Composers Forum is a daily web log that allows invited contemporary composers to share their thoughts and ideas on any topic that interests them--from the ethereal, like how new music gets created, music history, theory, performance, other composers, alive or dead, to the mundane, like getting works played and recorded and the joys of teaching. If you're a professional composer and would like to participate, send us an e-mail.
Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for review. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019
The industry itself is moribund, stuck in a backward-looking gaze that has taught audiences, recording companies and performers alike to prioritize great works of the past at the expense of time spent exploring the present and future. So it should be no surprise that those surveyed say they spend 72% of their time writing about historical works. Did the critics create this situation, or are they simply responding to the environment given them? Do they have the cultural legitimacy or power of personality and opinion that could help change this situation? Most, in this survey, seem to think not.
