# Which major symphony orchestras program the most contemporary music?



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

On the average, Which major symphony orchestras are programming the most contemporary music?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

20centrfuge said:


> On the average, Which major symphony orchestras are programming the most contemporary music?


"Friday, June 8 - Today, the Los Angeles Philharmonic received ASCAP's first place award for programming of contemporary music as part of the 2011-2012 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming presented at the League of American Orchestra's 67th Annual Conference in Dallas, TX."

I think if you look at subsequent seasons, including the current one, you'll find that this was not an aberration.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Phoenix Symphony does an average of 1-2 newer works on a program.


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## PeterFromLA (Jul 22, 2011)

Probably LA is in first place (for at least the past 20 years), followed by San Francisco. This estimate is with respect to US orchestras. Not sure about the European scene.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I don't know about the current state of the Louisville Orchestra but they used to have a substantial reputation in the contemporary classical area with their First Edition recordings.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The volume of contemporary music from the LA Phil is astonishing. This is from a page on KUSC's web site dated last February.

"If you're wondering why the New York Times recently called the LA Phil "America's most important orchestra. Period.", look no further than the 2018-19 season. An unprecedented 54 commissions, 58 premieres, and music by 61 living composers. Every single piece on every single concert on the orchestra's contemporary music series, Green Umbrella, will be a world premiere.

"More importantly, the LA Phil is demonstrating how to program inclusively. When the Chicago Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra unveiled their 2018-19 seasons recently, neither orchestra's repertoire included even a single work composed by a woman. Between the two orchestras, only seven non-white composers were programmed and each orchestra programmed only four living composers. Conversely, the LA Phil's 2018-19 season includes music by 22 different women and 27 different composers of color. Six different women will conduct the LA Phil in 2018-19…

[WRT non-white composers] "The new season includes an in-depth exploration of music by William Grant Still and the Harlem Renaissance. (No major American orchestra programmed any of Still's symphonies this season.) The LA Phil will perform the Symphonies No. 1 and 4 alongside music of Duke Ellington and Adolphus Hailstork…"

Heck, they've even programmed Cage! :lol:

You can read the whole article here.


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