20th Century Classical

Conlon Nancarrow (b. October 27, 1912, Texarkana - d. August 10, 1997, Mexico City) was an American-born composer who lived most of his life in Mexico. Nancarrow is remembered almost exclusively for the pieces he wrote for the player piano. He was one of the first composers to use musical instruments as mechanical machines, utilising their capacity to play complex polyrhythms at tempos far beyond human performance ability.

Read more about Conlon Nancarrow on Last.fm.

Born in Hucknall, Notts., 27th August 1886, Eric Coates belonged to a musical family. He studied at the Royal Academy before playing viola under Sir Henry Wood's baton in the Queen's Hall Orchestra. Chronic pain forced him to give up viola, and he concentrated on his considerable powers as a composer. Much of his music is still well-known, such as the theme of ''Dambusers"The Dam Busters March ; the signature tune to Radio Four's 'Desert Island Discs' By the Sleepy Lagoon and the BBC's "Music While You Work" signature tune(1940-1967)Calling All Workers .

Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a composer active from the 1920s until his death. He was a leading composer for the stage, as well as writing a number of concert works. Over fifty years after his death, his music continues to be performed both in popular and classical contexts. In Weill's lifetime, his work was most associated with the voice of his wife, Lotte Lenya...

Aldo Clementi (25 May, 1925 - 3 March, 2011) was the last survivor of the great generation of Italian postwar musical avant-gardists. He was also its quietest and most self-effacing member, both personally and musically. After a hesitant start, he developed a technique that allowed him to produce works as calmly consistent in sound and technique as a Renaissance motet, and some would say just as beautiful.