Composition Matters

I was at the heated, but wonderful conversation the other night that prompted Lisa to ask, “Is it actually extra-musical or is it part of the composer’s required skill set to be workably articulate or even a charismatic advocate for his/her own work? Doesn’t this expectation handicap certain personality types?”

If I could also cross-reference Roberto here- he mentions , “I am rather skeptical about the type of networking and social interaction that aims at winning over the players as “friends”. This can create the ambiance of “good old boys club” where works are favored by virtue of “amigo-ism” (to use Chris’ term), and not by the intrinsic artistic merits of the music, a situation particularly true of certain conductors that tend to “marry” certain composers (or soloists), and whose choices are more a reflection of personal affection, and not necessarily of sound artistic judgment.”

In all honesty, I am in favor of the personal connection, with all of the risks that it entails, for one reason. I think the deepest art is built on those personal connections and meanings. It is hard to imagine the slow movement of the Schumann piano quartet or Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, much less Steve Mackey’s Dreamhouse, or Lou Harrison’s Double Concerto, without them. I’m not advocating that people be something they are not, but I do think that ultimately, phoniness will not win out and substance will prevail. So if you are a composer of few words- take Arvo Part, for example- eventually this music speaks to enough people that his notable lack of speaking is not such a liability. On the flip side, if a composer has initially had some success because he or she is a great schmoozer, that cache will eventually diminish in importance and the works will be seen for what they are.

Getting back to Lisa’s comment about being articulate and charismatic, I think it would be foolish for it not to be addressed seriously in the training of a composer. For instance, with my students at Peabody and Juilliard, I actually do a seminar at least once a year on rehearsal technique, taking a bow, etc.- not because these are the most important things, but because they are nonetheless important. Is how someone dresses important? To what extent is that statement superficial? To my way of thinking, a little bit of common sense here goes a long way.

By the way, that group of composers closed the restaurant down last night at the conversation Lisa mentioned! I’d love to get a chance to do that with more musicians!