So in the last two months I’ve had two works performed: one for Violin & piano at the Stratford Upon Avon Music Festival, performed by Alessandro Ruisi & Dina Duisen, and one for Orchestra, as part of the Composers’ Orchestra Project at the Birmingham Conservatoire, performed by the Composers’ Orchestra and the wonderful Edwin Roxburgh.
It’s always so wonderful to hear works performed! As a composer it can be so easy to just write a piece, probably not hear it, forget about it, and move onto the next piece. In the case of both pieces …sonata… (Vl & Pn) and …miniatures… (orch.) I wrote the piece some time beforehand, submitted them, and kind of forgot about them. So it was a great experience to hear my own work, in a somewhat unfamiliar way! This kind of composition allows the rediscovery of the parts that you like, or even love, about your craft, and the parts of your technique that you need to address (this was what was so good and beneficial about the 4 days rehearsal I was so privileged to experience with the Composers’ Orchestra – I could change, add and remove elements that I thought were needed, or not expressed clearly enough etc.).
Being at a Conservatoire allows for a continual working relationship with other musicians, and it is always a delight to receive feedback on writing because it means that I’ll only keep getting better on writing for particular instruments. There are a number of composers who have expressed a disinterest with working with players, and this just baffles me: THE PLAYERS ARE THE BEST BIT! Without them a composer isn’t very much (unless s/he works in an electronic medium)!
I’m still energised from last nights’ performance, so thank you everyone who was involved! It was a delight!
Catch you later!
MG
Max Gibson 