William P. Gottlieb / Library of CongressIt’s a pretty sure bet that not until now would it have been possible to string together a monthslong concert calendar of compositions by Black women. The stretch between March and the end of the season lands like an accidental mini-festival of discovery.
Race and gender are factors well worth considering. But sometimes lost in the dialogue about whose music is getting performed and why is the news of the art itself. Probably not since the authentic-instrument movement decades ago has classical music experienced an invigoration like the current reexamination of the repertoire.
The infusion of works by all underrepresented groups is already an artistic achievement on par with the reintroduction of gut strings, natural horns, and other revelations of the early music movement. Works of the past are being unearthed, filling in parts of the musical timeline you never knew existed. And a significant slice of the population’s incipient talent suddenly has license and opportunity to develop its voice and forge new aesthetics.
Students from New York’s Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center are at the core of this collaboration project with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The book they wrote about composer Florence Price comes to life in a Saturday-morning family concert with the orchestra led by conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados.