# Championing Music



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Some of the latest threads made me think about this. I think in the old days, there would be a conductor or performer who would see potential for a certain work that would connect with the public and become popular, and bringing themselves up to the forefront ahead of their competition, and these works become so-called warhorses. They would become that work's champion. Even music that didn't do well in their premiere, but someone saw lasting appeal in it and believed in it. Some of those works which were obscure became very popular, more than those works that were initially well-received. 

Has that changed with more contemporary music? Is it more the composer championing their own music, rather than the performer? Is there a way that connection or synergy between composer/performer/paying audience that can be revived, that we can have modern-day warhorses?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

A conductor/pianist/violinist etc who advocated for a particular work or composer certainly mattered...but that was at a time when music mattered, people cared. Once upon a time a classical concert would get front page coverage. Read up on Tchaikovsky's concerts at the opening of Carnegie Hall. Or when Georg Solti took over in Chicago - it made the cover of Time. Nowadays classical is of little to no importance to the public. Whether they listened to classical music or not, my parent's generation knew who Toscanini was and at least recognized Stokowski. So today's conductors are basically non-existent, the composers even less so. There are composers whose music is championed by some conductors but even among musicians you'll find it next to impossible to identify either. Modern day warhorses? Likely not. What was the last piece of music to enter the standard repertoire? Maybe Marquez Danzon no. 2? But it's more of a pops piece. I can't think of any symphony or concerto written in the past two generations that can be considered a warhorse, that audiences flock to. Even in places with supposedly sophisticated audiences they just haven't embraced modern music regardless of the advocacy of a certain, well-liked conductor.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I think it basically boils down to a shift away from personalities to ensembles that specialise in new music. Some that I'm familiar with through recordings (the first goes without saying):

https://www.ensembleintercontemporain.com/en/
https://www.bcmg.org.uk/
https://www.iceorg.org/
https://www.newmusicconcerts.com/

In general, for a few decades now, I think that composers have shifted their attention to composing music on a smaller scale so that it gets a chance to be performed. Economies of scale are in their favour with chamber groups, where unlike orchestras they have a chance of being more than a token addition to the program. The majority of new music I've encountered live has been chamber.

The contributions of champions of earlier times where important in terms of establishing the core performance canon. Ones I can think of include the abovementioned Stokowski, also Paul Sacher, Serge Koussevitzky, Antal Dorati and soloists like Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich who gave many premieres and commissions.

I think that the canon won't go away, but its just a part of culture now, not necessarily the thing which defines it. Interpretations of culture have moved on from that whole grand narratives view. Our own age is postmodern and post-industrial. There's been a move away from a culture tending towards homogeneity to one which is basically defined by its components, fragmented into small groups and subgroups.


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

mbhaub said:


> A conductor/pianist/violinist etc who advocated for a particular work or composer certainly mattered...but that was at a time when music mattered, people cared. Once upon a time a classical concert would get front page coverage. Read up on Tchaikovsky's concerts at the opening of Carnegie Hall. Or when Georg Solti took over in Chicago - it made the cover of Time. Nowadays classical is of little to no importance to the public. Whether they listened to classical music or not, my parent's generation knew who Toscanini was and at least recognized Stokowski. So today's conductors are basically non-existent, the composers even less so. There are composers whose music is championed by some conductors but even among musicians you'll find it next to impossible to identify either. Modern day warhorses? Likely not. What was the last piece of music to enter the standard repertoire? Maybe Marquez Danzon no. 2? But it's more of a pops piece. I can't think of any symphony or concerto written in the past two generations that can be considered a warhorse, that audiences flock to. Even in places with supposedly sophisticated audiences they just haven't embraced modern music regardless of the advocacy of a certain, well-liked conductor.


NPR (National Public Radio, in USA) is about the only major media outlet I can think of that has focused at all on developments in the classical world. Segments have mainly emphasized emerging or recently discovered Black, female, or prodigy composers. Focusing mainly on them, not their music.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I think there are a number of reasons why composers have become advocates of their own music:

1. Left alone, the canon (repertoire c. 1750-1950) is more or less a closed shop. Outside of that, orchestras and opera companies have shifted their focus to what keeps them viable - special events aimed at the mainstream, like playing film scores, video game music, crossover gigs, and musicals.

2. For around fifty years now, composers have tended to bypass the big institutions and increasingly worked with ensembles dedicated to new music, or set up their own groups. Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen and Philip Glass are earlier examples of composers taking on board this _do it yourself_ ethos. They more or less cut out the middle man.

3. The infrastructure of classical music has changed. The concert hall and the opera house are pretty much the old infrastructure, the chamber ensembles are part of the new (or at least updated) infrastructure. With digital technology, listeners no longer have to go to a concert, rely on what's broadcast or even own a record, to hear the latest music.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Nawdry said:


> NPR (National Public Radio, in USA) is about the only major media outlet I can think of that has focused at all on developments in the classical world. Segments have mainly emphasized emerging or recently discovered Black, female, or prodigy composers. Focusing mainly on them, not their music.


And why is that do you think?


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

War horses from the contemporary scene? Possibly a couple of the "minimalist" works, as representatives of that practice. Pieces such as "Short Ride In A Fast Machine" (1986) or "Harmonielehre" (1985) by John Adams, or something by Philip Glass (Violin Concerto?), Gorecki's Third Symphony (1976) and "Three Pieces In Olden Style For String Orchestra" (1963), and something from Arvo Pärt (perhaps "Fratres" and/or "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten", both from 1977), Pēteris Vasks (perhaps "Credo" for orchestra (2009)), and John Tavener ("The Lamb" (1984)?). These composers and their works seem to have "champions" having been fairly widely performed and recorded, especially in comparison to many another contemporary era work.

I do think that film music (such as suites from _Star Wars_ by John Williams) will rise to warhorse status and can possibly attract audiences to the concert hall or sell discs/downloads, having as they do a wide popularity.

And there are composers out there who may not yet be as familiar as the names Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, but who have produced solid and accomplished works which are making headway in concert halls and recordings, any of which may have works which eventually rise to the status of warhorse fame. I think immediately of the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara whose 1972 orchestral "concerto" _Cantus Arcticus_, Op. 61, has made some splash; and his symphonies are stunning works of musical art, too. There are other composers of note as well.

Time remains an important arbiter of warhorse status, so it may be too early to tell what contemporary musical works will "take off" with future audiences. I suspect that the thriving film industry will have much impact upon what audiences hear as worthy music and if films champion certain works they may help establish them into the popular repertoire. I'm sure many more folks became aware of Mozart's _Elvira Madigan_ Piano Concerto (originally titled No. 21 in C) following the launch of the movie which utilized the second movement of the Mozart concerto. (Not that Mozart needed the help to establish this concerto as a warhorse; he's done well with many a piece without such assistance.)

I just hope orchestras will continue to play, conductors will continue to conduct, and recording companies will continue to record as "new music" continues to be produced. The war horses will emerge, though we may not know the most recent ones in our lifetimes.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Sid James said:


> I think there are a number of reasons why composers have become advocates of their own music:
> 
> 1. Left alone, the canon (repertoire c. 1750-1950) is more or less a closed shop. Outside of that, orchestras and opera companies have shifted their focus to what keeps them viable - special events aimed at the mainstream, like playing film scores, video game music, crossover gigs, and musicals.
> 
> ...


This is a good explanation of what I see as the generation of composers and performers who were born since 1980. They have grown up with the Internet and social media, and while they take advantage of the Classical music institutions such as higher learning and grant funding organizations, they are predominantly a generation that is savvy about self-promotion and entrepreneurial efforts.

*Kate Soper*: Since 2006, Soper has served as a co-director and vocalist for *Wet Ink*, a New York-based new music ensemble founded in 1998 and dedicated to the presentation of programs of new music, with a focus on creating, promoting, and organizing American music.

