Masterpieces of contemporary (art) music. Recommended popular pieces.

Oratorio “Saint Nichiren”Mayuzumi Toshirō

Toshiro Mayuzumi: Oratorio “Saint Nichiren” (world premiere)

Toshiro Mayuzumi is known as a composer who represents Japan’s postwar music scene.

He was active not only in contemporary music but also in film music.

Among his works, this grand piece—expressing a Buddhist worldview through the Western oratorio form—is nothing short of overwhelming.

It depicts the life of Nichiren in five parts—Sea, Flower, Light, Snow, and Mountain—where Japanese narration, a sonorous chorus, and a symphonic orchestra unite to weave an epic narrative.

In the final section, the climactic rise powered by the repeated chanting of the daimoku is sure to stir the listener’s soul.

The work premiered in April 1982 as part of the commemoration of the 700th anniversary of Saint Nichiren’s passing.

It is a masterpiece I strongly recommend to anyone seeking a one-of-a-kind musical experience that fuses Japanese spirituality with the framework of Western music.

Mirror in the Mirror (Spiegel im Spiegel)Arvo Part

Arvo Pärt- Spiegel im Spiegel

Arvo Pärt presents sounds as if they had already been resonating there, offering them in a natural form.

Many of his masterpieces seem to borrow just a touch of inspiration from nature, turn it back into sound, and return it to nature again—an artfulness within apparent randomness.

This piece, too, is like gazing at your face in parallel mirrors, discovering many versions of yourself, and feeling a quiet joy.

Song for AthensJohn Tavener

Tavener: Song for Athene (King’s College Choir, Cambridge)

When Princess Diana died in an unexpected accident, the piece playing at her funeral ceremony was this work by Tavener.

Despite being a contemporary composer, the foundation of his technique lies in the church modes.

However, if you listen closely, you can hear harmonies and other elements subtly revealing that it was composed in the modern era.

Fanfare for the CitizensAaron Copland

Fanfare for the Common Man, New York Philharmonic, James Levine

This piece has been labeled as the most accessible music written in the 20th century, but it becomes a fanfare that transcends notions of being easy or difficult to understand—an iconic sound of its era.

What is passed down across times and nations surely bears evidence that some kind of life resides within it.

The Chairman Dances, from the opera Nixon in ChinaJohn Adams

John Adams – The Chairman Dances

From John Adams, often called a standard-bearer of post-minimalism, let me introduce this piece, which won a Grammy Award in 1989.

Some may ask, what exactly is post-minimalism? It’s essentially minimal music with greater flexibility.

There’s no precise definition—perhaps you could think of it as a slightly slack side-to-side repetition.

Definitions can be useful for both language and music, but there’s a bit of nonsense to them too.