Violinist Forges New Paths
in Music
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
He’s got a wonderful pitch line—an unusual combination
of charming confession and heartfelt sincerity: “Contemporary
music may or may not be your cup of tea. Most of the time it
isn’t mine.” It’s not just the “But” that
follows, explaining why Alan Oser, music lover, long-time chamber
music player (violin), and retired columnist and editor of
the Real Estate Section of The New York Times, is sending out letters about a new not-for-profit
music organization he founded and now chairs—New Paths
in Music—it’s his infectious enthusiasm for the
project—his sense of its uniqueness and potential and
his delight in its debut concert in June. The fact that the
person who sparked his interest in wanting to provide American
audiences with an opportunity to hear contemporary music from
composers around the world was his son-in-law, David Alan Miller,
the Music Director and Conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra,
certainly gave Alan Oser added incentive to go ahead. He beams,
recalling David’s encouraging but somewhat dubious response, “Lots
of luck.”
Luck,
of course, has little to do with setting up a nonprofit 501-C3
and having it succeed. Maestro Miller’s connections – as well as the
former editor’s administrative and PR experience—were
critical. But does the world really need another organization
devoted to music, contemporary music, at that, much of which
strikes audiences as too far out and composed for precious
or specialized instruments, live and electronic? Obviously
Alan Oser, the Board of Directors of New Paths in Music,
and David Miller, who enjoys a world wide reputation as a
champion of contemporary American music, think the answer
is yes, for the very reason that they are going down a road
not usually taken: showcasing works of living foreign composers
who are little known, even to other professional musicians,
often because the countries from which these composers hail
cannot afford to support them. The philanthropic motive,
however, plays second fiddle so to speak, to the aesthetic
one: introducing American audiences to spectacular music
they would ordinarily never have a chance to know or hear
played other than, perhaps, on recordings.
Significantly,
the three countries represented on the opening program in
June feature composers whose names many followers of classical
music would be hard pressed to recognize—artists from Australia (Carl
Vine and Ross Edwards), Portugal (Carlos Marecos, Luis Tinoco
and Nuno Corte-Real) and Lithuania (Osvaldas Balakauskas,
Algirdas Martinaitis, and Raminta Serksnyte). David Miller
became acquainted with some of the composers when he was
on tour a couple of years ago in Australia and Portugal.
The Lithuanians’ music was sent on a CD sampler by
the Lithuanian Composer’s Union, but when he heard
it, Alas Oser says, he “liked the stuff.” He
also liked the idea of assisting artists who typically have
no access to foundation money but who come from countries
with long and rich cultural traditions in musical composition
and performance. Serious contemporary music, he continues,
need not be off-putting minimalist. Indeed the “plain
vanilla” name, New Paths in Music, was chosen after
much deliberation to avoid sounding avant garde contrived
and to signal that new paths need not mean shunning conventions.
The group will strive for “broad appeal and varied
programming,” for example, and audiences will see and
hear a standard chamber orchestra, in addition to fine instrumentalists
playing solo and in quartet.
Indeed,
on June 18th, audiences will also get more than music if
they attend a 1:00 p.m. pre-concert discussion led by David
Miller. Then, at 2:00, New Paths will feature Lisa Moore
(piano), Ieva Jokubaviciute (piano) and Liam Viney (piano),
followed by Nicole Johnson (cello), The Cassatt String Quartet,
and Tawnya Popoff (viola). After a dinner break, David Miller
will conduct the New Paths Chamber Orchestra in pieces representative
of contemporary Lithuanian and Portuguese compositions. All
this and in a hall with great acoustics, a smiling Alan Oser
adds. And that’s at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church,
346 W. 20th Street.#
For details see: www.NewPathsinMusic.org
or call (212) 262-2509.
