Spring for Music, an annual festival of concerts by North American symphony and chamber orchestras at Carnegie Hall, was created in part to start a conversation about repertoire, about audience expectations, and about orchestral programming in general. To help continue this conversation, the festival is hosting a series of online events allowing participants to interact with members of the team in an open dialogue.
The first of these chats is today (Monday) at noon with composer Melinda Wagner. This is Melinda’s conversation starter:
“Composers do not work in a vacuum. Every kind of music we hear, old or new, ‘serious’, ‘popular’, colloquial or vernacular – every note is a part of our sound world, even those we don’t like very much. Embracing, even celebrating our influences while striving to create something personal- well, that is the challenge with every new piece. With something as incredible as Bach’s Brandenbergs, though, the challenges are much greater. I can we rid ourselves of any apprehension associated with ‘living up’ a composer of such great stature? How can we engage with the past without lapsing into parody and pastiche?”
You can join the conversation right here: