John Zorn, "Femina (Part 3)"

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John Zorn, "Akiola"

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What are the most significant classical works of the last 15-20 years?

That simple question always proves not so simple. The usual garden-variety 'what is classical music' issue sprouted up, but amidst all the distractions, there's quite an impressive list of pieces, several of which are outside the timeframe of the question.

Here's the complete list of pieces & composers mentioned so far:

Adams, John - Naive and Sentimental Music; Harmonielehre; Violin Concerto; Chamber Concerto; Shaker Loops (1983)
Andriessen, Louis – Writing to Vermeer
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Baird, Tadeusz - Voices from Afar
Barrett, Richard - Vanity ('90-'94)
Beauvais, William - Incoming Light (for prepared classical guitar; gets the sound of a gamelan out of the instrument)
Bell, Shawn - Currents II (a lovely classical guitar piece; post-minimal with lots of energy and pretty use of very dissonant harmonies; a lot of harmonics)
Benjamin, George - Antara
Berio, Luciano – Notturno; Sinfonia (1969)
Birtwistle, Harrison - Pulse Shadows; Gawain; Earth Dances (1986)
Boulez, Pierre – Répons (1984)
Budd, Harold
Cage, John - Apartment House 1776 (1976)
Carter, Elliott - Symphonia: Sum fluxae pretium spei
Cooper, Lindsay - Face In the Crowd (sax quartet, played by Rova)
Czernowin, Chaya - Dam Sheon Hachol
Davies, Peter Maxwell - Eight Songs for a Mad King; Symphony No.5
Dench, Chris - Sulle scala della fenice ('86-'89)
Dillon, James - Windows and Canopies ('85)
Dumitrescu, Iancu - Galaxy (1993); Pierres Sacrees (1991)
Dutilleux, Henri - L'arbre Des Songes
Eastman, Julius - Unjust Malaise (CD)
Emsley, Richard - Flow Form ('87)
Eötvös, Péter - Atlantis (1995)
Feldman, Morton - For Samuel Beckett (1987); Rothko Chapel (1971)
Ferko, Frank – Hildegard Organ Cycle
Ferneyhough, Brian - Mnemosyne ('86); Cassandra's Dream Song (1970); Etudes transcendentales (1985)
Finnissy, Michael - The History of Photography in Sound (2001); Recent Britain ('98); Folklore II (1994)
Fox, Christopher - A Canonic Break ('02-'03)
Frith, Fred – Upbeat; Ayaya Moses
Galas, Diamanda - Vena Cava
Golijov, Osvaldo – Ayre; La Pasion Segun San Marcos
Goebbels, Heiner - Surrogate Cities
Gorecki, Henryk - Symphony no.2 (1972)
Grisey, Gérard - Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil (1998)
Gubaidulina, Sofia - Johannes-Passion
Harvey, Jonathan - Inquest of Love
Holt, Simon - Sunrise’ yellow noise
Howells, Herbert - Take him, earth, for cherishing (1963)
Ikeda, Ryoji - Op
Kilar, Wojciech - Krzesany (1974)
Kline, Phil - Three Rumsfeld Songs
Kurtág, György – Kafka-Fragmente; Messages of the Late R.V. Troussova (1980); Ligatura: Message to Frances-Marie (The Answered Unanswered Question) (1989)
Lachenmann, Helmut - Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (2002)
Ligeti, György - Violin Concerto; Atmosphères (1961)
Lindberg, Magnus – Kraft; Clarinet Concerto
Lutoslawski, Witold - Chain 3;Chantefleurs et Chantefables; Livre pour orchestre (1968)
Messiaen, Olivier - Éclairs sur l'Au-delà; Sept haïkï (1962)
Monk, Meredith - Atlas (1992)
Nishimura, Akira - Into The Lights of the Eternal Chaos for symphony orchestra, 1990
Nono, Luigi - La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura
Normandeau, Robert - Clair de Terre
Otte, Hans - Das Buch der Klange (1982)
Pallett, Owen
Part, Arvo – Litany (1996); Festina Lente; Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (1977)
Partch, Harry - And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma (1966)
Penderecki, Krzysztof - Threnody - To the Victims of Hiroshima (1960)
Pritchard, Alwynne - Craw (1997)
Reich, Steve - Different Trains; It's Gonna Rain (1965); Six Pianos (1973)
Rihm, Wolfgang - Jagden und Formen
Riley, Terry - In C (1964)
Rzewski, Frederic – The Road; The People United Will Never be Defeated (1975)
Saariaho, Kaija - L'amour de loin; Amers; Grammaire des rêves (1988)
Saunders, Rebecca - Albescere ('02); Cinnabar (1999)
Schnittke, Alfred - String Quartet No. 4
Sharp, Elliot - Abstract Repressionism
Stockhausen, Karlheinz – Hymnen (1967); LICHT
Takemitsu, Toru - I Hear the Water Dreaming; riverrun; From Me Flows What You Call Time
Tavener, John - The Apocalypse (1993)
Tenney, James - Critical Band (1988)
Walshe, Jennifer - "as mo cheanne" ('00)
Wilson, Ian - ... wander, darkling (2000)
Ziporyn, Evan - Tire Fire
Zorn, John – Spillane (1987)