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Not to argue, but I find myself on the contrary... I have a hard time writing for small ensembles, I have a hard time overcoming the limitations. I tend to gravitate to much larger ensembles which open my mind with endless possibilities. Just thought I'd stick my two cents in.
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Exactly, you can't write pieces for just a few instruments, which is the reason you should be writing them. Writing pieces for bigger ensembles doesn't make you a better composer, and what's more, if you're writing pieces for small ensembles or even solo/duets you have more chances of getting them performed. Don't forget that some composers never composed symphonies, like Debussy. He composed a few orchestral works, but no symphonies. Bartok didn't write any symphonies. He wrote a concerto for orchestra, but no symphonies. Schoenberg wrote two chamber symphonies, but no orchestral ones. Birtwistle hasn't written any symphonies, and he is considered to be one of the biggest figures in contemporary british music. So why would you want to write a symphony? You think it's easier to write a symphony, but in fact it's not, because to write for a small ensemble you really have to know a lot of things about all the instruments involved, and that is the same case with the symphony, but you don't care about the individual techniques, characteristics, playing of each instrument, you just care about what you hear in finale and that's it. This is why you think writing for a smaller ensemble is more difficult, but you should start from there working your way to bigger ensembles, just like you wouldn't start writing a novel in 2nd grade, or you wouldn't design a 100-floor skyscraper as your first building were you an architect.
Jan 30 2008, 8:23 AM
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