“Don’t call Thea Musgrave a ‘woman composer.’ ‘When I’m composing, I’m a human being,’ she insists,” reports Naomi Lewin on Friday (5/25) at National Public Radio. “Musgrave’s music has been performed by many of the world’s top orchestras, in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and London. Her operas have received premieres by the New York City Opera and the Edinburgh Festival. Musgrave was born in Scotland 90 years ago on May 27, 1928 and she’s still composing…. In the middle of Musgrave’s Concerto for Orchestra, a clarinetist stands up and challenges the conductor…. In Helios, her oboe concerto, the soloist plays the role of the Greek sun god, driving his fiery chariot across the sky, as other wind players form his steeds…. For Musgrave, 60-plus years as a composer whose work has been commissioned by orchestras and opera houses all over the world is the best response to anyone who brings up gender. ‘I fought the battle, I suppose, by trying to be as good at it as I possibly could,’ Musgrave says…. Musgrave will cross the Atlantic five times this year, as ensembles on both sides of the ocean celebrate her 90th birthday by performing her music.”
Posted May 29, 2018
Pictured: Composer Thea Musgrave, at 90, is still composing music. Photo by Kate Mount
