Seriously, you need to come to some Great Noise Ensemble concerts. And we need to chat. Your kind of enthusiasm and thoughts on new music are precisely what we need more of in DC.

To be clear: I have nothing against Oliver Knussen as a composer, a conductor or a curator (hell, I’ll be working with his daughter in the fall!). I think that what the NSO is doing with new music is terrific and hope they’ll continue to do more of it. I also hope I’m wrong about Eschenbach (I probably am, let’s face it). I don’t normally take on a chauvinistic approach to music programming, but when it comes to the NATIONAL Symphony Orchestra, I feel that maybe some chauvinism would be appropriate.

I have no longer written off Classical WETA-FM, due, in part and if I may say so, to my own outspoken activities and letter-writing campaign. I thank those who joined me.

Lastly, a generation ago, I believe that the Washington Performing Arts Society would have had closer relations with such organizations as your Great Noise Ensemble and also the Post-Classical Ensemble. In my opinion, while the NSO and Classical WETA-FM have now joined the Library of Congress in moving forward, the WPAS has joined Placido Domingo’s Washington National Opera in moving backward.

You mention new American music at the Washington National Opera. Please let me know when the Washington Post runs a series of articles on the new opera commissioning program of the Washington National Opera, as it recently did on the Metropolitan Opera.

Thanks for your reply to my reply. I think we have different experiences of the Washington new music scene, such as it is. It is my personal dream to see the DC scene grow and thrive to rival New York city and have had this conversation with Nigel Boon, the artistic director of the NSO (he thinks it’s an impossibility, citing some compelling reasons why–themselves cited in an article I wrote for New Music Box which was published last week, if you want to check it out. I remain optimistic, although I admit that it will be a long and difficult road ahead).

Mind you, I think that new music from ANYWHERE is welcome in the area. I just find that the National Symphony (and yes, the National Opera) should have American composers curating their contemporary music weeks. Just my two cents. (I would LOVE to self-nominate myself, mind you, but since they’ve only had one–John Adams’ residency this year was not a part of a similar event to last year’s festival at the Kennedy Center. I understand there are no plans to revive that event any time soon, although the NSO is doing some very exciting work in new music programming.)

I have to admit, however, that WETA is a lost cause for me. I do hope, however, that they are broadcasting all of the concerts from the National Gallery, cause I have a vested interest in that, since I had a major work programmed on that series last season.

Selflish plug time: have you attended any of the concerts I run with Great Noise Ensemble? We would love to have you at them if you haven’t, and I hope that you will say hello when you do. Feel free to check us out online.

I also nominate composer Anne LeBaron as a future Washington National Symphony guest curator.

I never suggested that the only worthwhile contemporary music was European contemporary music, although I believe that the two works that I cited the Washington National Symphony performing this autumn 2010 — Matthias Pintscher’s ‘Heroiade-Fragment’ and Magnus Lindberg’s “Parada” are probably stronger than two of the past contemporary works that Washington National Symphony interim music director Ivan Fischer programmed — Henderson’s “Einstein’s Violin” and a Daniel Kellogg Hechinger commission whose name escapes me. (The Kellogg work toured to China with the Washington National Symphony, thus representing American contemporary classical culture.)

And yes, I do believe that Christoph Eschenbach ushers in a new era for the Washington National Symphony, if not necessarily its sister organization, the Washington National Opera, which is mired in the deep cultural malaise which Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser is currently championing nationwide.

I cited the Pintscher work because it opens the Washington National Symphony
subscription season and is prominently paired with the Beethoven #9. I cited the Magnus Lindberg work because he is well known in NYC, the base of Sequenza21 and the majority of its readership.

Thinking further ahead in the Washington National Symphony season, and without looking, I recall that the Washington National Symphony is doing a the Third Violin Concerto of Augustus Read Thomas, the current Washington National Symphony house composer. I believe it is the third or fourth Washington National Symphony commission of Ms. Thomas. I do not recall the Washington National Symphony doing a work of Jennifer Higdon this coming season, but perhaps they are and I missed it.

