ben vanhouten
Schwarz: a strong advocate of new, but not local, music.
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FOR A HUNDRED years now, the Seattle Symphony has been our pre-eminent classical music performing group. Both in its own right and as the backbone of the Seattle Opera, the symphony has helped dispel the citys reputation as a cultural dustbin and made it an artists mecca. The strength of the symphony is one of the reasons I moved here; its one of the reasons a lot of people move here, or that natives stay. In addition to keeping the warhorses alive, Gerard Schwarz, the SSOs music director since 1985, has always been a noble advocate for new music, offering a premiere or two each season, some novelty-filled spring festivals, and, in honor of the orchestras centennial this year, a special lineup of no less than six commissions.
But its ironic, and disappointing, that this civic institution, otherwise so vital a part of our arts community, isnt celebrating its birthday with more Seattle music. Of the six commissioned composersDaniel Brewbaker, Chen Yi, John Harbison, Samuel Jones, Bright Sheng, and David Stockfive are out-of-towners. The exception, Jones, moved here from Houston in 1997 at the age of 62 to become the SSOs composer in residence. Hes written some powerful works since, but most of his career was spent elsewhere. Ideally, alongside Jones work wed hear music by composers with deeper ties to Seattle.
Schwarz has stayed closemaybe too closeto his New York City roots; like Schwarz, Brewbakers a Juilliard alumnus, and Honorary Composer in Residence David Diamond has taught there for years. Other New York composers whose music Schwarz has recently programmed include Hugh Aitken, Francis Thorne, and Theodore Shapiro. Does any New York orchestra do as much for New York composers as the SSO?
Of course, musics all about collaboration, and composers have always written for their friends. Whats troubling is that Schwarz and the SSO, after 18 seasons together, have not been able to cultivate more such relationships here at home. The one local name Schwarz has championed, onstage and in recordings, is the late Alan Hovhaness, whom the conductor met in 1963, and who settled in the area in the early 1970s. Apart from his work, there have been only two local pieces (one by Diane Thome, one by David Kechley) performed by the SSO recently, both in the Music of Our Time series in Benaroya Recital Hall. Both works featured SSO players as soloists; it was their advocacy, as much as Schwarzs outreach, that got the works programmed.
The SSOs not alone in ignoring local composers on special occasions. One blatant example that still sticks in my craw is the Seattle Choral Company: In 2001, planning to mark Seattles sesquicentennial with a musical setting of Chief Seattles 1854 Treaty Oration (Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion . . . there is no death, only a change of worlds), they turned to a composer fromyou guessed itNew York City. A local ensemble, a civic anniversary, a significant and powerful piece of Northwest history, and yet someone 3,000 miles away got the job. What made this especially galling is there are plenty of skilled choral composers in town who were overlookeda dozen or two names come quickly to mind.
BY CONTRAST, Seattle Pro Musica, Opus 7, and the Esoterics have each staged all-Seattle concerts recently. The fact that these local choirs program local pieces may even be the reason we have so many talented choral composers in town. This is how a performing ensemble contributes to the richness of a musical culture: Not just by giving audiences something polished to enjoy, but by encouraging its creators, making its community a place that generatesnot just importsnew ideas.
Anthony Spain, conductor of Buriens Northwest Symphony, knows this: He makes a point of playing a Northwest composers work in every concert, by established professionals or by up-and-comers. Other organizations are only concerned with new local work, which makes this city a good place to write music: Polestar Music Gallery, the Seattle Composers Salon, Sound Currents, the Degenerate Art Ensemble, and the Washington Composers Forum (of whichfull disclosureIm an officer. To prevent sticky conflict-of-interest issues, in case you were wondering, Ive hustled my own music around town pretty gingerly, and avoided the SSO entirely). Honorable mentions also go to the Seattle Youth Symphony, Philharmonia Northwest, the Seattle Philharmonic, Orchestra Seattle, and Quake. Even Seattle Opera opened McCaw Hall with a piece by Seattle native William Bolcom, conducted by Schwarz.
But a few groups Ive just about given up on, whatever their other virtues: the Bellevue Philharmonic, say, or the Auburn Symphony. Its oddthey both work so hard to cultivate a high profile within their communities and to pull in classical newbies, but it never seems to occur to them that those communities also include composers or that newbies might be intrigued to learn that orchestral music isnt all about dead Europeans. The woman behind them in line at Wal-Mart just might also have written a pretty decent symphony.
Of course, a lot of American orchestras scarcely bother with new music at all, much less the work composed within their own city. Six commissions is a remarkable achievement; add to that list works by John Adams and Stephen Albert, and contemporary music fans are being well served by the SSO this season. Yet what makes Seattles music scene so exciting is the concentration of talent among both creators and performers. Its a shame they all couldnt have worked together more closely to celebrate the longevity of an ensemble thats played so important a role in our citys cultural history. E
