A Rose By Any Other Name

There was a terrific profile of Gil Rose, Music Director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and of BMOP itself in Sunday’s Boston Globe.  If you don’t know BMOP you’re missing out on one of the best forces for new orchestral music around.  There’s a lot of good stuff in the article, which is why you should read it for yourself, but it might be of particular interest to this crowd that they’re putting together their own record label “BMOP Sound” which will be launched in January “with five new releases adding to its existing catalog of 13 commercially released CDs, and 28 more albums in progress.”  Later in the piece we also learn the interesting statistic that Rose receives upward of 150 unsolicited scores every month–so if you’re wondering why James Levine and Essa-Pekka Salonen aren’t returning your calls this may give a sense of how overwhelmed with submissions a music director with a national profile and a known interest in new music must be.  (It also makes Bang On A Can’s claim that “we will listen to everything” all the more impressive.)

BMOP inaugurates its 10^th season at 8 PM tomorrow night (November 2^nd) in New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall with a concert of piano concerti.  Nina Ferrigno, Anthony Davis, Joanne Kong, and Marilyn Nonken will be playing the pianos, and the program consists of pieces by Elliott Schwartz (the premiere of a new revision), Anthony Davis, Michael Colgrass (the U.S. premiere), and David Rakowski (world premiere).  I’ve heard parts of the Rakowski, and it rawks.