Composition Matters

I’m intrigued by Chris’ comments regarding the depth of understanding an orchestra musician has access to that a composer would do well to have the opportunity to absorb. [And this makes Robert’s comments on the role (or non-role, perhaps) that orchestra musicians generally get to play in the artistic side of an operation in which they are specialists scary.]

But back to the value of first-hand experience within the orchestral realm, would you expect stellar reporting from a journalist sent to Iraq with no contacts and no language skills? A translator can only do so much to help in either situation. But that means that keeping composers locked up in their studios (or up in the balcony during rehearsals) is the worst place for them. This applies not only to the building of the composer/musician colleague bond and practical information exchange, but also to understanding the audience. The players receive feedback with every performance. When composers are invited to connect with an orchestra only on isolated occasions, they lack a vital grasp of the relationship between the players and their fans.

So, with composers often feeling like outsiders with their hands tied and musicians often feeling like they might as well have duct tape over their mouths, I have a question: When composers and musicians do find themselves in the same room, in your experiences, how often do you get to have candid conversations about ideas in orchestral writing that reach beyond the work on the table? How often and where is that vital information exchange going down? And if it’s not happening, would you be willing and able to invest the time?