Composition Matters

Jun 22 2006
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Roberto Sierra
Roberto Sierra

For more than a decade the works of Roberto Sierra have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the USA and Europe. At the inaugural concert of the 2002 world renowned Proms in London, his Fandangos was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert that was broadcast by both the BBC Radio and Television throughout the UK and Europe. Sierra's numerous commissions include works for many of the major American orchestras as well as ensembles in Europe. International ensembles that have performed his works include the orchestras of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston, Minnesota, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio and Phoenix, as well as by the American Composers Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, Continuum, England's BBC Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Spanish orchestras of Galicia and Barcelona, and at Wolf Trap, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Festival Casals, France's Festival de Lille, among others.

Recent commissions include: Concerto for Orchestra for the centennial celebrations of the Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and the Philadelphia Orchestra; Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for James Carter; Con madera, metal y cuero for Evelyn Glennie commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Casals Festival (the premiere was part of the BBC 20th Century Retrospective “Sounding the Century”); Fandangos for the National Symphony Orchestra In Washington DC; Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Sinfonía No. 1, commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Double Concerto for violin and viola co-commissioned by the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Orchestras; Sinfonía No. 2 commissined by the Abraham Frost commissioning Fund from the University of Miami; and Sinfonía No. 3 commissioned by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

In 2003 he was awarded the Academy Award in Music by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The award states: "Roberto Sierra writes brilliant music, mixing fresh and personal melodic lines with sparkling harmonies and striking rhythms. . ." His Sinfonía No. 1, a work commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, won the 2004 Kenneth Davenport Competition for Orchestral Works. In 1989 Roberto Sierra became the Composer-in-Residence of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In addition to advising the MSO on American repertoire, Mr. Sierra contributed to the musical life of Milwaukee with a number of new works, including pieces for local chamber and choral ensembles, and for individual musicians. The Milwaukee-based Koss Classics released a CD of his orchestral music featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Sierra has also been the Music Alive Composer-In-Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra and New Mexico Symphony.

Roberto Sierra's Music may be heard on recently released CD's by New World Records, Albany Records, Gasparo, Newport Classic, New Albion, Koch, ADDA, VRAS Productions, Musical Heritage Society, Koss Classics, CRI, BMG, Fleur de Son and Dorian Records. In the spring of 2004 EMI Classics released his two guitar concertos Folias and Concierto Barroco with Manuel Barrueco as soloist.

Roberto Sierra was born in Puerto Rico where he pursued early studies at the Conservatory of Music and the University of Puerto Rico. After graduation, Sierra went to Europe to further his musical knowledge, studying first at the Royal College of Music and the University of London, and later at the Institute for Sonology in Utrecht. Between 1979 and 1982 he did advanced work in composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg under the renowned György Ligeti. In 1982 Sierra returned to Puerto Rico to occupy administrative posts in arts administration and higher education, first as Director of the Cultural Activities Department at the University of Puerto Rico, and later as Chancellor of the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. Throughout this period, he was vigorously engaged as a composer on the international scene. Roberto Sierra is currently Professor of Composition at Cornell University.

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The Meet the Composer residencies that started around the 1980’s have been a major force for change in the panorama of American. A whole new sense of consciousness was created among the orchestras that started to see the composers as living entities and collaborators, and not as dead people who wrote great music. This visionary endeavor has been the vehicle for the creation of many of the most important American works of the second half of the 20th century, and it was through this program some of the composers we all know today came to prominence. Another important aspect was the fact that for more than 2 decades composers have been “part of the family” in many of the orchestras of this country. How was this possible? Simple, financial support and the will and vision of John Duffy.

I feel that many of our woes can be traced to that old evil thing called money. I have just returned from Spain, a country that is enjoying a remarkably booming economy. There both the government and the banks pour million of Euros into culture. Where there were no orchestras before, wonderful ones are now playing is state of the art auditoriums built by great architects. They certainly go about with their traditional concerts, but there is a huge amount of new music being programmed. In Madrid I had three of my works played at National Auditorium (the city’s main venue for concerts), two of which were for small ensemble and the last one for a chamber orchestra. There was plenty of rehearsal time for my concert and the performance was just outstanding. The next day I attended another concert (part of the same series) where the Spanish Radio Orchestra played a contemporary program with works by Huber, Jarrell and Kyburz (all Swiss composers). This last orchestral concert would hardly have been possible in the context of American orchestra. Why? Because the music was really cutting edge, and admittedly not necessarily palatable to our audiences. In the comfort of heavy subsidies the European organizers can be daring (even self indulgent) and put together a program like the one I described with Swiss music.

