“Classical music statisticians will be happy to note that their annual fix has been published by the London-based Bachtrack, featuring such not-so-trivial news that, other than Sweden, the U.S. tops the rest of the world in the amount of contemporary music played,” writes Susan Elliott in Tuesday’s (1/7) Musical America (subscription required). “Precisely what kind of contemporary music—orchestral, choral, opera, chamber—is not clear, but, to get an idea, John Williams is at the top of the list … Williams this year supplants Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in the No. 1 slot. Women composers are making inroads, occupying 23 of the top 100 contemporary composers, twice as many as just two years ago. Among the 23, only four are Americans: Lera Auerbach, Jennifer Higdon, Julia Wolfe, and Missy Mazzoli. They are also making progress on the podium, with eight in the top 100 worldwide. Tied at the highest rank (21) are Susanna Mälkki and JoAnn Falletta … In 2013, Alsop was alone among the top 100, at No. 70…. Andris Nelsons is ranked as the world’s busiest conductor, followed … by Valery Gergiev, Paavo Järvi, Jakub Hruša, Jaap van Zweden, François-Xavier Roth, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Herbert Blomstedt, Daniel Harding, and Semyon Bychko.”
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