The eight composers on this compilation, all of them born in 1938, adhere to no single trend or movement, yet each is united by an uncompromising determination to transgress boundaries and expectations in pursuit of artistic autonomy. The representative selections presented here, with their beguiling mixture of lucidity and complexity, dissonance and lyricism, compel repeated listening for music lovers of all tastes and inclinations. Were the musicians of the “Class of ‘38” to express a collective credo, they might very well adopt the words of John Harbison, who famously defined his aesthetic intent “to make each piece different from the others, to find clear, fresh large designs, to reinvent traditions.”