Turn On, Tune In, Drop into New Music. Living Composers Speak Out
25 contemporary composers helping to push string music to new heights
When the first issue of Strings appeared 25 years ago, chamber music was entering boom times in America. Not only was the music world beginning to see a proliferation of fresh traditional ensembles, like the Emerson Quartet, bringing vitality to the Old Masters, but such bold, dynamic groups as the Kronos Quartet brought a hip aura around all sorts of brand-new music, from Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman. Whether contemporary specialists or not, string chamber artists were beginning to develop closer relationships with living composers, and bringing a broad array of works to a public that was gradually losing its fear of new music.
What’s next for string chamber music?
Here are 25 composers to keep your ears on. The list is rather arbitrary—it focuses on early- and mid-career composers likely to be producing work well into the next quarter-century, but it also includes a couple of veterans whose music bears further investigation. Most, but not all, are working in English-speaking parts of the world. Some are influenced by alternative styles, others are on the cutting edge, but all of them have caught our collective ears.
Gavin Bryars, Kenji Bunch, Michael Daugherty, Tina Davidson, Avner Dorman
Gavin Bryars
gavinbryars.com
Novelist Michael Ondaatje has said of 68-year-old veteran Brit Gavin Bryar’s music: “It is mongrel, full of sensuality and wit and is deeply moving. He is one of the few composers who can put slapstick and primal emotion alongside each other. He allows you to witness new wonders in the sounds around you by approaching them from a completely new angle.” One of his most stirring compositions is the 1968 piece The Sinking of the Titanic, written for string quartet and found sounds.
Challenges & rewards of string writing
“As a string player (double bass), there are few challenges in writing for strings, but the rewards come from the pleasure of writing for a homogeneous ensemble—like a well-schooled choir—where there is the possibility of not only a rich sound (which does not come from equal temperament), but also multiple and infinitely varied divisi. My own penchant, however, is for the string ensemble without violins—from violas downwards—which I used for my first opera in 1981–84 and for many works since, and which I employ in my own ensemble (two violas, cello, bass).”
Characteristic works
“The Porazzi Fragment for 21 solo strings. It’s for string orchestra, in one sense, but it does go into 21 genuinely solo parts. In the second place, it exemplifies one characteristic of much of my work in that it refers outside itself to music from the past—in this case to a fragment of music by Wagner, which he was playing on the piano the night he died, and which seems to have preoccupied him for many years.”
Kenji Bunch
kenjibunch.com
This 40-year-old violist and composer is known for wit and variety of stylistic infusions. He is a native of Portland, Oregon, a founding member of the landmark Flux Quartet, and an active concert violist as well as an accomplished bluegrass fiddler.
Challenges & rewards of string writing
“To me, every stringed instrument represents a kind of portal into a unique continuum of musical history. Hundreds of years of musical traditions, from all over the world, have been developed on the same fragile pieces of wood, and it feels like we inherit the promise—and the responsibility—of that legacy every time we pick one up. Certainly if I’m trying to contribute something new to this vast, sprawling repertoire, I’m aware of that and try to approach that undertaking with respect and humility.”
Characteristic works
“I think my string quintet String Circle gives a pretty multi-dimensional view of what I’m about. It’s five movements that focus on different aspects of string traditions in America, from old-time fiddling to western swing to more contemporary idioms, with plenty of extended techniques along the way. It includes a setting of the old spiritual “Wayfaring Stranger” as a heartfelt tribute to one of my heroes, Johnny Cash—and the structure of the entire work is itself a tribute to another real inspiration, Bela Bartok. In addition to String Circle, I’ve just released my debut recording of my complete works for solo viola, called Unleashed! This CD probably gives the best idea of my approach not only to string writing, but to playing as well.”
Michael Daugherty
michaeldaugherty.net
Winner of the 2011 Grammy for best contemporary classical composition, the 58-year-old Michael Daugherty is most familiar for wild, but audience-friendly, scores inspired by pop culture, most notably his post-modern Metropolis Symphony, inspired by Superman comic books.
Challenges & rewards of string writing
“Double-stops are mysterious to a composer, like me, who is not a string player. That is why I always work with string performers when composing for strings. No instrument can play a tune or bring tears to a listener better than a stringed instrument!”
Characteristic works
“The two works I composed for Kronos Quartet (Sing Sing: J. Edgar Hoover; Elvis Everywhere), [plus] Sinatra Shag, Jackie’s Song, Ladder to the Moon, Diamond in the Rough, and Regrets Only. These works are favorites of string performers and show everything strings can do.”
Tina Davidson
tinadavidson.com
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tina Davidson’s hometown newspaper, has called this composer’s works “real music, with structure, mood, novelty, and harmonic sophistication, with haunting melodies that grow out of complex, repetitive rhythms.”
Challenges & rewards of string writing
“Composing for strings is my favorite thing to do, and I do it as much as possible. I’ve written nine string-orchestra works, five string quartets, and several string trios and sextets as well as cello quartets and octets, not to mention solo works for cello and violin—most recently the work for Hilary Hahn. Of all the instruments, strings are the most human, with flexibility, depth, and tremendous range in terms of touch and pitch. Just the ability to change the vibrations of the note through vibrato, and the pitch itself with movement of the fingers, opens up a world of sound that fixed-pitch instruments do not have. The string sound changes when you add multiple unison parts, so a solo piece has a totally different sound than three violins playing the same line. And finally, bringing a family of strings together to play creates a resonance not matched by other instruments.”
Characteristic works
“The work that best represents me as a composer is Paper, Glass, String & Wood, scored for three string quartets, so that a professional quartet can rehearse and perform with up to two student quartets, one advanced and the other intermediate. Part of my vision is not only to create works of excellence, but also to create opportunities for young musicians to be involved in the performance of new music while playing side by side with professionals. This piece is both a teaching tool and a wonderful opportunity to play ‘elbow to elbow’ with a professional quartet, learn the tricks of the trade, and find out, first-hand, how to rehearse, perform a newly composed piece, and taste the excitement that comes with performing with mature artists.”
Avner Dorman
dormanavner.com/music
Now in his mid-30s, Avner Dorman was winning important awards in his native Israel (at 25, he was the youngest composer to win Israel’s prestigious Prime Minister’s Award and, that same year, he was awarded the Golden Feather Award from the Israeli Society of Composers and Publishers) before coming to America to study at the Juilliard School. He continues to build his reputation through a fresh approach to rhythm and timbre.
Challenges & rewards of string writing
“I think the challenges and rewards are mostly two sides of the same coin—stringed instruments are extremely versatile and present endless sonic and expressive possibilities. I think the positive side of this is obvious. The challenge is to thoroughly understand how these instruments work at a depth and level that allow composers to be original and to fully express their intentions.”
Characteristic works
“If I had to choose I would say my Third Violin Sonata (Niggunim), my First String Quartet, and my string octet Prayer for the Innocents. These pieces embody many of my sound explorations, they include forays into classical Arabic and Indian music (a favorite area of mine), and they’re all very expressive and quite intense . . . I think.”