*Clare Chase*: After graduating from Oberlin, Chase founded the *International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)* in 2001, and was its Executive/Artistic Director until 2017.

*Kronos Quartet*: The quartet was founded by violinist *David Harrington* in Seattle, Washington. Its first performance was in November 1973.[1] Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. They were created in order to perform new music.

*Caroline Shaw*: Besides composition, Shaw is known as a musician appearing in many guises. She performs primarily as violinist with the *American Contemporary Music Ensemble* (ACME) and as vocalist with *Roomful of Teeth*. She also works with the *Trinity Wall Street Choir*, *Alarm Will Sound*, *Wordless Music Orchestra*, E*nsemble Signal*, *AXIOM*, *The Yehudim*, *Victoire*, *Opera Cabal*, the *Mark Morris Dance Group Ensemble*, *Hotel Elefant*, the *Oracle Hysterical*, *Red Light New Music*, and Robert Mealy's Yale Baroque Ensemble.

*Bang on a Can*: Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: *Julia Wolfe*, *David Lang*, and *Michael Gordon*. Called "the country's most important vehicle for contemporary music" by the San Francisco Chronicle, the organization focuses on the presentation of new concert music, and has presented hundreds of musical events worldwide.

These are just the most well known but there are hundreds of similar groups formed by composers or collectives of composers and performers for the purpose of promoting new music.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Sid James said:


> 3. The infrastructure of classical music has changed. The concert hall and the opera house are pretty much the old infrastructure, the chamber ensembles are part of the new (or at least updated) infrastructure. With digital technology, listeners no longer have to go to a concert, rely on what's broadcast or even own a record, to hear the latest music.


Good point. My impression is most people go to the concert hall to listen to the things already enshrined for that sort of going-back-in-time experience, and not to hear new stuff. They're not there to be challenged by something new. Contemporary music festivals are probably more for the 'cultists', even though any of us could be seen in that group. My impression is new work premieres were met with high expectation back in the day, and now they are just being thrown in as an opening act (judging by the only premiere I've been to where a Beethoven symphony was the main event).

Also my impression is many composers and performers back in the day were bigger celebrities, when there was no Hollywood and Rock musicians. The status is probably only matched by Andre Rieu, Lang Lang, and Alma Deutscher. There was probably a breaking point in the 20th Century where the audience just couldn't handle any more music breaking new ground, and there wasn't any new ground to break, which sort of caused a 'crash' in the market for new music, as in a bubble that couldn't be sustained. Maybe someone has more insight that could support or refute these speculations on my part.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

The _do it yourself_ approach isn't new. There are precursors to composer (or musician) led new music ensembles, e.g.:

In 1918, Schoenberg and his students founded the Society for Private Musical Performances.
https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/mu...-private-musical-performances-100-years-later

In 1928, the Copland-Sessions Concerts of Contemporary Music where founded by those two composers.
https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/speak-...-american-composerled-new-music-ensembles/10/

Despite being short-lived, these ventures went beyond merely giving premieres of music by the musicians involved. They performed music by others which listeners would not have otherwise heard.

In more recent times, the specialised or smaller ensembles not only perform new music but also repertoire from throughout the 20th century. They present programs which blend with and provide a context to the more recent music.

These ensembles are developing their own niche of the repertoire, similar to groups which specialise in authentic performance of pre-romantic era musics.

As far as I can tell, the older institutionalised groups (e.g. orchestras and opera companies) are largely either spotting and picking up talent from the independent scene (Philip Glass is a good example) or focusing on types of music which where previously barred from these venues (e.g. film and musicals). I think they'll probably continue to develop along these lines.

