Getting Over the Shock of the New
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GETTING OVER THE SHOCK OF THE NEW CONTEMPORARY IS SYMPHONIC MUSIC Thomas Dausgaard conducts the Seattle Symphony GETTING OVER THE SHOCK OF THE NEW AGE COMING OF BY GREG CAHILL here is a creepy bloodlust to orchestra will premiere the rest of the it,” he says. “That alertness to what the com- the doom-mongering of clas- works in future seasons. poser actually wrote, rather than what might sical music, as though an Indeed, a look at major orchestras around have become standard practice, is an inspira- “T autopsy were being con- the United States shows that contemporary tion for me when working on music by dead ducted on a still-breathing body,” William symphonic works are slowly, but surely, mak- composers we can no longer ask questions of. Robin wrote in the New Yorker in a 2014 ing inroads into program schedules. For So much of what we perform is written by article about perpetual reports of the example, subscribers to the Chicago Sym- people long gone; it can be frustrating never genre’s death. “What if each commentator phony Orchestra’s 2020–21 season can to be able to ask them, never to see how their decided, instead, to Google ‘young com- expect a generous serving of Brahms, Cho- faces light up when they hear their music poser’ or ‘new chamber ensemble’ and write pin, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel, coming to life. a compelling profile of a discovery?” and Scriabin. But the orchestra also will per- “So what a joy it is as performer and audi- That’s good advice, especially since form two world premieres of CSO-commis- ence to be around living composers and young composers are providing an infusion sioned works by American composer Gabriela enrich the experience of hearing and per- of new blood into the modern orchestra. Lena Frank and Finnish composer Magnus forming their music with the possibility of Sure, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Lindberg, as well as the first CSO perfor- getting to know them!” Brahms continue to dominate the calen- mances of Her Story, by Pulitzer Prize–win- In keeping with William Robin’s chal- dars of most orchestras, but anecdotal evi- ning composer Julia Wolfe. And guest lenge “to Google ‘young composer’ and dence suggests that new symphonic music conductor Tilson Thomas returns to present write a compelling profile of a discovery,” is making slow-but-steady inroads at the the CSO’s first performances of hisFour Pre- Strings asked several young composers concert hall. That is due, in part, to the ludes on Playthings of the Wind in December. about the state of the art of new symphonic efforts of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra First performed in 2016, Tilson Thomas’s music, including the challenges of getting music director Marin Alsop, a former direc- semi-staged work is set to the poem of the their music performed. tor of the 57-year-old Cabrillo Festival of same name by Carl Sandburg, and features a Contemporary Music; Michael Tilson mixed ensemble of vocalists, a “bar band” Thomas, who two decades ago championed complete with electric guitars and drum set, 20th-century music through his influential as well as a chamber orchestra featuring solo American Mavericks series; former L.A. Phil turns for most of the musicians. music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, Tilson Meanwhile, British conductor and com- Thomas’ soon-to-be replacement at the San poser Thomas Adès will make his CSO Francisco Symphony; and a host of other podium debut and will conduct the first visionary conductors. CSO performances of his Concerto for Piano, These days, the modern orchestra is start- featuring Kirill Gerstein, for whom the con- ing to reflect the times. certo was written. Case in point: The New York Philhar- “Classical music is a living art form in con- monic, under principal conductor Jaap van stant development,” says Seattle Symphony Zweden, recently launched Project 19, a music director Thomas Dausgaard, who also sprawling, multi-season initiative to com- is chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Sym- mission and premiere 19 new works by 19 phony Orchestra and the Swedish Chamber ANNA CLYNE women composers to mark the 100th anni- Orchestra. “Just as we see our time mirrored The London-born, Grammy-nominated com- versary of the 19th Amendment, which in contemporary literature, theater, dance, poser of acoustic and electronic music has been gave women the right to vote. art, film, and architecture, contemporary hailed by Time Out, New York as “dazzlingly It is the largest women-only commission- symphonic music offers insights into what inventive.” Her symphonic work includes The ing initiative in history. the giant band of a symphony orchestra is Seamstress for violin and