Composition Matters

[Moderator’s Note: Chris was unavoidably delayed and therefore joins our discussion a day late. As such, today’s contribution is also his opening statement]

Thanks, Drew [and everyone at Polyphonic.org], for including me in this discussion. I do indeed have many thoughts on the subject, a few of which I will outline below.

I will preface this with a little personal story, however. One week, a few years ago, there was a particular abundance of contemporary music performances in New York, ranging from the New York Phil to the usual suspects of contemporary ensembles. I was very interested in going, as several composers whose work was represented, I really loved.

My friend, Shafer Mahoney, and I went to a concert a day that week, and by the end of it, we were so disillusioned and disheartened by the lack of interest in the music we had heard (for reasons ranging from bad programming choices and bad pieces by good composers, to very mediocre performances) that we vowed over several glasses of German beer to do something about the situation. Shafer actually said at one point after a concert that he would have spent a much more fulfilling two hours staring at the brick wall in his apartment drinking cold coffee. It would have been funny if it weren’t the same way I felt.

We struggled with the issue well into the night. Should we write the New York Times? Should we get a petition together soliciting better programming from ensembles? I mean, THIS WAS SERIOUS.

Ironically, in the end, we vowed to write the best, most engaging music we personally could write, deciding that if something was going to change it was going to have to come from the fact that people actually cared about the music- our music- and that was something we could control. I think that is the operative phrase here- something that I can control.

A few years ago, I had the great pleasure to be involved in the Masterprize competition, whose founder’s motto I think follows Shafer’s and my conclusion: Style doesn’t necessarily matter; what matters is do people (ergo, me) care what comes next, care about what happens.

I want to put out an example of an institution that is doing something about Mr. Woehr’s concern. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, of course being conductorless, has the decision-making process for new music built into the players’ genes. They decide what gets performed and in whom to invest themselves. I could cite several chamber ensembles, of course, who decide for themselves too, but perhaps focusing on the orchestral model is what is needed here, as that is where the disconnect seems to be.

I tend to be somewhat optimistic (for the United States anyway) about a shift to include orchestral musicians in the decision-making process. The autocratic, dictatorial, omnipotent conductor is in my view, flagging. He/she is now having to be involved in very grass-roots kinds of interactions with the audience, from talking from the podium, to social benefits, to various other things which most European conductors will surely have a problem with for the next 50 years or so. This is bound to change the dynamic in the long haul, and I think, creates an important opening for action.

It is incumbent upon the players to literally insist that the programming committees of their orchestras not be a joke, but something which is taken seriously. At best, I think up until now, only principals of some enlightened orchestras were asked to help decide in a commissioned concerto for them, though the composer had to still be “approved.” I would go as far to set a percentage of player chosen new music- this would be good for everyone, as I am still sure that most players are not actively even listening to the breadth of what’s out there to be able to support composers they really, genuinely like.

I will end with a wonderful statement by the first violinist of the Kronos Quartet when asked why he continues to play only contemporary music instead of the great masterpieces of the past. He responded, “because I truly believe that the best piece for string quartet has yet to be written.” Now that’s a creative artist!