Alan Little asked if there has been anything to listen to in the last 40 years. Mischievous Constructions responded with the best of Ligeti and The Rambler listed what he treasures most for each year since 1960. Ok, I'll play, of course constrained by the theme of the aworks weblog (so no Ligeti Etudes, for example).
Here's my list of American works by year. These are the works that I have listened to the most or that had the most impact when I heard them. This is not a list of recommendations; too much minimalism, some current favorites did not make the cut e.g. my favorite Carl Stone, Benjamin Lees, and Joan Tower, and I will always be ambivalent about In C. Also, there may be some discrepancies in the dates as I compiled the list before I remembered the Indiana University new music database. Finally, the boundary years 1960 and 2000 did not yield anything on first examination. Despite those caveats, this was an interesting exercise.
1961 - Nocturnal. Edgard Varèse
1962 - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 38. Samuel Barber
1963 - Vertical Thoughts for Two Pianos. Morton Feldman
1964 - In C. Terry Riley
1965 - It's Gonna Rain, for Tape. Steve Reich
1966 - Come Out. Steve Reich
1967 - Sun Blindness Music. John Cale
1968 - Pendulum Music. Steve Reich
1969 - Concerto for Orchestra. Elliott Carter
1970 - Four Organs. Steve Reich
1971 - Having Never Written a Note for Percussion. James Tenney
1972 - Clapping Music. Steve Reich
1973 - Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Electric Organ. Steve Reich
1974 - Music in Twelve Parts. Philip Glass
1975 - Einstein on the Beach. Philip Glass
1976 - Music for 18 Musicians. Steve Reich
1977 - China Gates for Piano. John Adams
1978 - Shaker Loops. John Adams
1979 - Mad Rush. Philip Glass
1980 - Night Fantasies. Elliott Carter
1981 - Koyaanisqatsi. Philip Glass
1982 - Grand Pianola Music. John Adams
1983 - Akhnaten. Philip Glass
1984 - The Dead Moth Tango. William Bolcolm
1985 - 44 Studies for Player Piano. Conlon Nancarrow
1986 - Short Ride in a Fast Machine. John Adams
1987 - Nixon in China. John Adams
1988 - November 19, 1828. John Harbison
1989 - Symphony No. 1. John Corigliano
1990 - Chao Nue. Carl Stone
1991 - El Dorado. John Adams
1992 - Four6. John Cage
1993 - Concerto for Violin & Orchestra. John Adams
1994 - Symphony No.9: l'eve future. Glenn Branca
1995 - City Life. Steve Reich
1996 - Symphony No. 4: Heroes. Philip Glass
1997 - Kundun. Philip Glass
1998 - Naive and Sentimental Music. John Adams
1999 - Six for New Time. Pauline Oliveros
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