Composer's place

[Christian Natta]

Dear Friends and Colleagues

I was out of the composition for a few years and am now returning. I see that the picture is not the same. Being a rebellious spirit, I find that, in my humble opinion, the composers are relegated to the world of music. Hence my concern toward the expectations to find, we formulate some small questions, which would help me a lot to reach me in the world today.

What is the place of composers today in the world? Are you happy with your place? You feel they are relegated? You feel that they are respected? What should be the place for composers?
You can do something about it?

Thanks for everything, seem simple questions but for me are of vital importance.

Christian

[wizzarts]

Hello my friend,

I would say it depends on the area you live. In Germany things are quite okay. Composers are fully integrated (sounds great, I know, but in St. Peterburg ie, people would say:" ah, a composer,... have you never got a proper job?" )

It also depends on the music you write or in better words, how people recognize you and your music. Some will say I am a freak, others I am elitist, and others just like what I am doing.

When I did some holidays in Stockholm it seemed to be a musicians paradise being that every one got the full respect for what he/she was doing. Reikjavic was even better. People are very proud of their musicians.

Am I happy? Absolutely. But I guess I am different. I simply pay no attention on what people say about me or my music. I have created my own little world full of music. It doesn't matter whether or not my music will be played.
For me, taking care about this would be like selling a Porsche to buy a Beetle.
Doing what people want me to do only to get respect and honor (and money) is like selling my soul. It is not me anymore but a copy of something people like,- I am a composer and not a copyist. If they like something I wrote - okay - and if not - okay.

I have worked hard to get this freedom. I have (normally) enough time to compose and a wonderful job as a trumpet-teacher that allows me to pay my rent. Every other cent goes into my little world - and you wont believe how much work such a little world can cause.

Mr. Erickson once told me that a composer needs three "splins" he should cultivate carefully... I think this is one of mine beside placing my cup of coffee somewhere and then running around for hours to find it.

3ndy

[Joseph]

Apr 26, 2013 23:20:19 GMT wizzarts said:

For me, taking care about this would be like selling a Porsche to buy a Beetle.

Andy, you'd never get Ringo in a trade for a Porsche!
As for Christian's inquiry, It is difficult to come up with an answer that'd fit in this space.  The sound of music is ubiquitous today, as are many other forms we might've considered art.  My problem has always been the idea of music as art.  Yes, I'd like to think that at times it is pure art, an expression of the soul.  But, in today's world it is simply entertainment.  Entertainment available at the push of a button.  It can be instantaneous.  Turn on the PC, plug in the Blue microphone, open the DAW and go.  In 15 minutes you could have a product.  No longer do we need days to write a score, copy it's parts, rehearse an orchestra.  We are becoming less dependent on age old skills.  We can do it in the bedroom (or on the kitchen table).  Music is a commodity.  Maybe that is harsh but I have watched virtuosi starve, trying to decide if they should pay the rent or eat.  These folks wanted to be (and were) artists.  Unfortunately, in order to survive you need to find patrons.  Today we are all patrons.  We buy CDs, posters for our walls, concert tickets when we can.  But the morass of music as commodity might relegate the composer to simply a hobbyist.  How many CDs can one buy (I know, too many of them as my wife is quick to point out).  Of course, someone will get paid, and sometimes quite well.  But highest quality and highest paid are not synonymous.   Money and career as motivation for music may not harmonize.  Respect generally comes from pleasing someone or doing/creating something that has intrinsic value.  Yes, you can be altruistic and suggest you respect someone's endeavors even though they offer you no pleasure.  But really, respect typically requires you do something a majority of people enjoy.  Of course these comments are jurisdictionally prejudiced.  I can only speak from where I sit.  Haydn probably would have written terrific music even without Noble support.  But would it has been as well known?

[Deleted]

These are a good set of questions that I think most people ask themselves at some point. As I have not been doing this for much more than 2 years or so, I doubt my answers will hold much to them.

Today, I feel that most paid composers are those in film/media and those in research. And that is because most people don't see much use of freshly created material other than that of pushing our knowledge and understanding and that of making product for sell-able.

I know that mostly all concerts we get up here are the old favourites as nothing else will bring in much of a crowd. In saying that I have seen a few premiers slotted in nicely with those usual programs, but not to a prime audience. One was empty except for students + a few parents, who for them it is compulsory (for the students) to attend, and the other was to again, family, friends and all the old folk.


I don't see myself making much money as a composer, if any. As a student it is something I have to take notice of, but I am also making the choice of not going to an institution and working on my abilities through my own hard work over the coming years. I was always told something by many people when growing up - Do what makes you happy, that's all that matters at the end of the day. It has also been a big part of my philosophy learn from my elders, as they have experienced everything that surly I would end up having to go through. So when I kept being told to be happy, this is what I do take over getting a high paid office job.

Am I happy with this? The current plan I have over the next year is to continue progressing my music skills and abilities whilst working a part time job. This is feel more than satisfied with. I realise that not everyone can be a great success in a band, and not every one can be a great success being a composer. But its more my friends that have trouble coming to terms with this than I did. So long as I am happy, I have my music and I'm financially stable, I ask for not much more.


Are composers respected? Again, those that are big composing for media and those in the research community I guess are by different factions. We all know of the arguments between melody, dissonance, dare I drop the bomb of 'Atonality'? So to individual people, they all have a hero to look up to, and I guess that's up to them. But I would say almost everyone within the music community on a global scale would have respect for people who, like Andy and Kevin to name just a few on this forum, write their own music, work with bands and ensembles and have their pieces performed. But to people outside the music community, people I have become to know as 'Non-Musos', do they respect that? Do they understand the amount of work even the little guys have to put in to get great returns? It is ultimately them that have have the majority vote.


Ideally I would like to see groups of composers in every city or town composing music for every occasion. But people don't value music as we do. They are happy with the greatest thing that it is available to them now. Even in my ideal world, people wouldn't take to the local composers as the best would be somewhere else, and they would be willing to pay for that service just to be better than the next guy, and that's what's wrong with people on a subconscious level. It has always been about being bigger and better than the other guy, so it wouldn't work. And in this economic climate, even around an oil centred city like Aberdeen, people are unwilling to pay for even the smallest pieces of live music.

I went on for quite a bit, sorry!