In Wednesday’s (11/13) Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Corinne Ramey profiles New York Philharmonic Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse. At 64, he is “the rare living composer who has built a career almost entirely out of orchestral music.… [At] a time when many orchestral programs include only a token piece by a living composer, his works are getting played. In the past decade, his publisher has tracked more than 500 performances.” His oboe concerto, whose first New York performances will be presented by the Philharmonic and Principal Oboe Liang Wang November 14-19, is “on the friendlier side of the spectrum. ‘I thought, Well, no rock ‘n’ roll, no grief, no prickliness,’ Mr. Rouse said, ‘and this was the result.’ ” His two-year residency “entails performances of seven of Mr. Rouse’s works, plus two commissions from the Philharmonic. One of them, his fourth symphony, will be performed in June…. He is also an adviser for the Philharmonic’s ‘Contact!’ new-music series…. More reserved than much of his music, Mr. Rouse doesn’t take the continued programming of his work for granted. ‘One of the goals in my life is to survive the life without suddenly finding myself unwanted,’ he said.”
Posted November 14, 2013
