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Institute of Composing

Reflections

The Relation of Composition to Improvisation

Improvisation has been a vital part of most world musics, and played a significant role in early classical music, but less so between 1800 and 1950. The explosions of the avant-garde of the 50s and 60s and increasing exchanges between different musical forms make it a vital issue to address today.

New Music Across Boundaries

Shrinking global boundaries make accessible and practical conversations between music and musicians. Are these tending towards certain norms, are traditional voices and practices being lost?

Writing About Music

There was at one time an accepted classical music canon as the basis for broadsheet music journalism. In a recent series in the Observer, surveying ‘styles’ of music, classical music and jazz were not mentioned.