Having heard David Coll’s strong work on the West Coast, I remember looking to see if he was on the Washington National Symphony 2010-11 season, but not seeing his name. Correct me if I am wrong.

I take no strong issue with the Anglo-phile Washington National Symphony administration inviting Oliver Knussen to lead the Washington National Symphony Contemporary Music week the year before John Adams curated the week. I would welcome George Benjamin to the Washington National Symphony in a future year. I would, however, take strong issue if the Washington National Opera programmed Britten’s Gloriana rather than an American opera.

Who would you like to see curate future Washington National Symphony Contemporary music weeks? Have you informed the Washington National Symphony of your preferences? I recall that Jeffrey Mumford once self-nominated himself.

I nominate David Coll, among others, as a Washington National Symphony curator over the coming decade. I am assuming that Mr Coll has recent guest curating experience, either in the Bay Area or in Paris. I believe that he has.

For your and other’s information, tonight Classical WETA-FM at 9 PM broadcasts its delayed recording of Joel Fan performing, at the National Gallery of Art, piano works of
Carter, Bolcom, Bermal, and Kirchner. The concert is available on the internet.

I do not know whether Classical WETA-FM, which as recently as a year ago, did not broadcast American music other than Gershwin, Barber, Bernstein, Copland, and Foote, will also broadcast the National Gallery of Art American contemporary classical music concerts of this past season by Aikman, Corigliano, Lerdahl , Reynolds, Carter, Reich, Wyner, and many others.

That ‘s fantastic. Let me echo Christian’s hope that you’ll continue visiting S21 and finding out about great concerts to attend.

John-

I get what you’re saying about Grande Macabre being “new” at 30+ years old. I do think that the complexities of concert music and the amounts of time it takes to build a repertoire give it a longer shelf life than the planned obsolescence of most popular music gives it. Thus Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” can be considered an oldie, but Le Grand Macabre still remains “new.”

It’s odd, I know, but still…

Zeno, I don’t share your optimism for contemporary music at the NSO under Eschenbach, although perhaps it’s because what you seem to be suggesting is that worthwhile contemporary music is EUROPEAN contemporary music. The NSO should program far more American music, I think, than European, what with it being the NATIONAL Symphony Orchestra of the U.S. Slatkin’s programming tastes may, indeed, have been a tad “Hollywoodish,” as it were, but he at least programmed a number of American works.

(This is not to say that we shouldn’t get to hear contemporary European music in Washington, mind you. I don’t believe in limiting our cultural range either. I just think that we shouldn’t belittle American music in the name of “importance–” nor that foreign nationals should curate the NSO’s contemporary music festival, as was the case two years ago.)

Glad you both attended the Ligeti!

Hope you’ll be back to our website to find out about more concerts to attend – some of which are quite cost effective (see Steve Layton’s post earlier today!).

Best,
Christian

What NSO contemporary classical music will look like under Christoph Eschenbach is more promising, although uncertain. He will open this autumn with Matthias Pintscher’s ‘Heroiade-Fragment’ (strangely paired with Beethoven #9), and then Susanna Mälkki will bring Magnus Lindberg’s “Parada”, which is old hat by New York City and Boston standards. Whether 2011-12 will witness any major works by Henze or Birtwistle is an open question.

Out in SF, Tilson Thomas has continued to champion Robin Holloway, although I imagine that his “Clarissa” opera will probably appear with the Santa Fe Opera or the Berkeley Opera before it appears at the San Francisco Opera. I don’t really know why this is the case, as the SFO has done now Messiaen, Ligeti, and Henze (if not a Birtwistle opera). A spoken commitment to contemporary opera on David Gockley’s part would be helpful at this point in time, I believe. (The Washington National Opera, nominally under Placido Domingo, has abandoned its promise to Congress of a second staging of an American opera each year. I hope that the Washington National Opera will some day witness Alan Gilbert regularly conducting second stagings of American operas, and perhaps world premieres.)