orchestra. According to the New York Phil website, today. And that perception of what an orches- Project 19 was born of the conviction that tra is can change drastically as new instru- We are in a period of transition in terms of “an orchestra can participate in conversa- ments might be added, new sounds and an openness to bringing contemporary tions about social imperatives and even shapes developed, visuals added, and our orchestral music into the standard reper- change the status quo.” Through Project 19, sense of time is challenged.” toire in a meaningful way. Music directors the Philharmonic can mark a “tectonic shift Dausgaard’s faith in the revitalization of who are savvy to the fact that contemporary in American culture,” noted president and classical music is grounded in this genera- music is vital for the continuing develop- CEO Deborah Borda, by giving women com- tion of young composers. “As performers, we ment of the art form are leading the path for posers a platform and catalyzing representa- are often reminded by living composers how receptiveness. I’ve had the chance over the tion in classical music and beyond. important it is for them that what they actu- years to work with such visionary music Project 19 launched in February with ally wrote down in detail is being respected, directors as Marin Alsop, Cristian Măcelaru, the first six world premieres. The however challenging it might be to achieve and Esa-Pekka Salonen. It is important that 28 May-June 2020 / Strings PHOTO PREVIOUS PAGE:SEATTLE SYMPHONIY BRANDON BY ANNAPATOC, JENNIFER BY TAYLOR CLYNE the art form continues and develops with the for real dialogue between the past and the times—that it explores new techniques and present. It also allows for a diversity of new technologies whilst also re-examining voices in the orchestra repertoire, given and re-imagining its past. the overwhelming whiteness and maleness Contemporary compositions for the of the standard repertoire, and the unwill- orchestra keep the symphonic landscape ingness of orchestras to explore works by vibrant, alive, and relevant to the modern- female and non-white composers from the day audience that spans generations. It pro- past. New orchestral music is the most vides a connection to both the past and the exciting thing that is happening in the future, and audiences are ready and eager to symphonic landscape! If you love the expand their musical experiences. Yet, orchestra, there’s something new that you orchestral works that incorporate non- will absolutely love, as well. It’s just a mat- traditional elements such as electronics— ter of seeking it out, but the reward is sampling, pre-recorded tracks, live process- totally worth it. ing, and so on—can be more challenging for It’s very hard to get second or third per- orchestras with lower budgets, or orches- formances of orchestral works. There aren’t MARK O’CONNOR tras that are touring. avenues for commercial recordings, in most Fiddler, violinist, and composer O’Connor has I have received a lot of positive feedback cases, so you’re reliant on live recordings to worked in a variety of genres, from bluegrass to from audience members. Some works of “sell” the work to a conductor, and that’s if jazz to classical. His orchestral works include mine, like Within Her Arms, have particu- you’re lucky enough to get a recording at all. 2009’s Americana Symphony. He is the author larly struck an emotional chord with peo- I think the climate is good for music direc- of a series of method books and videos based on ple—I’ve often had audience members tors who want to program new work. Audi- his new American school of string playing. approach me after a concert to share how moved they were and how the music spoke I simply felt a calling to write new symphonic to their own personal experiences. My works beginning in the early ’90s, which led hope, and intention, is that I compose music to me quitting my day job as a Nashville ses- that invites an audience in rather than sion player. I have composed nine concertos, alienates them. two symphonies, and a few overtures and If we can present suites to date, my concertos having been per- contemporary works formed over 700 times with symphony orchestra. It is a remarkable number consid- in an accessible way, ering the status quo for new pieces, with my without dumbing Fiddle Concerto remaining the most per- formed violin concerto composed in the last down, then there 60 years. When I first began to introduce my pieces is no reason why to the symphonic landscape, the primary contemporary works hurdle was to convince orchestras that there was something else to play besides the classi- should not stand cal warhorses and masterpieces from Europe. alongside the classics Today, the orchestra scene has sold out to the rock, pop, movie soundtrack, and video-game of the genre.