Scottish composer Thea Musgrave once had a dream in which a single clarinet player led the entire orchestra to mutiny--- a dream she realized in her 1967 Concerto for Orchestra.
In her concerto, the clarinet not only stands and interrupts the entire performance… it also dictates tunes for the other instruments to play. This dramatic approach to composition has been characteristic of Musgrave’s work throughout her career.
After university study in Edinburgh, Musgrave travelled to Paris in 1949 to study with famed teacher Nadia Boulanger. She remained Boulanger’s pupil for four years, then embarked on a career of teaching and composing in both America and Great Britain, before setting permanently in the U.S. in 1972.
Some of her large-scale works are inspired by tensions: soloist versus orchestra, as in the orchestra concerto; or “orchestra-as-machine” versus “orchestra-as-collective-of-individuals.” Others are rooted in art, such as The Seasons, inspired by a visit to the Metropolitan Museum. Her operas, often crafted with her own words, put historical figures center, such as Mary, Queen of Scots or Harriet Tubman.
In a sign of increasing recognition for female composers, her 90th birthday brought two major retrospectives of her work: at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms.
Her advice for aspiring composers? "Don't do it, unless you have to. And if you do, enjoy every minute of it."
Thea Musgrave… a Composing Woman.
Repertoire
Horn Concerto
Orfeo I, for solo flute and pre-recorded track
Excursions, for piano solo. 1: Driving in the Highlands, 7: Fog on the Motorway
Mary, Queen of Scots, opera
The Seasons: Summer, for chamber orchestra
“Nada dura” from Simon Bolívar, opera
Turbulent Landscapes for orchestra
Supporting Materials
Images
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Thea_Musgrave_2017_-_St_Brides%2C_London.jpg
Accessible websites relevant to the composer
https://www.theamusgrave.com/
