Coronavirus has stopped the whole world, and maybe one of the few advantages has been that this has given us a moment to rethink and to try new things. Through our new foundation, it’s exciting to be able to help emerging composers. With all the uncertainty about where things are going, they need our support more than ever.
The big picture
The challenge for performers today is to see the whole picture of new music and to try different strands, rather than just staying with one style. The diversity and the international nature of the composers’ community is vast and it’s hard to figure out. Until now this has mainly been done by publishers. They play a vital role and will continue to do so, but they can’t afford to take risks, so there are many talented composers who don’t have a publisher. There needs to be an independent route for them, and the foundation can fill that gap. One of our roles is to see the entire spectrum of talent, styles, and ideas, and to pick from different places without restriction.
Our work will start with our own connections – I’ve been working with young composers and new voices for a long time through my Tectonics Festival and new music concerts around the world, and Ilya also has international connections. Over time our committee will expand.
Think local, act global
This is an interesting time because with the crisis in the arts that’s been intensified by Coronavirus, a local way of working is more important than ever, and I imagine that will continue to develop. On the other hand, with the internet, we have a huge community that is also a big part of today’s music making. The foundation will take care of both sides of this coin – with both neighborhood and international scope.
My interest has always been in researching what’s being played around the world – but also what’s not being played. This has led to an awareness of how the canon is decided and how we can gradually change that. One of our aims is to create a truly international community, bringing American, Asian, and South American voices to Europe, which are not so well known.
Challenging hierarchies
For promoters, it’s easiest to choose one or two faces to project to the world. This has influenced a lot of how new music has been perceived outside its own circles. We want to avoid these hierarchies and the pitfalls of hierarchies, because as soon as you decide one person is way above the others, you create a canon that’s not necessarily based on artistic truth – it’s just a mistake. It’s important to challenge it.
This is opening up now and even in the last five years, you can see the changes in the new music that orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic play. There has been a positive process across the world, and there’s much more awareness because of MeToo and BLM, but there’s a long way to go. This is one of the things we’re thinking about as we make our choices and try to develop a repertoire. We are trying to create a community. We will welcome back the same composers, again and again, growing the relationships and developing new projects.
Collective knowledge
Our role will be to offer our collective knowledge of repertoire: what has been written, what is being written and what could be written – past, present and future. We all need people from outside to give us their perspectives – that’s the great thing about collaborations. For example: ‘You haven’t done any pieces in this style, or from this locality, or with this philosophy.’ In today’s world, there is so much information that we all need help sifting through it all. This is what we’ll try to do.
With our first projects, the turnaround has been only a few months, which is relatively quick. Usually, when commissioning new music there is a long delay between commissioning and performing. We need classical music to work like other arts, such as theatre and dance – reacting and working faster. There is often a huge bureaucracy with commissions: many composers have publishers, so you have to negotiate complicated contracts. Also, orchestras and even chamber groups take two or three years to plan. It’s been fantastic to see how fast we can work, though, which also means that the money gets to the artists quickly.
The energy of new music
From a performer’s point of view, there are many great things about working directly with composers. With new or younger voices, they’re super-excited about having their work performed, which creates a huge energy. It’s not like established composers who are used to having heard their work 500 times in a week. As a performer you feel this energy and how important the event is in that person’s life. You’re making something significant happen.
Another fascinating thing is how you’re delving into a unique and personal world about which you know nothing. The composer may already have written 40 pieces, but you don’t know them so you’re coming into a realm in which someone has their individual philosophy and emotions. Having a composer share their vision of this world can feel very intimate.
Up close and personal
You also learn how closely linked music is with the personality of its composer, which is something you can’t do with Beethoven or Haydn. When you listen to them talk you understand much more about the piece, just by hearing how they speak about it. Each process is individual, so you need to allow a lot of space for the composer. One comment from the composer about balance or tempo can change the whole piece. I always enjoy discussing the practicalities of rehearsals or performances with composers and exploring how to improve the music. The best moment is hearing the composer talking directly to the musicians about how it should be played.
I don’t work with new composers in order to make myself a better interpreter of other music, but there is something in the fact that the more versatile musicians can be, the better. We all have to put on the various masks of different composers – be it Bach, Mozart or Chopin – and working with living composers helps you understand how to change those masks more easily. The better you understand how to shift your perspective, the more skill you will have in doing it with older music. The further you are inside each language, the more you will hear and find.
Towards the unseen
I love performing works by established composers, but for me, my most important role is to look towards the unseen. With the foundation I look forward to starting a long and positive process of working with composers – helping them develop their careers, having their music heard, recorded and better known. It’s about recognising talent but also making sure that these composers are heard by people who need to hear them. If we see some of these names suddenly being commissioned by huge organisations then we’ll know we’ve done the right thing at the right time.