| OCR Text |
Show Symphony to play Cortes 'risk' music doesn't want to withdraw into an ivory tower. He writes only for the muse of music. Who is this muse? Not a person, but the representation represen-tation of the highest state of art, its highest ideals." "This music speaks to the human in all of us. In modern society perhaps those human values will be eliminated. But that is why I write the way I do, not in pop forms or ivory towers. My music has received understanding and recognition. A creator seeks approval; ap-proval; he is not content to put things away in drawers. I want my music performed by live people. My work has been successful, and that fills me completely." by DON GRAVES Chronicle Staff His Thursday and Friday the iSymphony will be performing -campus in Kingsbury Hall for the .aversity's 14th annual Festival of Extemporary Music. The concert (Heature the first performance of 'toements in Variations", for Astra, composed by Ramiro Elites, the University's composer-residence. composer-residence. Mr. Cortes will ::nduct his work. Mr. Cortes is well known in "isical circles, having won mrous international prizes in imposition, as well as having his performed by the Los ;9eles Philharmonic, New York ihrmonic, and other leading uriestras. the following are Mr. Cortes' lies and ideas gathered at a sent interview with him. Ns "Movements in Variations" is n especially for the Utah wphony. After hearing the Whony, Cortes was able to MPose a work which would put orchestra's assets to best use. is much solo work, with ate chamber music sections, a symphonic finale. lasted him if he thought classical music was dead. "No", he replied,"people have been saying culture was dead since Wagner's time. Marx said that art did not serve a social purpose, therefore it was useless, fit only for aristocrats. As long as people still need spiritual nourishment, it won't be dead." Mr. Cortes continued, "The problem today is that people can always go to past music, so the modern creator is finding himself in a serious position. Many orchestras are making themselves museums by programming old and familiar music. People want culture, but too many don't want to hear unfamiliar works that will force them to listen. People feel shock when they experience ex-perience the unexpected; they resist it. The catch is that people need serious art to make their lives meaningful, and they can't get it any other way." "Today a gulf exists between the audience and the living composer. Some composers resort to ivory towers, writing only for themselves. Some take the easy way out and write pleasing music on a primitive gut level." "Between the extremes, there is the composer who doesn't care about being with it, and who |
