Discussion Panel: Page 37

[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 […]

After reading my colleagues comments, it is clear that the conductor is perceived as being keystone to the process of selecting what it is played. I have to agree with this, since, in my view and experience, it is the conductor who generally first proposes a program. Nevertheless, this is not a simple equation, since […]

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 […]

From reading the panelists’ comments (which I thoroughly enjoyed and admired, by the way) I am willing to participate in radically shaking up our situation. Perhaps we need to decide who can realistically take the first move and be heard and taken seriously. I’ve served on committees where, prior to the meeting with management and/or […]

Roberto Sierra wrote : “Robert, I believe that, as I have observed in all these years, conductors tend to be more appreciative of pieces that orchestra musicians appreciate and enjoy playing. I don’t think that this could be anything that can be planned, since it always happens in spontaneous ways.” Absolutely right, and a variant […]

Oh my gosh! What fantastic thoughts and observations by everyone on this panel….you all have gotten me thinking to such a degree that I was delayed in getting back to you. A couple of points seem blatantly obvious to me: First, I think it’s really time for a sea-change in programming methods. The musicians need […]

Thank you colleagues and commentators for some gritty discussion fodder yesterday. Although it seems that many of us agree that we all need what Barbara has aptly called “time-worthy interactions between the composer and the musicians,” I was fascinated with the range of things that were said (and that were left unsaid) about the actual […]

The disconnect between orchestra musicians and composers doesn’t exist when they are one and the same! At a certain point in history we all seemed to become specialists. Players were too busy playing everyone else’s music to write down their own, and somehow were no longer qualified to undertake the “sacred task” of creating original […]

When I think about the disconnect between the orchestra, audiences and composers, I believe that the answer is that while a new work has to basically reflect the artistic power and integrity of its creator, at the same time it has to be interesting and rewarding for the performers and also engage the audience at […]

I probably have an unusual perspective on the role of new music within the modern orchestra’s ecology, having played violin in such ensembles professionally and having served on the staff of both the American Symphony Orchestra League and the American Music Center. And as Drew outlines the parameters of this conversation, I think what startles […]