Now, I seldom hear the same kind of arguments and complaints we all have here in America from my European colleagues. When working in Europe my experience has been that new works are well rehearsed and the musicians seemed in most cases to be engaged with the performance. We live in a musical world that resembles more a commercial venue, while in France, Spain, Germany, etc., they live in a world of subsidies and support that grants them incredible artistic latitude. This difference, as we know, has a profound impact in the way we do music. While orchestras on this side of the Atlantic understandably live under the constant pressure and fear of the market forces (ticket sales, the taste of the paying customers), we composers sometimes behave more like salesmen (forced to pitch our composer persona).

I have always lamented the lack of more support for music from the taxes that we all pay. We can criticize all we want some of the self indulgent creative attitudes from some European composers, but their position of privilege is truly enviable. A little less of a commercial attitude in our musical world would be healthy: treating music more like art and less than a product that needs to “sell.” For this to happen we would need more support, in fact massive support, be that from the government or from private sources. I believe that if we had more financial resources many of the things we worry about could improve. To start with, there would be more rehearsal time which would allow new works to be presented under optimal conditions. Also, orchestras would not have so much fear of presenting new works that they would deem somehow difficult for some of the public.

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Roberto Sierra
Roberto Sierra

For more than a decade the works of Roberto Sierra have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the USA and Europe. At the inaugural concert of the 2002 world renowned Proms in London, his Fandangos was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert that was broadcast by both the BBC Radio and Television throughout the UK and Europe. Sierra's numerous commissions include works for many of the major American orchestras as well as ensembles in Europe. International ensembles that have performed his works include the orchestras of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston, Minnesota, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio and Phoenix, as well as by the American Composers Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, Continuum, England's BBC Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Spanish orchestras of Galicia and Barcelona, and at Wolf Trap, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Festival Casals, France's Festival de Lille, among others.

Recent commissions include: Concerto for Orchestra for the centennial celebrations of the Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and the Philadelphia Orchestra; Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for James Carter; Con madera, metal y cuero for Evelyn Glennie commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Casals Festival (the premiere was part of the BBC 20th Century Retrospective “Sounding the Century”); Fandangos for the National Symphony Orchestra In Washington DC; Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Sinfonía No. 1, commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Double Concerto for violin and viola co-commissioned by the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Orchestras; Sinfonía No. 2 commissined by the Abraham Frost commissioning Fund from the University of Miami; and Sinfonía No. 3 commissioned by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

In 2003 he was awarded the Academy Award in Music by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The award states: "Roberto Sierra writes brilliant music, mixing fresh and personal melodic lines with sparkling harmonies and striking rhythms. . ." His Sinfonía No. 1, a work commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, won the 2004 Kenneth Davenport Competition for Orchestral Works. In 1989 Roberto Sierra became the Composer-in-Residence of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In addition to advising the MSO on American repertoire, Mr. Sierra contributed to the musical life of Milwaukee with a number of new works, including pieces for local chamber and choral ensembles, and for individual musicians. The Milwaukee-based Koss Classics released a CD of his orchestral music featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Sierra has also been the Music Alive Composer-In-Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra and New Mexico Symphony.

Roberto Sierra's Music may be heard on recently released CD's by New World Records, Albany Records, Gasparo, Newport Classic, New Albion, Koch, ADDA, VRAS Productions, Musical Heritage Society, Koss Classics, CRI, BMG, Fleur de Son and Dorian Records. In the spring of 2004 EMI Classics released his two guitar concertos Folias and Concierto Barroco with Manuel Barrueco as soloist.

Roberto Sierra was born in Puerto Rico where he pursued early studies at the Conservatory of Music and the University of Puerto Rico. After graduation, Sierra went to Europe to further his musical knowledge, studying first at the Royal College of Music and the University of London, and later at the Institute for Sonology in Utrecht. Between 1979 and 1982 he did advanced work in composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg under the renowned György Ligeti. In 1982 Sierra returned to Puerto Rico to occupy administrative posts in arts administration and higher education, first as Director of the Cultural Activities Department at the University of Puerto Rico, and later as Chancellor of the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. Throughout this period, he was vigorously engaged as a composer on the international scene. Roberto Sierra is currently Professor of Composition at Cornell University.

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