Arvo Part... Where have you been my whole life?

You may also enjoy the work of Max Richter although some of his compositions can push toward experimental. I am just beginning to explore modern classical/avant garde and it seems it is a genre rich with incredibly talented artists like Arvo Part.

A couple of other modern classical records I really enjoy are Richard Skelton's Marking Time (Preservation) and the work of Olafur Arnalds, check out And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness (Erased Tape Records).

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a lot of listening to do. :-)

Bryon

There are a lot of exelent suggestions already but I would like to add Alfred Schnittke. He is different from Part, I would say more "experimental" for the lack of better word. His Concerto's and violin concerto's are among my absolut favorits in contemporary classic pieces.
Part's Miserere and Lamentante as well.

Sergey.

Bryon, I "discovered" Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa, (albeit 20 years ago), and then ended up getting pretty much the entire catalogue. Your question got me thinking and the closest thing to Part I ever heard is the achingly beautiful composition "Carmina" by Terje Bjørklund, performed by the trondheimsolistine on the 2L album Divertimento. This album also has some Britten and Barton and is worth getting.

I never heard any other Terje Bjørklund (apparently he is originally a Jazz guy), but there is a "music for strings" album by Bjorkland that may be worth looking into.

Being a long time choirister;I have had the opportunity to sing a lot of "modern" music including Part.The composer that I have always associated (in my mind)with Part is John Tavener. Perhaps it is because they seemed to appear on the scene at the same time. It could also be the fact that Tavener has a Byzantine tendency in his choice of liturgical texts. Indeed his "Ikon" is obviously so,and anyone that saw Lady Diana's funeral had to be blown away by Tavener's "Song for Athene".
Part is in most ways his own man. He has dark complex sounds that remind me of something like Howells but without the Anglican influence.Both are very difficult to sing and most choirs won't attempt. (thank god!)