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What’s the difference between contemporary classical and classical music?
I’m a little confused here by the term ‘contemporary’. Is the difference just that ‘classical music’ now refers to music of the 18th-20th century (including the baroque, classical and romantic periods) whereas ‘contemporary’ is more 21st century ‘art music’?

Also, if anyone had any good well-known ‘contemporary classical’ composers would you be able to name me some so I can listen to the difference in their musical styles myself.

The following is the answer:

Answer by Lisa
You have grasped the concept pretty well.

just check the wiki page for a whole bunch of names
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_classical_music

Answer by Rick Oshae
I think you have answered your question pretty well yourself. Yes, classical is a generic (but technically incorrect) term that is applied to baroque, classical and romantic music.

Contemporary “art music” applies to composers still alive or recently deceased I reckon. I think much or the music that evolved during the 20th century is now completely separate from contemporary music
(neo classical/twelve tone or serialism/pointilism/minimalism etc)

I don’t really know much contemporary. Maybe Philip Glass (or has he sold out? I don’t think so) Film music is the new “classical” music I think.

Answer by petr b
To add to confusion, there are some arguments within academia from place to place and country to country.

Technically, “contemporary” is the immediate now. Wiki still adheres to “modern” classical as being from about 1900 (some say 1890 – due to the reality of Debussy’s dates, since in fact he is the first truly historically ‘modern’ composer) to 1960, and naming 1960 to present “contemporary.”

(In the 1960′s there was a dramatic shift in development of style, and how people and composers began to think of music. the 60′s included a big development of the just past primitive earlier electronics to much more sophisticated electronic and taped ‘art music.’)

Since the 20th century is over, and ‘contemporary is synonymous with ‘modern’ (see the possible confusion?) some prefer 20th century classical, reserving contemporary for 21st century classical.. I’ve started to use 20th century / contemporary classical. They’re about as clear as it can get, and self-explanatory. (It seems weird now to call music written in 1913 ‘modern’ – though, stylistically, it still is compared to what came before.)

“Contemporary classical” on youtube will find you a lot of really bad and very generic ‘new-age’ and pop-oriented music. The commercial popular music industry has also now slapped the technical term ‘neoclassical,’ which defines a distinct style of art music which began in about 1919, onto a rather vapid and very mildly alternate pop genre.

And, of course, we know now that every piece of music, regardless if it has vocals and text or not, is a “Song.” LOL.

Best regards.

Answer by joshuacharlesmorris
This is one of those perpetual questions that is kept alive by poor nomenclature in classical music.

Classical music with a capital “C” refers to the Classical era of music which was from about 1750-1830, classical music with a lowercase “c” refers to western art music in general and could include anything from medieval music up to present day classical music.
Contemporary classical is one of those terms that is frequently redefined. 100 years ago Debussy was contemporary, 50 years ago Webern was contemporary, today we think of them as modernist or late romantic.
Contemporary classical generally is used to refer to classical music of the present day and the very recent past. I’ve seen contemporary classical refer to work from about 1980 and later.

As far as style goes contemporary music does not neatly follow any strong aesthetic trends in the same way as you find in the Baroque or Classical era. Today we have myriad schools of thought and aesthetic trying to think of “contemporary classical” as one thing will only confuse you. Listening to the new complexity of Ferneyhough and the neo-romanticism of Gavrilin you wouldn’t believe that both composers lived at the same time.

Here are some good examples of “contemporary classical” from a wide variety of composers.
Ades:

Ferneyhough:

Birtwistle:

Xenakis:

Guo Wenjing

Валерий Гаврилин

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpKJ7440Dc

Add your own answer in the comments!
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Contemporary Focus


Image by Knoxville Museum of Art
Friday, March 13, 7-10pm — visit the studio of David Wolff
(Fluorescent Gallery, 627 N Central St, Knoxville)

Contemporary Focus is a new series of lectures, workshops, and
exhibitions dedicated to new, adventurous art being developed in
Knoxville. The inaugural lineup presents three artists who are
exploring a wide range of ideas across a range of media: Hunt Clark,
Patricia Tinajero, and David Wolff. Over the coming months, each
Contemporary Focus artist will develop artwork for a group exhibition
at the KMA, present lectures about their work, and host studio visits.
The series is designed to foster an ongoing conversation between
artists and the public.

The Knoxville Museum of Art is strongly committed to providing diverse
audiences with unique opportunities for learning and personal growth.
Contemporary Focus provides an important opportunity for artists in
Knoxville to engage a wider public and encourages interaction between
artists and their community.

Contemporary Focus is sponsored in part by the Tennessee Arts
Commission, Arts Builds Communities.

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