history
OVERVIEW
The League of Composers, created in 1923, is the nation’s oldest organization devoted to contemporary music. The League draws on a remarkably rich history, including such groundbreaking premieres as Schönberg’s Die Glückliche Hand, Béla Bartók’s Village Scenes, Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata and Anton Webern’s Symphony for Chamber Orchestra. The League also sponsored the American premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, Le Sacre du Printemps, many pieces by Aaron Copland, György Ligeti’s Horn Trio, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Harlequin, and many works by current honorary Board Co-Chairs Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt.
During the League’s early years, prominent composers such as Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Paul Hindemith, Serge Koussevitzky, Darius Milhaud, Roger Sessions, and many others served on the Board of Directors, as President, and/or as Chair of the Board.
In 1954, the League of Composers became the US chapter of the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) and has since been known as the League of Composers/ISCM.
In recent decades, the League has devoted itself to chamber works, and the Chamber Players of the League of Composers has featured many of the finest new music specialists since its inception in 1983.
In 2008, the League returned to its roots in an effort to recapture the excitement and prestige it enjoyed in its heyday, refining its mission, launching new initiatives, and creating a new orchestral ensemble. Although New York City offers an unparalleled array of chamber music concerts throughout the year, there remains a limited number of opportunities to experience new music through the richness of the orchestra. The orchestral works of established living composers are rarely performed, and the works of emerging composers are performed even less. To fill this void, we created the Orchestra of the League of Composers by expanding the Chamber Players of the League/ISCM. In conjunction with the development of the orchestra and the new initiatives, the new administration made it a priority to widen the musical aesthetic of concert programming to better reflect the scope of today’s range of styles in new music and attract a new generation of listeners, much as the organization did in its early years. The 2008-09 season reflected all of these changes and culminated in the debut of the orchestra on our season finale.
THE 2008-2009 SEASON
The League of Composers, the oldest American organization devoted to American contemporary classical music, is delighted to announce a thrilling season of premieres and debuts. The season culminates on June 10 with the Debut of the Orchestra of the League, conducted by Louis Karchin with soloists Kate Lindsey, Robert Ingliss, Alan R. Kay, Patrick Pridemore and Timothy Cobb. John Schaefer (WNYC) interviews the evening’s composers, who include Elliott Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Alvin Singleton, Julia Wolfe, and Christopher Dietz (winner of the 2009 League Composers Competition). Music includes world premieres by Wuorinen and Singleton (a League commission) as well as fanfares by Benjamin Britten and Igor Stravinsky, both important figures in the League’s illustrious history, and works by Carter and Wolfe.
Past Meets Present, February 7, 2009, 8 p.m.,
Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street New York, NY
The League’s annual composition competition draws more than 100 submissions per year, and this season’s first concert offers the chance to hear winning compositions from the past several years. Works include John Aylward’s Dragonfly, Laurie San Martin’s Concerto for Four, Matthew Fields’ Fireheart, Brian Robison’s Neo-/meta, Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne and Aaron Copland’s Piano Variations, which was premiered by the League in 1933. With composers ranging widely in age, experience and geography, these works strikingly represent the diverse and varied voices in the contemporary classical music world. Tickets: $10 gen. adm., $5 for students – may be purchased at the door (cash only).
The Enchanted Piano, February 14, 2009, 8 p.m.,
Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street New York, NY
In a League co-sponsored event, Eliza Garth presents a concert of works for solo piano and electronics, piano strings and amplified piano in this enchanting program. Repertoire includes Mei-Fang Lin’s Interaction, Henry Cowell’s Fleeting, Mario Davidovsky’s Synchronisms No.6, Maurice Wright’s Chamber Symphony and George Crumb’s Eine Kliene Mitternachtmusik. Tickets: $20 gen. adm., $10 Students/Seniors – may be purchased at the door (cash only).
Look & Listen Festival, May 1, 2009, 8 p.m.,
OK Harris Works of Art, 383 West Broadway, New York, NY
The League presents a co-production with the acclaimed Look & Listen Festival, a weekend of events dedicated to offering audiences new ways of experiencing contemporary art and contemporary chamber music by presenting them together in art galleries. The Chamber Players of the League and the Bang on a Can All-Stars will go head-to-head in this brilliant opening night Festival program, followed by a champagne and chocolate reception.
The Chamber Players present Aaron Copland’s Elegies for Violin and Viola, commissioned and premiered by the League in 1933, and Martin Bresnick’s Three Intermezzi for solo cello alongside Bang on a Can in repertoire including Arnold Dreyblatt’s Escalator, Paul Lansky’s A is for… and Louis Andriessen’s Worker’s Union. Tickets: Advance tickets available by credit card; to purchase, call 718-622-3005. Tickets also available at the door starting at 7 pm on the night of the performance.
Debut of the Orchestra of the League, June 10, 2009, 8 p.m.,
Miller Theatre at Columbia University, 2960 B-way at 116th St., NYC
The League is thrilled to introduce the Orchestra of the League of Composers/ISCM, an expansion of the renowned Chamber Players, long a gathering place for the finest players in New York’s new music scene. The concert, conducted by Louis Karchin, will feature soloists Kate Lindsey, Alan Kay, Timothy Cobb, Robert Ingliss, and Patrick Pridemore. Host John Schaefer of WNYC interviews the evening’s composers Elliott Carter, Christopher Dietz, Alvin Singleton, Julia Wolfe, and Charles Wuorinen - an amazing array of talent and legend! Celebrating master composers of the 20th century alongside the current and rising stars of contemporary classical music, the evening will include Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre, Benjamin Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury, Wolfe’s Vermeer Room (listen), Dietz’s Gharra (Winner of the League’s 2009 Composition Competition) (listen), Carter’s In the Distances of Sleep (listen) and world premieres of Wuorinen’s Synaxis and Singleton’s After Choice, which was commissioned by the Barlow Foundation for the League of Composers/ISCM and also made possible by support from the Argosy and Reed Foundations. After Choice will be the League’s first commission in decades, harkening back to the early years of the League, when it commissioned many new works. The Brooklyn-born composer of TRUTH, a work for chorus, ensemble and dance based on the life of Sojourner Truth, Mr. Singleton is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including a 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship and commissions by The Serge Koussevitsky Music Foundation and the American Composers Orchestra.
Tickets available at the door after 7 pm on June 10.
Call 718-622-3005 for more information.