# Clssical music: Vital signs?



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

WQXR lists "12 Significant Classical Music Events in 2016." Heavily weighted toward deaths and illnesses. Only one story is about music composed in the last 100 years.

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/significant-classical-music-events-2016/


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

One could say the same about 'Clssc Rck' in 2016, as lots of grandees left us and went to the great Woodstock in the Sky, and not much new from any of these geezers


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

https://theculturetrip.com/north-am...composers-who-are-redefining-classical-music/
http://slippedisc.com/2015/10/74-composers-will-get-premieres-in-the-ny-phils-2016-biennial/
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/...and-chamber-music-so-why-not-here-in-madison/

It's like shutting yourself in the geriatric ward to not have the noise from the maternity ward disturbing you so that you can lament in peace.


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## Nate Miller (Oct 24, 2016)

The article was talking about significant events of the last year, and that sort of list is always going to mention a well known figure who died in that year. They did have the new Stravinsky piece at #1, so have some hope

you know, a lot of great music got written, recorded and played in the last century, so keep your chin up


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

The article mentioned that Kaija Saariaho was the first female composer to have a work performed at the MET in 100 years. Does anyone know if a female composer's work was performed earlier than 100 years ago? Also I would assume there would be some pressure to have more diversity in composers. Are there extremely few contemporary works performed? Are there extremely few operas composed by women?


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## Nate Miller (Oct 24, 2016)

mmsbls said:


> The article mentioned that Kaija Saariaho was the first female composer to have a work performed at the MET in 100 years. Does anyone know if a female composer's work was performed earlier than 100 years ago? Also I would assume there would be some pressure to have more diversity in composers. Are there extremely few contemporary works performed? Are there extremely few operas composed by women?


guaranteed the NY MET is more interested in putting butts in seats than they are with Affirmative Action.

that's how it should be. Music is merit based. At the MET, you are talking best in the world. She got her work performed because she deserved to be there, not because she is a woman.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Nate Miller said:


> guaranteed the NY MET is more interested in putting butts in seats than they are with Affirmative Action.
> 
> that's how it should be. Music is merit based. At the MET, you are talking best in the world. She got her work performed because she deserved to be there, not because she is a woman.


Sure, but that was not really my question. There are talented women composers. Are there simply too few? Have they written few operas? What conditions have led to the MET not selecting an opera composed by a woman until now?


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Only one story is about music composed in the last 100 years.


KenOC, I'd suggest that a bit of context might be helpful here.

Since I live in the NYC metropolitan area, I listen to WQXR frequently. I can pretty much assure you that between 8:00 AM and 11:00 PM, you will rarely, if ever, hear them play a work by even a 20th-century composer, let alone a 21st-century composer. I'd estimate that a good 25% of their playlists consist of works by Mozart (not a complaint, merely an observation). They are conservative to the point of being stodgy - almost like a parody of the stuffy old classical music stations that prevailed back in the 60s (and that probably turned a lot of us off to classical music during our youths).

Just for what it's worth...


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

As the article's author said, "This is but one list that we could have written."

I'm not sure how (or why) one can draw general conclusions about the world of classical music from this one article. Especially given entries such as no.3, "Daniel Hyde to lead Saint Thomas Church music ministry", which is probably of little interest to anyone outside the vicinity of NYC.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Bluecrab said:


> KenOC, I'd suggest that a bit of context might be helpful here.
> 
> Since I live in the NYC metropolitan area, I listen to WQXR frequently. I can pretty much assure you that between 8:00 AM and 11:00 PM, you will rarely, if ever, hear them play a work by even a 20th-century composer, let alone a 21st-century composer. I'd estimate that a good 25% of their playlists consist of works by Mozart (not a complaint, merely an observation). They are conservative to the point of being stodgy - almost like a parody of the stuffy old classical music stations that prevailed back in the 60s (and that probably turned a lot of us off to classical music during our youths).
> 
> Just for what it's worth...


Also worth pointing out that WQXR also has an online station called Q2 that plays _nothing but_ recent music. But never the twain shall meet, I guess.


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

mmsbls said:


> The article mentioned that Kaija Saariaho was the first female composer to have a work performed at the MET in 100 years. *Does anyone know if a female composer's work was performed earlier than 100 years ago? *Also I would assume there would be some pressure to have more diversity in composers. Are there extremely few contemporary works performed? Are there extremely few operas composed by women?


From _The New York Times_:

"_L'Amour de Loin_" is only the second opera composed by a woman to be presented by the company. *The first was Ethel Smyth's "Der Wald" in 1903.*

While not specifically opera-focused, this article discusses a number of female composers and some of the barriers to their broader success (along with links for listening).

[But the mods should feel free to edit or delete this wholly fact-based post in the event some hysterical pearl-clutcher gets his panties in a twist and whinges too loudly or too often.]


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## Nate Miller (Oct 24, 2016)

mmsbls said:


> Sure, but that was not really my question. There are talented women composers. Are there simply too few? Have they written few operas? What conditions have led to the MET not selecting an opera composed by a woman until now?


well, if their goal is butts in seats, then you have to conclude that there weren't enough women writing enough new operas

but the goal of the New York Metropolitan Opera is to put on a good season, not necessarily to put on the most diverse season.

and since I'm not associated with the Met, I can only speculate as to why. But my guess is they had other operas they wanted to do, and my guess is that they felt they would sell more tickets doing the ones they did, but I could be wrong.


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Emma Roberto Steiner conducted some of her works at the Met in 1925, thought that might have been what the article referred to.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Nereffid said:


> Also worth pointing out that WQXR also has an online station called Q2 that plays _nothing but_ recent music. But never the twain shall meet, I guess.


Yes, I think you're right. Both stations are operated by an umbrella entity called WNYC. Q2 is an excellent source for new music - they stress that their goal is to further the works of living composers. I've heard a great deal of really good new music on Q2 over the years.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

KenOC said:


> WQXR lists "12 Significant Classical Music Events in 2016." Heavily weighted toward deaths and illnesses. Only one story is about music composed in the last 100 years.
> 
> http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/significant-classical-music-events-2016/


WQXR now has a "Top New-Music Moments of 2016". Everyone's alive and well!

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/top-new-music-moments-2016/


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

WQXR caters to a particular audience.


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## Retrograde Inversion (Nov 27, 2016)

I hardly bother with radio anymore, when I can listen to such a vast range of stuff on YouTube whenever I want.


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## jailhouse (Sep 2, 2016)

i listened to WQXR in NY today on an hour drive and yesterday on an hour drive. The only piece I heard that wasn't "very pleasant, but not overly exciting" was Wagner's Die Meistersinger overture. almost every piece was a vivaldi concerto, a mozart concerto, beethoven piano quartets, christmas brass music, etc

The radio station WILL die if they dont play more varied music. 

Classical music itself wont, but will continue to be a niche genre, and get even more niche. But theres still millions of young people (like me) who dig it, so it aint going anywhere.


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