Music : Ms. Stevens shares some thoughts
By Nis Kildegaard
Published: August 7, 2008
Pianist Delores Stevens, artistic director of the chamber music society, violinist Nancy Wu, and clarinetist Anthony McGill from the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, met in New York with the composer Morton Subotnik to work out details of the piece.
Commissioning new music, says Ms. Stevens, is an important part of the Island chamber society's mission. "When we're able to do these commissions," she says, "new work results that might not ever get written otherwise. We're bringing new repertoire into chamber music."
Photo by Ralph Stewart
She continues, "So many people like to talk about the demise of classical music, but that isn't at all true. We're seeing so many new ideas and so much new music - whole new worlds of music are opening up now, integrating sounds from many traditions. There's a lot of experimentation going on, and it's a tremendously exciting time. I think my aim in projects like this commission is ultimately to open people up to new kinds of musical experiences."
Of next week's concert, Ms. Stevens explains, "Most of the music Mort composes has an electronic aspect to it. This piece is actually going to be acoustic in our performances - it's scored for violin, clarinet and piano. Mort plans to give this piece an electronic aspect, so it will have two world premieres - first here, and then, an electronic version."
She described his work as being, "very atmospheric, very quiet - almost otherworldly."
Nis Kildegaard serves on the board of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society.
