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A party atmosphere in the sumptuous surroundings of the Barber-Surgeons' Hall - we were encouraged to play the Innocent Ear game under the genial chairmanship of Stephen Montague.* The programe list was given to us only on the way out; we had been invited to guess who might have composed each of ten short items from a list of 30 possible composers; a fairly impossible task, and no-one scored high. The pieces had been selected from short-listed and rejected compositions submitted to CPNM and spnm over the six decades. We were told that the organisation had been uncannilly successful in spotting future talent. Most British composers who later became well-known had featured in their concerts, and few in the long lists had disappeared into oblivion. (Combine that record with the distinguished roster of PLG Young Artists, and you have a compact history of contemporary music in this country.) We were tantalised with to choose amongst, and most of the pieces we heard were enjoyable, though predictably uncharacteristic of their mature voices. The evening was interspersed with reminiscences; Hugh Wood about the earlier days, and the fight to get Ferneyhough performed; we heard how the decision to assess scores anonymously came late, and only after lengthy discussion during which the committee members shrank, needing a casting vote to establish how it is done now; and Stephen Montague regaled us with anecdotes from Roy Douglas, at 95 the sole survivor of the original founders; he had made a fortune orchestrating Les Sylphides and Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto. * Innocent Ear: "The only approach to contemporary music (and this has been true in the 'contemporary' music in my 45 years) is an 'innocent ear' approach - as one of your audience suggested - listening to all music as if you have never heard music before." http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/questiontime_debate.shtml R3 Sunday Morning programme with Rob Cowan: - - "Rob will also re-introduce to the network the concept of The Innocent Ear." http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/02_february/28/radio3_summer_signings.shtml
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spnm Generation Games