What about the composers?

WHAT the HELL?

I just got an email from the SF Symphony, advertising their 2009-2010 season. They talk about the great performers they're getting, and guest orchestras that will be performing. But there's absolutely NO mention of what composers they are going to play. I could give a crap who's playing (because, let's face it, outside Richard Stolzman, they aren't going to hire someone who sucks. And he doesn't suck, really. He just uses vibrato and a double lipped embouchure and I don't like his sound. but I digress) I want to know WHAT they're playing. ESPECIALLY if it's something new.

AND I was just looking because I was really hoping I didn't miss Mason Bates' piece that the symphony commissioned, and I couldn't find it. I had to google Mason Bates and look on his website because it wasn't listed on sfsymphony's site by his name. it was listed under some chick playing a piano concerto. Like I could care. But, realizing others do, at LEAST label the concerts by ALL pieces that evening. Or have a search engine so at least I can find it on your site, since, SF Symphony, you don't seem to CARE about the composers.

I mean, it's just more of the same, right? The conductors, the performers, they're all more important that the person whose music they are playing, unless, of course, the piece has been around 100+ years (ok, at least 50) and the composer is dead. And in all likelyhood a white male. How about educating the people on new music, eh? And don't give me all that bs about the public not wanting new music, because it's not true. I was there at Lindberg's US premiere (I think it was a US premiere) in June, I witnessed how the crowd applauded louder and more enthusiastically for his piece than the Debussy and Beethoven 7 COMBINED! The public isn't afraid of new music, but they won't sit through shit either, it has to be good. The solution, oh dear major symphony programmers, is not to shy away from new music all together (what, you get burned with Schoenberg, Webern, Babbit and Bouliz and you never want to give new music a chance again? What, no one ever gave YOU a second chance? SUCK IT UP! It's new, exciting, if it sucks, write a scathing review, refuse to ever program that person again, but give us a shot to begin with, don't go all preemptive counterstrike on us, how will music progress if you do that?) but to be selective in the music you do program. The selection process now is kind of lame. Just because people have made a name for themselves doesn't mean they aren't just as passe as those composers of the mid 20th century that sort of tarnished the name of new music for the rest of us. ugh!

I'm just kind of disgusted with all this. And some new music groups too, for various reasons. And if anyone says I should have had a piece on the Glasow memorial concert, heads will ROLL.