Many orchestras have taken pride in programming contemporary music in recent years, in an effort to show a commitment to contemporary music. However, many of these works disappear from the standard repertoire after the excitement of the premiere, and are rarely performed again.
A group of nonprofit leaders are now working to make new music more permanent in the artistic landscape. The League of American Orchestras announced Thursday a new initiative that will see 30 ensembles perform new pieces by six female composers over the course of several years.
“There’s too much great music that gets lost and is never heard after its premiere,” Simon Woods, the league’s president and chief executive, said in an interview. “We thought, ‘We need to solve that.’”
Woods stated that although many orchestras are eager to commission new works of music, they are not as interested in pieces that have been premiered elsewhere.
“Orchestras should be patrons of new work,” he said. “But still, the second performance and the third performance are really important. Because it’s only when one hears a work a few times that it sort of snowballs and it has a chance of getting a toehold in the repertoire. Building that momentum is really important.”
The League, in partnership the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation & American Composers Orchestra has been working since 2014. This includes awarding commissions to nonbinary and female composers.
The Thursday announcement will build on these efforts and pair each of the six composers to five ensembles. The Toulmin foundation will fund the program, which is expected to cost at least $360,000.
The six composers include the British-born Anna Clyne (who works in the United States); Sarah Gibson (who is also a pianist); the Hong Kong-born Angel Lam; Gity Rasaz, an Iranian American; Arlene Sierra, an American based London; Wang Lu, a composer and pianist from China who lives in Providence.
Wang stated in an interview that it was often difficult to find orchestras willing to perform new works after they had been premiered.
“As a composer, I can’t just like knock on the door and say, ‘Hey, this is my music, why don’t you play it?’” she said.
Wang, who is working on a new piece that the New York Philharmonic is to premiere in January, said the league’s initiative would give artists more opportunities to develop. “You can only get better by working with orchestras,” she said in an interview. “Only by listening can you improve.”
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are the first group to participate. Next season, these ensembles will premiere and perform works by the composers.
The league will select the remaining 24 ensembles to participate in the program over the next few months.
Source: NY Times