The independent trend isn't unique to the classical world. Its happened across the arts. A couple I'm aware of are the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (founded 1940's) and the loft jazz scene in New York in the 1970's:

https://www.edfringe.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loft_jazz


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> Good point. My impression is most people go to the concert hall to listen to the things already enshrined for that sort of going-back-in-time experience, and not to hear new stuff. They're not there to be challenged by something new. Contemporary music festivals are probably more for the 'cultists', even though any of us could be seen in that group. My impression is new work premieres were met with high expectation back in the day, and now they are just being thrown in as an opening act (judging by the only premiere I've been to where a Beethoven symphony was the main event).
> 
> Also my impression is many composers and performers back in the day were bigger celebrities, when there was no Hollywood and Rock musicians. The status is probably only matched by Andre Rieu, Lang Lang, and Alma Deutscher. There was probably a breaking point in the 20th Century where the audience just couldn't handle any more music breaking new ground, and there wasn't any new ground to break, which sort of caused a 'crash' in the market for new music, as in a bubble that couldn't be sustained. Maybe someone has more insight that could support or refute these speculations on my part.


I think it's more of a matter of what music shifted to, atonal, rather than lack of new ideas to be found.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I think its obvious that if you live in a city of a decent size, you'll have many choices in live music, even if we limit things to classical. 

I think you'll be able to find performances of new music - whether atonal or not - performed somewhere, especially by chamber groups and specialist ensembles. That makes sense in today's world. There are so many scenes, that its more common now to speak of sub-genres rather than just genres.

So, given increasing specialisation and diversity, do we need to just focus on what's played by the city orchestra or opera company? Are these still the only places which present new music of significance?


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

In the nineties Anne-Sophie Mutter recorded a number of new violin concertos that were all dedicated to her by their respective composers.
(Lutoslawski's Partita, Moret's "En rêve", Rihm's "Gesungene Zeit" and Penderecki's "Metamorphosen - Violinconcerto Nr.2.)

I guess that counts for championing new music.


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

eljr said:


> And why is that do you think?


[This question came in response to my comment: "NPR (National Public Radio, in USA) is about the only major media outlet I can think of that has focused at all on developments in the classical world. Segments have mainly emphasized emerging or recently discovered Black, female, or prodigy composers. Focusing mainly on them, not their music."]

Why NPR? NPR is unusual in providing an array of regular news and current-events discussion programs. Also an interest in somewhat unusual, "edgy" issues.

Why the focus on composers of these backgrounds? Probably because they're a break from the "mold" of venerable White, mostly European, male composers commonly associated in the popular mind (and history books, etc.) with classical music. But this is the kind of publicity that the classical music cultural sector desperately needs, to appeal to a much broader, diverse potential audience. Whether the attention is part of a strategy or not, I don't know, but NPR are doing good with their interest in this aspect of the classical music scene. And, in my view, classical music is being enriched by the influx of diversity.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> In the nineties Anne-Sophie Mutter recorded a number of new violin concertos that were all dedicated to her by their respective composers.
> (Lutoslawski's Partita, Moret's "En rêve", Rihm's "Gesungene Zeit" and Penderecki's "Metamorphosen - Violinconcerto Nr.2.)
> 
> I guess that counts for championing new music.


It does, and there are earlier examples I can think of like Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich, who commissioned many works. By the time these and subsequent star musicians like Mutter came along, new music had been whittled down to a fraction of what they could play, given their ongoing commitment to the music of the past.

In the 19th century there where many virtuosos who would travel and play at least some of their own music along with the developing canon. Once that tradition wound down - Rachmaninov would have been the last famous composer-virtuoso - everything became more specialised, and performers would mainly play the canon and maybe commission new music on the side.

I think though that the groups which specialise in or are more amenable to new music have the advantage of being more able to focus on what to choose from the whole range of new compositions out there. Another big issue is that they can build audiences who are more focussed on new music and not have to worry so much about it competing with the established canon.


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Then, in my country at least (the US), Ursula Oppens is certainly a legend of championing new music. She commissioned and premiered works by:

Elliott Carter
John Corigliano
John Harbison
Joan Tower
Charles Wuorinen
Carla Bley
William Bolcolm
Peter Lieberson
Conlon Nancarrow
Tobias Picker
Frederic Rzewski


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Torkelburger said:


> Ursula Oppens


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