Ravel. Bart贸k. Frank.
Gabriela Lena Frank remembers well what it was like, as a young composer, to have one of her pieces paired with the work of musical giants.
鈥淚 felt daunted then,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd it was my father who said, 鈥榊ou shouldn鈥檛 feel daunted. Look at this: Frank, and Ravel, and Bart贸k. Look, your name is with them. And that should be inspiring.鈥� That changed me forever.鈥�
Seeing her name on a program with famous composers from history may have been new. But being in the company of male composers鈥攁nd white male composers at that? That was the status quo. Coming of age in the 1990s, she never had a woman composition teacher in school. Nor did she have a composition teacher of color.
鈥淲hen you talk about being a woman, women鈥檚 rights, you also have to talk about race,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he fact that I was a woman of color, often the only one in the music school and/or the department during my years of training, was something that was always a challenge. There would be times when I felt that I was qualified for something but I would not be selected because I didn鈥檛 look like what a composer in a European art tradition should look like. And my response to that was to just work harder.
鈥淣owadays, there鈥檚 so much more conversation about what it means to be of color, or to be a woman, to be disabled, to be trans,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 really as a result of this kind of discussion that the industry is following.鈥�
As the new composer-in-residence for The Philadelphia Orchestra鈥檚 current season and beyond, Frank is a linchpin of WomenNOW, the Orchestra鈥檚 multi-faceted programming initiative designed to put female artists in what Music Director Yannick N茅zet-S茅guin calls 鈥渢heir rightful place at center stage鈥攁s conductors, as composers, and as soloists.鈥�
鈥淭his is a celebration of women innovators and creators,鈥� said President and CEO Mat铆as Tarnopolsky in announcing WomenNOW as a major 鈥減illar鈥� of the Orchestra鈥檚 120th season. 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted that women鈥檚 music features so significantly on our season.鈥�
鈥淭his is a great moment,鈥� says Yannick. 鈥淚 want to make it clear that this a new commitment for the future. That every Philadelphia Orchestra season should be the reflection of the diverse and beautiful communities that we represent.鈥�
鈥淒iversity is key. Whether it be diversity of opinion, heritage, or gender,鈥� says composer Valerie Coleman, whose world premiere work launches WomenNOW. The Orchestra commissioned a symphonic expansion of her Afro-Cuban inspired 鲍尘辞箩补鈥�meaning 鈥渦nity鈥� in Swahili鈥攆or opening weekend. 鈥淢any women composers who have come before wrote thought-provocative works that challenged standard convention, with a greatness not fully realized until people were ready to listen.鈥�
Frank says The Philadelphia Orchestra has been listening鈥攁nd providing opportunities for women composers. The seeds for her current residency were planted eight years ago, when she was commissioned to compose a new work for Yannick鈥檚 inaugural season in 2012. After giving the world premiere of Concertino Cusque帽o in Philadelphia, Yannick took the piece to Carnegie Hall, Saratoga, and on tour to Asia, in addition to programming it on one of the Orchestra鈥檚 annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concerts.
Frank鈥檚 voice is a powerful one. Female, yes, but she鈥檚 also, in her words, someone who is 鈥渕ixed-race, daughter of a Jew, daughter of a Latin-American immigrant, daughter of Chinese immigrants鈥� who grew up in a liberal, hippie campus town and writes symphonies for a living. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 very American!鈥� she says.
She is also hearing impaired鈥攂orn partially deaf, but with perfect pitch鈥攚hich perhaps makes her uniquely qualified for one of her roles as composer-in-residence: curating a series of new works in honor of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven鈥檚 birthday.
As part of BeethovenNOW, another cornerstone of the Orchestra鈥檚 2019鈥�20 season, Yannick will lead the entire cycle of Beethoven symphonies over a four-week period in the spring (March 12鈥揂pril 5, 2020), each program paired with an original work in 鈥渞esponse鈥� to the symphonies鈥攁 love letter, a work of dissent, or a reflection on contemporary struggles and aspirations鈥攊lluminating the genius and relevance of Beethoven today. Frank鈥檚 commission will be 鈥渋n dialogue鈥� with the Ninth Symphony, which Beethoven wrote when he was completely deaf. Other symphonies will be juxtaposed with new works by three emerging composers from Frank鈥檚 Creative Academy of Music: Iman Habibi, Jessica Hunt, and Carlos Simon.
鈥淏eethoven lived in a world where the dominant voice was male 鈥� and white,鈥� says Yannick. 鈥淐elebrating his legacy in 2020 means paying attention to the voices of today.鈥�
Audiences will hear compositions by 11 women this season, ranging from the world premiere commissions of Coleman, Frank, and Hunt to underappreciated works by other living composers, to the rarely heard masterpieces of women composing in the 19th (Louise Farrenc) and early 20th centuries (Lili Boulanger).
鈥淲e have to understand that women have been composing for a very long time,鈥� says Frank. 鈥淭his is just merely giving them the platform that has been denied.鈥�
WomenNOW means women will have an unprecedented showing on the podium. Five women鈥攕ome returning, some making debuts鈥攚ill guest conduct the Philadelphians this season. Two more join the Orchestra family: Erina Yashima, succeeding Kensho Watanabe, is now the Orchestra鈥檚 assistant conductor. And Lina Gonzalez-Granados has been named conducting fellow, a new position that, Tarnopolsky says, 鈥渟peaks volumes to The Philadelphia Orchestra鈥檚 and Yannick鈥檚 commitment to education and to cultivating the next generation of conductors.鈥�
Women will also be well represented on stage as soloists, and in the repertoire. More than 13 instrumentalists and vocalists will be featured, including sopranos Angel Blue and Christine Goerke; pianists H茅l猫ne Grimaud and Yuja Wang; and violinist Leila Josefowicz.
Josefowicz鈥檚 performance adds another dimension to the WomenNOW theme: She performs John Adams鈥檚 Scheherazade.2, a piece written for her by Adams (who also conducts the Philadelphia premiere) and inspired by the plight of women throughout history.
鈥淚 imagine a Scheherazade who is not just a clever and inventive wife caught in an impossible situation, but rather an empowered woman, both sensuous and capable of fighting back,鈥� says Adams.
Other repertoire centerpieces that tell women鈥檚 stories include George Gershwin鈥檚 Porgy and Bess (conducted by Marin Alsop); a rare presentation of Ravel鈥檚 L鈥橢nfant et les sortil猫ges (conducted by St茅phane Den猫ve), featuring a libretto by 20th-century writer Colette; and a symphonic staging of Strauss鈥檚 Elektra, with Yannick conducting and powerhouse Goerke singing the title role of a tormented daughter.
Throughout her residency, Frank will remain a presence in Philadelphia鈥檚 communities. She鈥檚 working on a commission for the 2020鈥�21 season, a symphonic piece focused on Latin-American creation myths, for which she is partnering with other Philadelphia arts organizations.
Beyond the stage, the Orchestra is also a partner in Drexel University鈥檚 Vision 2020 initiative. Founded and administered by Drexel鈥檚 Institute for Women鈥檚 Health and Leadership, Vision 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women鈥檚 right to vote in America, and examines what鈥檚 still needed for women to achieve true equality.
Frank says it鈥檚 shocking to realize how much further there is to go. But in that shock, there is opportunity.
鈥淭his is a positive development that we鈥檙e looking at ourselves,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is a beautiful thing to open the doors.鈥�
Margie Smith Holt is an Emmy-winning journalist and managing partner of re:Write, a writing and storytelling business with a special focus on the arts. She was also the host of The Philadelphia Orchestra鈥檚 Global Concert Series.
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