone's interpertation of a tradegy. Why would we want to exclude from the collective exposure of folks new to 'modernists' those composers who see musical expression differently? I think we call them neo-romantics, but by any name they are modern composers who just may not see the need to translate into music the events of their times.

Personally if I MUST read to understand a musical composition, let alone learn to appreciate it, I'll pass. Note I'm not negating the value of reading about a composer and from such reading coming to understand his music, if fact in the case of Mahler for example, its very enlightening, but its not necessary.

Just a couple of random thoughts and my personal POV.

Recently, I have seen a very interesting version of Monterverdi The Coronation of Poppea in Budapest, Hungary where I am living. This is one of the first operas ever written in 1643. This version was staged by Iván Fischer, the principal conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra with a professional theatre director, Andor Lukács. The actors were the members of the class of Lukács in the Budapest based Drama Theatre College. The actors sung the opera in italian as was written originally by Monterverdi and were accompanied by a small ensemble consisting one clavicord, violin and cello. Of course, as the student are learning Drama and not opera, their quality of singing was not that good, and now I am very polite. But they were, of course, very good actors - a quality which is very rare in any opera stage. The opera was also directed by a very talent director, so he was able to really dig in and show the drama of the play. The most interesting feature of the play was, that parallel singing the opera, three actors (who represented virtue, honesty and amor - the three main theme of the original opera) told the text in Hungarian (which is the leanguage which the audience was most familiar). Now, in this Wagnerian style gesammkunstwerk the text, the drama and the music got almost equal role. Due to this nature of the stage play, one could sense, once not the beauty of music was on the front, but the drama - really how modern and still relevant was the plot of the Poppea despite the fact that it was written some 400 years ago - and how the music served to underpin the drama. It was a really revealing event even for me (I say this as I really like Opera, etc) and demonstrated that sometimes we, classical music lovers, are forgetting the drama in operas for the sake of beauty of music and singing.
Now as far as modern music concerned, I really like some of the modern music. For example, I fairly like Ligeti. I have heard his music in several times in live concerts. One of the best concerts I ever heard was when the Keller quartett played Ligeti. Than I bought some of its cd-s. Still, I almost never put them at home to play. Somehow, this type fo music, which does lack the easy beauty of earlier music, is requires the concentration of the listener and the intesity and human factor of life performance. This is opposite of Bach Johannes Passion. I had it for ages on CD. I played a few times, but never really got it. A month ago, I heard it in a live concert by the Le Petite Band, led by Sigiswald Kujkinen. It was such a wonderful concernt. Since than practically, I am only playing it at home. And I think it is a qualitative difference between old and modern classical music.
And of course, modern classical music not always has "modern' message. A prime example for me the Castle fo Bluebard by Bartók. This is already an old classical, but many of its messages would be considered today as politically incorrect. Of course, this is the responsibility of Balázs Béla, who wrote the poem - which is not that great, not even in Hungarian - and not that of Bartók. But still, as a music wonderful. (MAybe the best version of this opera is actually produced by Fischer Iván with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Philips).

Ajahu, you are blessed getting to see and hear such groups as "Keller Quartet", " Le Petite Bande, with Sigiswald Kuijken". Classical music in the states is a train wreck with the obsession of "PoP CulTURE". I am not knocking great rock artists such as Neil Young, Lou Reed etc, mind you but there is such a load of forgetable dribble that it's mind blowing. It's a real shame to boot as there are some great orchestras in this country that go unnoticed by younger generations. Why you ask? One only need look no further than the parents to what CuLTure is being digested in there homes, automobiles and workplace. Im fortunate to live in a place that music and art are tantamount to it's people. I've been blessed as well to meet, see and hear Penderecki's opera The Black Mask, as well as a slew of significant 20th century work's at the Santa Fe Opera over the course of 20 years. Sorry had to get that of my chest.

Favorite composers;
Early Music; Hildegard Von Bingen, Perotin, Guiot De Dijon , Nortre Dame period, The Cantigas De Santa Maria by Alfonso X ElSabio,The Galicia Castilla, the Bamberg and Montpellier Codices and last but not least The Carmina Burana, Roman de Fauvel, Machaut and all Trouvere, Minnessinger, Troubadour music of Spain, Germany, France, Italy, England etc.

Renaissance Early And Late; Tomas Luis De Victoria, Christobal De Morales, Dufay, Palestrina, Ockghem, Josquin Desprez , Luys Milan, Antonio Cabezon, Tallis, Bartomeu Carceres and William Byrd.

Early and late Baroque; Bach and family, Francois and Louis Couperin, Forqueray, Rameau, Purcell, Marais, Saint Colombe, Vivaldi and Telemann.

Classical; Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart.

Romantic;Wagner and Bruckner.

Impressionism; Satie, Debussy.

Early 20th Cent; Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, C. Ives, K.A. Hartmann, Shostikovitch, O. Messiaen and Pierre Schaffer.

Post WWII; Luigi Nono, Allan Pettersson, Boulez, Stockhausen, H.W. Henze, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, B. Parmagiani, Vagn Holmboe, I. Lidholm, Francios Bayle, Bernd Zimmermann, Kokkonen, and Penderecki.

Current; H. Holliger, A. Part, Demitriscu, Saariaho, S. Reich, P. Glass etc...

May I add a few not so popular or well known musicians/lps/cds, which are immensely beautiful.
Teleman, metodische sonatas, sony seon, a wonderful vollection of recorder/violin sonatas performed by the Boston Museum Trio and Frans Bruggen. Such a beautiful, erotic and sensual music - a completly different world than Bach's sonatas. Hearing that one may understand while the contemporary music lovers regarded so highly Telemann.
MOnterverdi, L incoronazione de Poppea, a truly modern and beautufil music from the mid XVI-th century: Bonnie and Clyde in emperor clothes.
Haynd Violin sonatas, Played by Pauk, Hungaroton. Of what music!
Biber, violin sonatas, Red Hot Chilli Pepper from the mid-XVIIIth century, low priced cd-s on the Apex series by Harnoncourt and a rival version by Andrew Manze.

I have to admit a soft spot for Purcell and Rameau. A more recent composer I like is Valentin Sylvestrov, Ukrainian I think.