INTERNATIONAL SELECTION for compositions to accompany the oboe course of study (deadline 30/11/2014)

I will certainly participate in this!

Gino

Great Gino, if you feel like it, share the experience later

Frank wrote:

Great Gino, if you feel like it, share the experience later

What can I say? The result is the usual one (just tonight I saw the email from the organizers communicating the chosen compositions). Obviously, I would love to listen to some of the selected works, but I already know it would be rather useless, because what was appreciated in this competition might not be in another, and vice versa...

The funny thing is that just today I met a composer friend who advised me against participating in competitions... perhaps he isn't entirely wrong!

Hi everyone

Gino

Gino, I have only read one of your works; if I remember correctly, it was a Lied. The fact is that commissions expect competition-style writing, which nowadays is very "standardized." Whether shareable or not, Fedele is in favor of the evolution of writing; nowadays, a certain type of writing has become a minimum requirement in competitions. Besides, history has taught us that writing has continuously emancipated itself over time, so deep down he has his reasons.

Frank wrote:

Gino, I have only read one of your works; if I remember correctly, it was a Lied. The fact is that commissions expect competition-style writing, which nowadays is very "standardized". Whether shareable or not, Fedele is for the evolution of writing; nowadays, a certain type of writing has become a minimum requirement in competitions. Besides, history has taught us that writing has continuously emancipated itself over time, so deep down he has his reasons.

What you say is true for most of my compositions (even the "lied" you mentioned was a simple piece written to participate in a composition workshop in another forum). In recent years, however, I have occasionally ventured into territories that are (for me) little explored, attempting more modern languages. Yes, but... what is the current language? Perhaps everyone's and no one's; it is difficult to speak of "a" language, because current music seems to me rather like a "Tower of Babel," in which everyone speaks their own language and no one understands the others. If I am not mistaken, I have already told this somewhere else in this forum: I participated in the first edition of the "Florence String Quartet" competition in 2013 (I skipped the second). I thought I had done something "very modern"... which naturally was not considered. When I then listened to the live broadcast of the finalists' concert... I can say that I heard nothing but noises and "special effects," but no music? On this occasion, I attempted something similar: classical form, some let's say "melodic" recognizable elements, a very precise rhythm, but a total absence of references to harmony in the classical sense. Dissonances, however, not noises. Too little? Perhaps yes... that is why I say it is impossible to know what the jury wants. The beautiful thing is that today various composers realize that for decades contemporary composers did not worry about the listenability of their pieces; even Davide Anzaghi (of whom I have listened to some pieces and also an interview on the subject) says that certain scores are "beautiful to look at" but absolutely devoid of music. And so, I wonder, based on what are the pieces submitted for a competition judged? This is why I say I would be curious to know which works are selected: if I found some of "real music," truly written with great skill and with the ability to handle instruments, hats off. If instead they take the instruments apart and blow into them?... heaven forbid, I am not saying that one should absolutely not seek "new" sound effects, but if "music" is reduced only to that?

Ciao

Gino

Gino, I'll start from here:

gpr wrote:

but... what is the current language?

I was referring to the notation and not the language, and as you later say in your post:

gpr wrote:

certain scores are "beautiful to look at" but absolutely devoid of music.

In my opinion, it depends on who the composer is; there are scores like that of this piece

http://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/4191-christophe-bertrand-vertigo-for-2-pianos-and-orchestra-2006-07/

(by the way, try exploring this section of the forum) which are beautiful to look at but, as you will understand from listening, also full of musical content.

(U)nfortunately, competitions are like that; we have already spoken about it. Just like possessing a diploma, winning a competition absolutely decrees nothing... a composer's caliber is seen (and heard) in their profession.