Surely this will look like a private joke, but in line with some
eloquent and *enjoyable* 20th century composers, I cannot resist and
will quote Osvaldas Balakauskas once again.  He is a living composer,
whose music is technically, intellectually (and musically, as far as this
makes sense) challenging, but also tremendously attractive, beautiful and
vital.  Recently, I listened to an LP-record of his Concerto for oboe,
harpsichord and strings, and this piece certainly brought out all of the
above-mentioned qualities.  (The outstanding oboist in the recording was
...Juozas Rimas...) Fortunately, several of his other major works are now
available on CD.

In totally different styles, I have already mentioned Kenins.  You may want
to try Norgard too, or his contemporary Norholm (the Symphony No.  2 "Isola
Bella" is a fantastic feast for the senses and the mind alike).  Or move
to the East (at least philosophically) and try works by Ton-That Tiet.
As Aaron Rabushka wrote, the paths are too many to be ever listed.

Concerning Cage, even for somebody not overly receptive to his music,
I believe that his emphasis on the unforeseen nature of sounds, and also
on the "impurity" of silence, definitely go beyond the mere anecdote or
concert happening.  Whether this has anything to do with musical talent is
another story, but certainly he was instrumental in bringing an awareness
of simple -- and overlooked -- elements in the perception of music.
(Naturally this is a naive presentation, I'd need to elaborate.) Some other
modern composers, whose works seemingly match the traditional listening
standards, actually reduced art to a competent handling of imposed figures,
and produced pieces whose "only" difference with older music is their lack
of mystery, of unexplainable or untold things, and which plainly show
little, if any inspiration at all.  IMHO Cage was not the one who "demoted"
the subtlest shades of music down to material, impoverished imitations of
great music.

(Of course I would not say that no traditional composer of our time is
worth knowing, far from that!  Yet in this wealth of music still composed
according to some classical sense of beauty nowadays, I am not sure that we
are always offered the most profound, richly human and rewarding part, be
it on major stages or big record companies' catalogues.

Best wishes,

Thanh-Tam Le
[log in to unmask]