|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
| THE PULITZER FOR MUSIC | |
 April 19 , 1999 
|
||
|
|
A conversation with Melinda Wagner, who won this year's Pulitzer Prize for music for her "Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion."
|
|
MELINDA WAGNER: Thank you so much. |
|||||||||||||
| Deciding how to start. | ||||||||||||||
|
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Tell us a little bit about this work, including its genesis.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
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?
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Well, thank you very much. And, congratulations again. MELINDA WAGNER: Thank you so much. |
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
   
|
|
| Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station. | ||
| ||
| PBS Online Privacy Policy Copyright ©1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved. | ||
| ||
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: 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.
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.
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.
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: 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: 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. 
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: 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: 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.