In regard to interpretation, I not only agree, but I find it difficult to find performers who can or are willing to go there; they’ve been trained as mere technicians. To capture the flow, the feeling of a piece accurately in notation is most difficult. Last week a pianist performed my work “Dusk” — not a complex piece, but full of nuance. After a couple of struggling rehearsals, she finally understood, that my notation is not an exact instruction manual, but a guide to how to FEEL the piece – to make it HER Dusk. The performance was stellar.

I’m doing my first commission for specific persons. I am definitely doing all the composing. However, this ensemble has specific techniques and personalities. I want to make sure I highlight their talents. Without the collaborative dialog, there is no way I can do so. I have never played their instruments. The leader is also a skilled orchestrator with more experience than I have. I would be foolish to not maximize my learning from his input. I am the composer, but the piece will be dedicated to the ensemble. So far, I am loving this process.

I do think the meaning of the word “collaboration” has been weakened by overuse, but that is only tangential to the argument you’re making.

Please carry on!

1) During the actual composition process, it’s good for a composer to work closely with a performer so that (s)he can best understand the performers’ instrument, what it can and can’t do, and also if that particular performer has any unique sonic vocabulary that the composer could incorporate into the work. I know that there’ve been times when I’ve wished that I’d been consulted on specific saxophone-y things before I received a piece. And…

2) That by developing a relationship with a performer during the composition process, there is a mutual respect and trust built between both parties. The performer will want to do his/her best to honor the composer’s wishes, and the composer is willing to give a little artistic latitude when it comes to the performing of the work.

Perhaps you have a different view of things because you perform most of your own music, so you are able to stay more physically connected to it from start to finish. I generally do not perform my own music, so when it hits the stage I have to feel that I have done everything possible to effectively communicate my musical ideas to the performer – who is translating for the audience – and then let it happen.

What a ridiculous assertion! A composer’s music does not become the performer’s music after it’s been handed over. The performer doesn’t have free reign to interpret the music however s/he wants. I think composers should be careful not to downplay their roles in the process of music-making. A composer/performer relationship should be cooperative, but calling it “collaborative” goes a bit too far. If it’s truly collaborative, then the performer should be credited as co-composer.