ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: The music award this year went to Melinda Wagner, for her "Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion," a piece commissioned and premiered by the Westchester, New York, Philharmonic. Wagner got a Ph.D. in Music Composition from the University of Pennsylvania, and has composed orchestral, chamber, and vocal works. The Chicago Symphony premiered her piece "Fallen Angels" in 1993. Thank you for being with us. And, congratulations.
MELINDA WAGNER: Thank you so much.
Deciding how to start.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Tell us a little bit about this work, including its genesis.
MELINDA WAGNER: Well, about three years ago, Paul Dunkel conducted my work "Falling Angels" with the American Composers Orchestra. And during rehearsals, he said to me, I'm going to have you write a flute concerto. And he was good for his word. He went ahead and raised the money with his own orchestra, the Westchester Philharmonic. And that's how it came to be.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And he is the flutist who plays the piece.
MELINDA WAGNER: He is the wonderful flutist who premiered the work. And again, later in the fall with the American Composers Orchestra, so it's now been performed by two groups.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: How much direction did he give you? Did you work closely together? And did you say to him, what notes do you like best? Do you want me to use them?
MELINDA WAGNER: He did specify the kind of group that I should write for. He said he did not want me to write for a full orchestra. He wanted me to remove the brass and the winds and to just write for a string orchestra with percussion. And I added keyboard instruments and celesta and harp.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And is there a special challenge in writing for flute?
MELINDA WAGNER: Oh, the flute is a wonderful instrument to write for. It's challenging because of its particular range. The flute does not have a heavy base voice. It's mainly a soprano instrument. So if you want to write soulful, dark music, you have to be very careful to let the flute have a lot of space. You shouldn't make it compete with other instruments.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Let's hear how the concerto opens. We'll have an excerpt now.
MELINDA WAGNER: Thank you.
(MUSIC IN BACKGROUND)
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Tell us about that open.
MELINDA WAGNER: Well, several of my colleagues have agreed with me that the least -- I should say the most difficult part of writing a piece of music is deciding how to start. And that particular opening gave me a lot of difficulty. I think I spent two or three weeks at the outset trying to figure out how I would begin this piece because once you sort of commit yourself, it's very hard to turn back. And the day that I decided to start the piece with the flute fanfare, the flute playing by itself, at least briefly, was a very wonderful day for me because I was greatly relieved and knew that I would just keep on going from there.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: What is it like when you first hear it play-- because you're writing your notes with pencil, right?
MELINDA WAGNER: Correct.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You're not using a computer or synthesizer.
MELINDA WAGNER: That's right.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: So you've never really heard it, except in your mind.
MELINDA WAGNER: That's right.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: What's it like when you hear it played?
MELINDA WAGNER: It's the most amazing experience. And it never seems to change. It's always a complete thrill when I first hear my music. There are surprises and there are some things that happen exactly as I expected them. And it's one of the things that's so exciting about being a composer. You're always surprised and your collaborators, the musicians, always bring something of themselves to your piece.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Do you change it at that point sometimes?
MELINDA WAGNER: Occasionally. I haven't changed too much of my music -- mainly because I've become -- I'm too busy to go back and fiddle with a piece that's already finished. If there's something blaringly wrong, I will change it. But I'm usually pretty pleased to just plow on ahead.
The natural course to take.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Let's hear another brief excerpt now. This is from early in the second movement.
(MUSIC IN BACKGROUND)
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You managed to get a darker mood there.
MELINDA WAGNER: Yes. That was my intent.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Some people might find it difficult music, people who are used to Beethoven or something which is to them, a little easier to hear. Why do you think modern music can be hard for people?
MELINDA WAGNER: Because it's strange to them, strange meaning that they haven't heard it very often. And I think every time you listen to a piece of music, it reveals something more of itself. And the same is true as -- the same is true of any piece being written last week. Every time Beethoven, every time I hear a Beethoven piece, I hear another secret revealed. And the same is true of a modern piece.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Ms. Wagner, did you always want to be a composer?
MELINDA WAGNER: I didn't think of it in those terms. It just seemed the natural course to take. I didn't think -- I didn't decide consciously to be a composer. It always seemed to be a part of my life. And I followed the course.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: It was a part of your life in that you were playing the piano?
MELINDA WAGNER: Yes. I started playing the piano when I was a little kid. And I grew up in a musical family. It didn't seem at all unusual.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You've said that the music comes to you -- it's involuntary in some ways. What do you mean by that?
MELINDA WAGNER: Well, when I start writing a piece of music, I usually start with a melodic idea. I think my music is generally very melody-driven. Sometimes I feel that the melody is leading me by the nose. Some days I can control what it's going to do. But some other days, it wants to go in a different direction. And I go with it.
People are very curious about it.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: It's fairly unusual for a woman to get a Pulitzer in music. The Pulitzer Music prizes were initiated in 1943, and there have only been, I believe, three women. Why is that? Why so few?
MELINDA WAGNER: Well, I think generally, we're still somewhat outnumbered. I think that comes from the tradition of the 19th century and before, that women didn't go into music professionally. There are a few of them, of course, who did. But it wasn't the tradition, and I think we're just still coming out of that. But it's actually a very exciting time for us. And I think things will get better. There will be more prizes in the future for women.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Do you face any discrimination as a woman composer?
MELINDA WAGNER: I have -- I haven't personally experienced any discrimination. I've had wonderful, wonderful teachers who have been supportive. I've been associated with wonderful performers. I've just worked hard.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And Ms. Wagner, what happens now to this piece? Will it be performed more often because it received a Pulitzer?
MELINDA WAGNER: Well, I hope so. I know that several inquiries have been made about it to my publisher. I think people are very curious about it because they don't know who I am, so they want to find out what this piece is.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: In general, for young composers like you who are writing music like this, how hard is it to get -- pretend you didn't get a Pulitzer -- how hard is it to get performed?
MELINDA WAGNER: It can be very difficult until you sort of get your name around a little bit. You have to establish credibility. But once you have even just one ensemble playing your music, the word gets around, that is, if they've enjoyed playing it. And then you can try again to get more performances. It is difficult initially. It's difficult.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And, finally, what are you working on now?
MELINDA WAGNER: I'm working on a piece for the wonderful New York New Music Ensemble, a wonderful group residing here in New York. They've been around for about 20 years, playing exclusively new music. And they will be performing this piece next year.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Well, thank you very much. And, congratulations again.
MELINDA WAGNER: Thank you so much.
May 22, 2013
