A Web Nexus for Contemporary Art Music
The Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music is a wide ranging web nexus for contemporary concert music. Our mission is to promote contemporary composers and their music through information, understanding and performances.
Contemporary classical/art/concert music is a living art form, fed by the creativity of composers across the country and around the globe. Finding inspiration from a multitude of sources, this music springs from a well-known and beloved past, yet travels new avenues and explores amazingly diverse sound worlds. There are more composers writing music now than there ever have been in the history of the world, and our goal is to help you connect with them and enjoy their art.
Featured Items and Upcoming Events
Bright Sheng: 7 Tunes Heard in China
Little Cabbage & Seasons (1995)
Nicholas
Finch & Jerry Liu, cello
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~
check
out our video archive
post
your comments at PytheasTalk
Post-Classical Ensemble
Washington, DC, USA
"More than an orchestra", Post-Classical
Ensemble performs music in the context of its cultural
heritage, including folk song, dance, film, and contemporary popular
music, in order to serve existing audiences hungry for deeper
engagement and to cultivate broader and younger audiences.
Called by The Washington Post “a welcome, edgy addition to the
musical life of Washington ,” Post-Classical
Ensemble was created by Angel Gil-Ordóńez and Joseph
Horowitz, and made its official debut in May 2003. “More than an
orchestra,” it breaks out of classical music, with its implied notion
of a high-culture remote from popular art. Its concerts regularly
incorporate folk song, dance, film, poetry, and commentary in order to
serve existing audiences hungry for deeper engagement, and to cultivate
adventurous new listeners . . .
Learn More
Frank Ticheli
Composers Portraits
Frank Ticheli's music has been described as being "optimistic and thoughtful" (Los Angeles Times), "lean and muscular" (New York Times), "brilliantly effective" (Miami Herald) and "powerful, deeply felt crafted with impressive flair and an ear for striking instrumental colors" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli joined the faculty of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition. From 1991 to 1998, he was Composer in Residence of the Pacific Symphony, and he still enjoys a close working relationship with that orchestra and their music director, Carl St. Clair. Ticheli is well known for his works for concert band, many of which have become standards in the repertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared as guest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at many American universities and music festivals, and in cities throughout the world.Learn More
visit Frank Ticheli at Pytheas ...
Norway Cultural Profile
Cultural Profiles Project
Contemporary music in Norway is a field that combines vibrant activity
with a wide international reputation. Besides being innovative creators
and performers of composed music, Norway’s younger generation of
composers and musicians are also venturing into improvisation, jazz,
'noise' and mixed media arts. There is also a small but growing
interest in contemporary fiddle players (see section on Folk music and
dance). Notable among contemporary Norwegian composers having achieved
international acclaim are Arne Nordheim (b 1931), Lasse Thoresen (b
1949), Olav Anton Thommessen (b 1946), Rolf Wallin (b 1957), Cecilie
Ore (b 1954), Sven Lyder Kahrs (b 1959) and Jon Řivind Ness (b 1968).
Young and aspiring Norwegian composers with growing international
exposure are Maja S K Ratkje (b 1973), Eivind Buene (b 1973) and Lars
Petter Hagen (b 1975). Ratkje and Wallin are the foremost examples of
artists combining the roles of composer and performer . . .
Learn More
Dan Locklair
Symphony of Seasons: Autumn (2002)
Images by photographer Ken Bennett ~ ~ check out our video archive post your comments at PytheasTalk
Free Your Mind & Your Ears Will Follow
Charles Michener, New York Observer
It is axiomatic about new, serious music that it is
far from accessible on first acquaintance-indeed, that it may remain
opaque, if not downright hostile, to our ears even after a second or
third hearing. Addressing this problem in one of his Charles Eliot
Norton Lectures at Harvard University, the American composer Roger
Sessions, whose music is renowned for its knottiness, offered a useful
suggestion: "If we keep our ears open and willing, and listen
attentively, we may easily discern, here and there, moments or passages
of which we feel the impact immediately, however fleeting this
sensation of contact or recognition may be. One may even tell oneself:
'This at least is "striking," or "graceful," or "amusing," even
"moving," "beautiful," or simply "interesting."' This means that we
have begun to recognize features in the work and to sense its
character; and if we are interested or patient enough to pursue the
matter further, we will find that these moments will grow longer" . . .
Learn
More
Composers of the Month
Sound Advice
Phono Suecia Records

Victoria Borisova-Ollas
Selected Music
of this exciting composer
cannot be understated."
- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International
Learn More
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The Pytheas EarfulEach week we recommend
a listening experience
made possible by one of the web's
many streaming audio sites
Click, listen, explore, enjoy...
This week's featured piece:
Richard Belcastro's
Caution, Rip Current (2005)
Streaming Audio? click Listen
Pytheas Sightings
New Music on Film
Howard Shore's rejected score for
Ransom (1996)
Danses Pytheuses
New Music for Dance
György Ligeti
Polyphonia (2001)
Choreography by
Christopher Wheeldon
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Contemporary Composers
Contemporary Composers ... Cont'd
Composers in Selected States
Composer Collectives
Film Composers
Dance Composers
Composers Speak on the Web
New Music Ensembles
New Music Festivals
Contemporary Music Centers
New Music Websites
Publishers
Award Winning Music
* * * Cool New Music Videos * * *
Streaming Audio
Streaming Audio Archive
New Music Recordings
New Music Video Archive
New Music Film Archive
New Music Dance Archive
New Music Thoughts & Ideas
New Music Concepts & Terms
New Music for Kids
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